Welcome to step you should now production of Iheart radios have stuff for free and woke under the podcast, I'm Josh Clerk, there's Charles to reach a brain two of us back black man, juries inclusion, we're still bachelor up. How do you mean mean Did she really ruin the bat seen for us sure, she's, very maternal and judgments to oh yeah you're headed down a kind road for a second? I was with Jerry now that inside me,

so for all of you who are just turning into the first time, welcome this stuff. You should know to everybody else's tuning in for the multiple times. Welcome this stuff you should now. Can we never do that? Some shows do that? They welcome new listener, CN cannot say what they do in any way. not really, never done that! That's fine! This lame! I wish you does that any friends of yours you mean that eyes on the flophouse. They ve been broadcasting as long as we have in every single episode, they say who they are and what they do now. Ok, Do you want to do that this one time now, I'm Chuck Bryant MRS Josh Clark in this podcast, where we explain things in a light hearted in full and sometimes even funny way, I disagree with a boy.

So what we're going to talk about today is, I think we need to talk about this one and slightly somber tone chalk. It's a blemish in the history of America! Really, if think about it! Well, yeah! You know I've! Never! Actually had listened to it until this week I'm here, and it was it's it's a lot of fun to actually listening. I would recommend it yeah, especially in a dark room where that's all you're concentrating on not like a second skin kind of thing like where you're really listening to this radio play yeah trial, put yourself there a little bit like what it must have been like in well, not eighteen. Ninety, eight months when the book came out, yeah but Eighteen, thirty eight me what forty years later, just in that forty years, stretching think about the difference between nineteen, eighty and twenty twenty, not ridiculously different, pier,

that's just gotten Adrian. Ninety eight exactly I had gone downhill and don't think that had nothing to do with Reagan's election in nineteen eighty, but the difference between one thousand eight hundred and ninety eight and one thousand nine hundred and thirty eight, it's just like two different worlds: man, two different worlds, war of the. So I guess we should start with the book written by the great Hg Wells. it was the very first alien invasion story denied it to hit the book shelves and that's a pretty room the whole thing it was a serial. I sing at first in magazines and persons in that and the UK, and then Cosmo here in the U S and then they finally slapped all those

you realize versions together into a book and it's all pretty well gets Arabella Princess at First Edition in eighteen. Ninety, eight, that's pretty respectable. I expected as much for our book as well the actual Willoughby still in being published in forty years or a hundred years. The one hundred and forty years yeah hope. So in this book and, like you, said, first alien invasion story ever published, which, as you know, just the fact that this is a completely new premise. New conceit made it. You know chemist scary, but in the book Hd Wells describes like this. This alien invasion and part of the thing that was so scary about it, at least for the time from

I can gather is that it was about like the breakdown of society and we're talking like victorian era. England society, where, like rigid social rules in customs and mores and in guidance for all behaviour at all times, was like the norm. So the idea of that breaking down was scary. On in and of itself. I think that made the bookcase carried a contemporary readers. Would that be right, readers back then and there was one big theme that Wells export another one that he explored in- that at least, I think- is whoever wrote the Encyclopaedia Britannica article on it, so that the main point of this, the main subtext was love in how humans dominion over animals can be. You know rule and thoughtless, because all of a sudden, with these alien invaders, who are just wiping us off the map-

we were there. We were, like you know, domesticated animals to them. Yes, so that this she was on the other, half and sure it cause- or at least it was intended to cause people to take a hard look at pre animal farm to make sort of a social statement about how we treat animals and so that in eighteen. Ninety eight, if you flash forward to Orson Welles in his mercury, the inner version. This is what you said: we're right in the middle were in the great depression and were headed towards war, and it's sort of an uneasy feeling in the United States as a whole, so he thought perfect time to go in there, but a fresh coda pain on this thing in scare, the the genius of the american public by doing really something that never heard before, which was sort of a verity style, production yeah- and I mean

