The War of the Worlds—65 Years Ago

On October 30, 1938, The Mercury Theatre on the Air, starring Orson Welles, presented a radio version of H.G. Wells' novel The War of the Worlds. It became famous because many people (although not as many as the media later reported) heard only part of the broadcast, presented in the form of a breaking news story, and thought earth really was being invaded by Mars.

If you’d like to hear this historic broadcast (it’s also one of the best radio plays ever done, actually), you can stream via the link below.

Listen to The War of the Worlds broadcast (presented via streaming RealAudio).