Tonight marks 87 years since the infamous War of the Worlds radio broadcast. Attend this illustrated lecture with historian Laura Keyes and learn the real story!
On the Eve of Halloween 1938, a young actor/director broadcast a radio drama based on a 40-year-old novel: The War of the Worlds. While the original broadcast had a relatively low audience, the impact it had, and continues to have, on American culture is staggering. But how much of that impact was reality and how much has been exaggerated over the years? Were there riots in the streets from panicked listeners or did most of the audience simply enjoy a well-done piece of theatre? Did Orson Welles know he would frighten listeners or was this an unintended accident?