It is easy to overlook today by radio is still rather new at the time in nineteen thirty eight, it was like you know, cutting edge technological medium and it was not fully defined. So the idea of creating this, I guess hoax broadcasters is the best you can call it this fiction eyes version. That was what would you call it heat that word so much! It's really taken on a ban tang here! Lately, yeah, I mean it's, it's verity! It's it's! You know, foe documentary style right there. but no one had ever heard like there's no way when people heard this, they would think. Oh, this is you now. I know Christopher guess. This is sort of a scary version, I've seen Blair Witch. I know what's going on here. I recognise Lenny from Vernon, surely anywhere. I know

scenario here so there they were prepared for this in nineteen thirty, eight, when or somewhere he was already a name and radio as the voice of the shadow, which was big yet Mercury theater was pretty pretty well respected at the time this year, is like alive stage theatre here they only had the show for a few months by the time October. Nineteen thirty eight rolled around, but there jam was they run. Cbs Cbs had them I do our long radio adaptations of classic like novel like treasure island. They they did. around the world in a few days, and so since it October. They want to do something spooky around Halloween, something now the lighted it yeah said. So they like all. What's the most boring scary book, there is, and they said she wells war of the worlds, so they decided to adapt it. so they got together their rehearsing. I will talk a little bit we're about that in a sack, but there wasn't it

I'm feeling among the casting crew in the production group that thought it was gonna be awesome because I think, probably because they had never done anything like this aid, never heard anything like this. They thought is this even gonna, be any good in a couple of different sources in the production. Went to a radio critic ahead of time is like thanks a lot, and they said by the way. This is gonna, be a real stinker hit these. It apparently to different people in the in the production said that this will put everyone to sleep, and I don't. I don't have the impression that it's strictly because they did have any frame of reference to judge it against, because no one had done this before from what I can gather the originally, it was going to be really bad and really terrible and the production in the casting crew real new,

They knew that they were marching toward embarrassment with the early versions of the of the script. Yes, oh Orson, he sorted distracted, he's got a stage. Production goin on he's got his partner in his group, John, the great John Housman You all know from the paper chase he kind of a legendary actor. He was as one of his original partners and he got together with Howard is it catch? I never know if it's gonna be a culture, a coke doesn't matter current chaos. And he was the writer who is adapting the novel and there are like we gotta make thing better. In one thing, I think we can do. This is Housman talking among you have John Housman but everyone knows how is right when I Game across John House and be involves like I can't wait. I don't even remember I mean he was just very serious and sort of all. I can think of his paper. Jason was the tv commercial deep. Was it.

I want to save the Schwab now zero Linda? I think it might have been merriment, maybe but one of those financed firms he did he voiced for Well, yeah. He was very famous for having a very high pitched squeaky falsetto voice. Then he talked very, very fast and actually Edna. Who was is FED Ex and Duncan doughnuts well known for its right. Now is the time to make the doughnuts guy right with the matter. so Housman in Catch Coke went in there and he said one of the things we do you probably to make this a little more scary and little more believable that it's an actual broadcast is wit enough time passes in the book, and we can't do that here. So let us get rid of all that stuff, so it gives the appearance it it's going down right now, yet there was normally huge chain told, and I dont know if he did, that it to help the pacing move a little

ass, her wife, but that was there, would pay out to be a really important difference in the original script that Howard K turned and the one that they ended up doing and then and beyond that, some of the other changes came just hours before broadcast cause. Apparently, if you worked with Orson Welles You should be on the look out for him to come in at the last minute, be like all the stuff we ve been practicing for a week or two forget all that we're we're doing this instead and part of that from what I can tell us that he was trying to shake up the actor shake them out of whatever complacency. They'd work themselves into with rehearsal and give this roar more terrified performance and apparently worked. I mean to be. I cannot. Right in here, Neber herschels or anything like that. I will love to have compared. I know the week before too you know the actual broadcast, but that everyone delivered these really great um, really great proof

it and they really nailed by Showtime the realism and a lot of ways not just in the performances, but also in just little deed else like they. You know they were more. They were doing a mock radio programme which will talk about a little more in detail in a second, but they were. They were pretending to have news bulletin breakin, so they were, they were doing the things that news. Boltons did one other thing. stuck out to me was one of the eye witnesses. So it's an act, But one of the eyewitnesses is like being interviewed by a news reporter on the scene and they served to talk in the newspaper goes again: you can you speak loudspeakers lie we move into the microphone place and that the I think the actor actually says, how's that and the guy repeats himself in an actress repeat himself what he was originally saying. So it has think that veneer of authenticity just from little details like that that in a release

stood out to me when I was listening form, but if you're, if you're, not listening form you you just make you buy into the whole thing that much more yet the other big change wells brought along was stretching out the first two halves of the thing such that it went past. It went forty minutes and radio at the time Every thirty minutes like on the half hour. They would check in with a station idee check and listeners, even though ready was new was were well honed to the station break every thirty minutes, and so, when ten minutes past the half hour ago by energy energy, no station break that really makes people can buy in to what their listening to his possibly real. Then you add the fact that the no sponsors for the show yeah, so they weren't cutting to a Casper, Aurora me, I me Andy'S- adds right, olives and naked. Remember any sponsor

so you imagine John Housman, saying the maid with modal no authority maples model. Here, that's a much better housman of thing in my throat so yeah there were no sponsor. So basically, it really came across is something that was super super realistic sounding right. So All that is to say that they had really by the time this broadcast aired eight p m on Sunday October, thirtieth, nineteen, thirty eight, they they, they were not going to beetle avail laughing stock, and this is not going to be embarrassing, whose can be pretty awesome actually to take a break, I think so chuck and then we'll come back and

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okay, so we've reached Showtime airtime, eight p, DOT M Sunday October 30th, one thousand nine hundred and thirty eight Mercury Theatre on the air began broadcasting is adaptation of hd well, war of the worlds and, at the very beginning, its introduced as much now who says that I think I lost probably to time somewhat, because every one probably thinks that they just try to trick everyone, but no they actually introduced. It is what they're doing you know that this is a radio place it, but a one year in the you're right right to India, Orson Welles. So it's introduce buying, announced or small comes in does the introductory essay and then they

something really smart in interesting, especially for the time they went to a musical programme that was supposedly being brought ass from the murder in room in the hotel part Plaza. So if you are just tuning right, then You have no idea that this was mercury theatre on the air. You'd have no idea that this was a teller play. You would think that you are listening to something that was pretty rig. early broadcasts, which was live music at some like ball room in a hotel somewhere New York that they set up like a radio trend better to transmit out over the radio, those pretty frequent- but this is part of this oh like if you have caused it. That is right right exactly so that, but that was a huge part of the show, because that

old listeners into a kind of complacency and listeners who tune in late, mislaid introduction, thought that this is what they were listening to and then the first news bulletin hits yeah and that's where things start to get really interesting. They break in. You know one of these interrupt your previously schedule programmes, How do things right right and they come in and with these bulletins, but they're not super long at first, because they treat it How it would be in real life is too short of a breaking story. Something's going together, it was fairly obtuse and they didn't, like you know, say marsh- are attacking us right now. Everyone from the get go right. Sourdough lets it up to the listener, to kind of peace it together a little by little. They would go back to the Meridian Room for a bit. was it for very long, but because you know they couldn't waste too much time, but it was long enough. It wasn't reluctance, they did it for like a minute men and ass Ryan.

It seem right then, like that was what you are listening to, that that was the programme in the Bolton was in fact the bulletin, rather than the opposite. Being true, yes, Eventually you start to piece together what's going on and you have this attack in New Jersey of all places and Princeton. city they had like a Princeton astronomer on they have government officials and they can do let our little by little. Until about the seventeen minutes, seventeen and a half minute mark. and then that's when it really kind of gets super scary and people really see the full picture? What's going on so Chuck um, I feel like we should read a little bit of the script there one party, starting about the one thousand seven hundred and thirty minute market, think you said where they as I like to say they tore the lid off the sucker. Do you want to be announcer or phillips I'll be there

answer! Ok, but I want you to do Philips, Sammy Davis, so here's the announcer wait hold I'm getting on my tap she's. Ok, Bikini man you share Bab, I'm not gonna. Do it that way. So let me give you a little bit of back. I'm real quick. So though these news bulletins up to this point of basically said, there's some weird thing that landed. They thought was a meteorite at first, that landed in growth, where's mill, New Jersey and then later bulletin said that I actually have some weird technical, weird. things emerging from this thing with was a meteorite. So now we're back a government So I'm the announcer we are bringing an eyewitness witness account of what's happening on the Wilma Farm, Grover's mill, New Jersey and those kind of liquor

breaking into. Let you know that they go back to more piano for some reason, and then we now return. Your to Carl Philips covers MEL lady. Ladies and gentlemen, I am I on, ladies and gentlemen, here I am back of a stone wall that adjoins Mr Wilmas Garden from here I get a sweep of the whole scene. I give you every detail as long as I can talk as long as I can see more state police of arrive there, drawing up a cordon in front of the pit about thirty of them, no need to push the crowd back now, they're willing to keep their distance. The captain is conferring with someone we, we can't quite see who? Oh yes, I believe it's a professor Pearson. Yes, it is now they parted. The professor moves around one side studying the object, while the captain in two policemen advance with something in their hands, I can see it

Oh, it's! It's a white handkerchief tied to a ball, a flag of truth. If those creatures know what that means, what anything means wait some eggs happening. You couldn't newsroom rain. Brow awaits art, I helped shape, is rising out of the pit. I can make out a small beam of light against a mirror. What's that, there's a jet there's a jet flame springing from the mirror and leaps right at the advancing men. It strikes them head on.

good war they're. Turning into flame now the whole fields caught fire, the bombs, the gas take spreading everywhere. It's kind of his way about twenty yards to my very nice to see the sooty there was great shock, so they they mentioned, or I should say Philips. The rapporteur on the scene mention right, professor pierce him. When he's this here that being the main character. When he's he's in it, he's an astronomers interviewed earlier on in these on the scene as it happens, and the proof of the programmes is key, going like that. Like there's another there's, a main announcer who I played I thought rather well great. Thank you the same to you, I'd rather like the futures of folly artists, if I may say so. Thank you very much of him

the things you in your my machine and I've been doing now in two thousand and six I about while walking through the forest. I now have about a good punched. The face out. There was good, thank you, but I put myself in I'm gonna get catered, that's our dedicated to the art of full, so they country just keeps bringing in more more news, as the saying goes on and unfolds of like now. These things are interested. Jersey there in Chicago there like out west there there's turning to invade everywhere and their killing people left and right that you said that as a government official they reads. A statement is actually that they say that it's the secretary of the Interior, which I thought was particularly genius, because I mean

probably not that many people were familiar. The secretary of the Interior, Timely Harold Ex yeah, but they had em sound like empty, are so that it would kind of play on everyone's, I guess unconscious or what I'm sure there are people who are like the sun just like fifty are, but at the very least it would evoke that government authority the reality of like a government figure, INA yeah so meanwhile, on the other stations, there's one that's running opposite, which is a really really popular radio show at the time, probably the most popular Jason Sanborn, our, which had the very, very famous ventriloquist's EDGAR Bergen in his dummy, Charlie Mccarthy. Can we talk about that on our ventriloquism episode. Remember that they started out on radio which uses hysteria. I don't even know why they would even bother with the dummy part two

do you and even more than that's what he did. You live after we're pants. Now you been measures it around in your speech, Eddie stained undershirt not in get naked, runaways down. Maybe some socks doing a couple voices dries your contract EDGAR. what do you think about that Charlie dont get me started like that's, it could be a famous ventriloquist on the rating agencies. Just did it big, Hollywood's gonna come would call but the real sort of interesting factoid here. I think is that people were channel servant back then, when you cut commercial just like we used to do when we didn't have paused buttons and fast forward buttons. And Where is this pause by mentioning I've never heard of it? You ve, never paused television know why, indeed I dont believe, I've ever paused. Anything in my life. It's fun.

We were Emmeline. I've been watching that dead, german suffice series dark, which is very challenging to follow, and there's a lot of rewinding like away where. Who is that? What did they do say we reminded a bit. Do that again and or you know of course I gotta go. The bathroom is positive and I was thinking about how not too long ago will you just if you miss something you missed it, he just speed the count. Are you PETE yourself on the couch here and there was no clear like. Let me go back and clear this up. so probably say I have no idea, I guess we'll! Never! Now, there's no announce it up. I guess I should probably stop watching this altogether. You go walk up to the VCR imprison Jack, but it in right back then, let's say Charlie Mccarthy goes to break our now from an answer and a flip over toward the world's at this point in the broadcast, when the asses the fan- and it's gonna scare, the pants off people in nineteen thirty,

well yeah even more. They think that they would have died over even before that, so they might cause like news bulletin, and maybe some of that music from the Meridian Room, I really would have caught them and there were supposedly a substantial number of people who did dial over. Like wait, wait what what is good not here and now we come to the reaction, the response, because if you picked up the paper the next day in America, just about anywhere in any major city you're going to find him Blaring headlines like the one that the New York Daily NEWS printed in tall, bore letters, fake radio war stirs terror through the? U S yes, stories of of shocking hysteria stories of people taking their own life stories of people dying from heart attacks.

the AP said a man in Pittsburgh found his wife with poison in her hand and said, I'm gonna I'd rather die this way than like that, and you know talking to wells afterward in the aftermath of this. He apologizes publicly says they didn't intend to do this. We had, we didn't know, is going to cause a panic, and then you know you look over the years more interviews. It sort of seems like wells is alive. more like you know, we thought it would be pretty find a scare people and add enough is going to cause a panic, but we deftly intended it to have this effect on people, whereas Ozma than in catch we're like now, we related mean it so sort of conflicting reports from the production on what they thought was gonna, be the result right and I read an interview with John Landis, the great director who worked with wells on a project that never got made towards the into well

life, and he didn't say that wells admitted to him that he meant to, but he got the norm enough that he was like. Yes, you view watch this, this initial press conference, where he's apologizing, because the whole country was ripped apart in chaos. It were running wild in the streets and like nearly I added because of his broadcast, his at all his days, just as happy as a fact that this all happy and of course, even though, is pretending to apologise, and he said there was just this is or somewhere else did you say apologize, it's it's a new version on a testing as I like it, it's. This gets kind of its it's, at least as good as, apologize. So this was just a couple of days in the new cycle. It wasn't the biggest deal in the world. Even though, is fairly sensational story riding for for a newspaper

and it might have just gone that way. Had it not been for a Princeton University Social Psychologist, a couple years later: name Hadley, control and control released a book on the real effects of this thing and basically said that you know people are praying crying. There were frantically trying to escape death from the Martians six million people. Listen to this thing, and at least one six of them were frightened or to stir and I have the evidence right here. Yeah no evidence that he had was based on a series of interviews with a hundred and thirty five people, Most of them were in New Jersey, which remember that, where the young, the crux of the invasion and destruction being described, took place. Grover's New Jersey is actually a real town in Jersey, so he went to Jersey, conceives, imprints,

he went where he was again interviewed. A hundred and thirty five people- and he he said, were you scared by this broadcast and produce? We would say yes and needs a year study indeed ask the nice ones will yet again where you scared by this broadcast. Now like you're, not in the study, that's crazy, so yeah he's in the in the methodology that he selected a hundred out of a hundred and thirty five, because they had been scared by the broadcast, and so he took this. These interviews of people in New Jersey and he extrapolated it to the rest of the country- and he said yes This is this is real. This is a really great example of people, be. fooled, Indue ended terror and panic, and you know the responses. When this happens, we like we saw after the World WAR, the world's broadcast people will run the street, they will flee the city they will die.

Call their friends and neighbors they will. They may attempt suicide, they may die of a heart attack like the New York Times reported twenty or so people in New York alone needed to be treated for for shock and hysteria. This is what happens when somebody toys with the public, trust and dumb yeah. It's pretty nuts, the and yet I was what that was the end of Hamleys headless book rights, yet not ended this episode. So this is what this specific study is. If you ve ever taken a mass media communications college class, you ve problem, studied war of the worlds, largely because of this study. Basically, I have just come and gone if it weren't for this. This academic paper that were put out and all of a sudden for decades in decades, its reported on is like a cautionary.

almost of responsibility in media, even fictional media- and you know, as recently as two thousand thirteen PBS American Experience Documentary said this was the case- are old pals at radio lab in two thousand eight did an episode about this, where that was the case, but there are a few problems with this paper, beyond the supremely bad methodology behind just getting scared New Jersey, people to go in there and and give their report was they found out that way. They ended up finding real ratings for this thing and not a ton of people even heard it. It turns out so his six million estimate, was way. Our way way way off and they did so aid during the programme that said, two percent of respondents said that they, listening and some markets like big cities like Boston, even pre empted, this thing for low

programming, so it wasn't a ton of people, it wasn't a ton of people being scared, unlike just literally, losing their minds with fear and panic and things so far, the other way did it. The narrative became. You know what no one was really scared at all in what newspapers really did was they put out hit pieces on a competing medium, like rate and how you shouldn't trusted anymore, so so what happened over the last within some time within the twenty percent well, some time in the two thousand tens, the the the myth, that America lost its. My went bonkers and ran wild in the street because they were panicked by the war of the worlds broadcast was, shown to be a myth that it didn't happen, and that was new understanding for a little while, I'm just a few there's until another guy came along.

said you know what they actually both both are right in both are wrong in a lot of ways to we take a break and talk about the truth always being somewhere in the world All right. I said that It is always somewhere in between that's not always the case with everything in life. Obviously, but that's that's a saying for a reason- and that's definitely seems to be the case in this case.

A gentleman named a Brad shorts he's a probably the leading the world scholar and he went back and he wit and investigated the letters in the cables thick. That came in there at the University of Michigan archives, and these are the letters actually came in to wear rules and the Mercury Theatre in the days after the broadcasts and what he contains. An I agree is that this is what you need to be reading is what people were really thinking at the time that weren't just cherry picked in the town work that got attacked in New Jersey, who were obviously there we're gonna, be freaked out more than any one in the country right. So one of the things that he points out is you know everybody been you know since the round two thousand, ten or maybe a little earlier- everyone here and wailing on Hadley can trail for his terrible terrible methodology, but they, the revisionist,

We have also kind of doing the same thing. They were making all sorts of suppositions like the idea that the newspapers head basically conspired to target radio way to rival the to show how irresponsible it wasn't, how it shouldn't be trusted with the news. There is really newspapers that should be handling the news, and maybe you can listen to. or financially on on the radio, but that's about it that that was all supposition. That was as much supposition is Hadley Cantrill. Strap related his findings in New Jersey to the rest of the country in a bread shorts. One of the reasons I think he's doing good jobs cause he's he's saying no, where if you actually sit down and eat these letters and these cables that were coming in in the days after they really probably paint the most accurate picture anyone's ever found to this. To this point, of how it was actually received, like you can see almost in

real time at the time why people were saying about this by in their letters to Orson Welles into the mercury feeder on the air Yan in it was a range of feelings. It was everything from people who said you know ass. We knew it wasn't real, but it was really scary and super awesome. They say things like super awesome He said that a number of people wrote in who actually made fun of the people who fell for it and said that you know they're they're, gullible there their rooms in one right or even said they should be sterile. eyes and disenfranchised get because they shown that in an actual emergency they were undependable. They would just run around like chickens with their heads cut off in the streets, yeah sort sore draw the line between what was going on back then to us today, with this all fake news, hoax garbage that we have to listen to day and

they out then basically said this was the first viral phenomenon in media was the war of the worlds broadcast in it was a mixed bag. Some people loved it. Some people did think it was real in panic, but it certainly was not this widespread panic across the country. Like you were talking about yeah. He said less than a quarter of the letters described, what he would consider panic, but even most of those weren't actually angry when they were writing a letter. A lot of homer thrill like you got any. He did right, but he did say that. Yes, there are case is that you see in these letters and in cables that dead describe people panicking, so they did happen in some cases. Most of it seems to have been isolated in New Jersey, so if Hadley can trill had not x

calculated his findings and had you know, interviewed more people who had different reactions to the broadcast. But if it had just been like an investigation into the reaction in New Jersey that study or that book would have been much more useful. But the fact is, he just screwed up screw the methodology up so badly that it's it's basically useless, but he wasn't. He didn't make up the the panic that he described. Messerli may have exaggerated it. Who knows, but it did

it- does seem to have actually happened in some cases, but it was sporadic few and far between, certainly not organise and certainly not seen across the rest of the country like it was reported on by the papers the next day year, which sort of leads us to the story of the poor pulses of Manhattan. This Manhattan couple, they did fall for it. They were very scared. Apparently, as the story goes, they got their last six dollars together and got on a train to get the hell out of New York, assuming not going west into new Jersey. They went north toward Connecticut got as far as they could on what little money they had get off the train- and you know there's about of other passengers that they're telling in other warning everybody of what's happened right in this one guy? There goes over and gets through in a just picture this in the movies like no one's listening to this guy, and he he picks up the newspaper. Basically the

be guide. Zanesville Duncan. Don't he says you guys. This is right here we're the world's Broadcasts beyond that. Our says right here in the newspaper that it's a radio everyone, no one, everyone now want nobody. Ok, many discuss. It gets on a train and leaves, but they feel bad for them that the other people that were you know that had gathered together. They learn them or gave them. I guess the money in Egypt and got them back to New York City and then later Estelle Paltz wrote a fifteen page letter. Then today to Orson Welles that was Mary, admiring and said how thrilled she was. But I can imagine what else is in that fitting page letter, the lot of Vienna a hell of a story I think his wife, which uses catches over and over and over right, so so

That was one of the letters there. A bridge shorts turned up in that trove and like it, it very clearly describes a couple panic because they mistook the war the world broadcast, but again that this is not like across the nation like the papers reported and short actually explains the papers. Basically, as a combination of a couple of things, one is a bias I can't tell if its selection bias, volunteer, buys or confirmation by us. But the bias is as follows: if you're in a newsroom and all of a sudden, your phone starts ringing off the hook and you're getting a hundred and fifty percent more calls that night in all of em, repeat asking about this martian invasion and what's going on, and is this real ours is a hoax or have you guys heard anything about this and similar? calls or even from the local police who are also getting sick,

calls another call on you to find out. Then it seems like there's a lot of people calling in freaking out about this martian thing. But if you stepped back, if you zoom out and look at that number of people that actually called the newsroom it's just as my new fraction of the population of whatever town it is So it wasn't a bunch of people freaking out, but to the people entering the fine, the newsroom, her getting swamped with calls way more calls than it did seem like that, so that combined with anecdotal rip ports that no one followed up were followed up on from the wire services that people were at. suicide or having heart attacks or whatever dead, just being reported and relate, as fact led ever but I do believe that this was actually happening out there in the country that people were running well, maybe not town. Could I stuck my head outside the news remain me, but I hear there.

I'm crazy in Chicago right now I hear the really going nuts in Milwaukee or whatever, and that's how it got reported in that's what everyone thought happen. People who lived through this thought that this up in the next day, Orson Welles, thought his career was in jeopardy the next day, because he accidentally made America go berserk and that's how the myth began and that's how it stood and in a bridge hordes basically traced back too lazy, lazy reporting, so myth busted thanks to a bread, sorts and us and us for sure, I'm glad you included us. So there is an interesting footnote here, though, is this actually did cannot play out that way, eight years later in, night was eight years later yet. Nineteen forty eight in ecuador- and so this is in Kyoto, Ecuador. These broadcasters recreate the Orson Welles radio play

and they did a version that when a lot there than his did an got other radio stations to join in and add to the reporting which really pretty brilliant, move there to increase. Like you turn the station and it's happening over there too right, and this really did scare people they really did take to the streets. In panic, there was public payment going on and then the crowd finds out that its fiction and they get angry and actually turn into an angry mob and burn down the local newspaper building that had the radio station inside of it killing six people. Yet six people died. Fifteen people were injured, like they knew that the staff within that building, and they said the building on fire to try and kill him. A bunch of people escaped other back, but a lot of people didn't escape and the two people who are responsible for the broadcasts, including Ecuador's, most beloved, entrusted

center were indicted for, like they're more, I safer, basically yeah exactly and they were they were indicted for their role. In this way, people died because of in this actually does seem to have happened in Ecuador. Amazing So there you go the idea that America fell into chaos and panic after the war of the worlds broadcast. One thousand nine hundred and thirty eight is largely meth, go forth and spread the gospel everybody unless you're in Ecuador, and then you like. No, it's actually happened here in since I said that actually happened here. I think Chuck is time for listener mail. so this is from Tom and the UK. Did you see this email? I don't think so. It's great it's one law sentence and I'm gonna try and read it and how I think Tom speaks is attaining this time from the UK,

because just the way he wrote it? I think Tom probably talk a little bit like this. This is a time for me Kay, who was our tour manager when we did our UK tourism now watch out, Tom Yea illustrate. This is an engineer, and this is what I can say: Sub Josh Tom engineer from the Uk Stoke on Trent big Fan of the show been binge for about two years and got through all open all you lot. Even Jerry have got me through a lot these last couple years and I put a few people onto your podcast wanted to email. You lot for awhile, finally managed to get round to emailing a load of things to people about stuff that really doesn't matter. email the tv show about one of their actors, apart of Papa Uncle Physicists about using a light year of lead as a frame of reference. Come.

these super noodles for the excellent job they have done with their super noodle pot, but I'm not much for the peace, and I just wanted to hey, I know you like the japanese mayo, but you really need to trial Polish Mayo spot on all the best Tom boil. Boys ha now is great and check. That was a fantastic stoke on track access, the most accurate I've ever heard and the first Tom. There was a great email, you're right. I love that email so much I had so much when you were right to choose that one. So thanks Tom, Thanks for writing in I thank you for us in your list of people. You harass the email and keep listening. Okay and keep riding in May will make this a regular think chuck with love yeah so Tom right in again If you want to write in two we want to hear from, you can send me mail to stuff podcast

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