What famous 1938 radio broadcast caused panic when listeners believed Martians were invading Earth?

The famous 1938 radio broadcast that sparked widespread panic among listeners who believed Martians were invading Earth was "The War of the Worlds (Review)." This Halloween eve episode of the Mercury Theatre on the Air, directed and narrated by the then 23-year-old Orson Welles, was an adaptation of H.G. Wells's classic science fiction novel. It was broadcast live on October 30, 1938, over the CBS Radio Network.

The broadcast's format was key to the panic it caused. Rather than presenting it as a traditional radio play, Welles and his team structured the first half of the hour-long program as a series of realistic news bulletins interrupting a musical program. These bulletins described explosions on Mars, a meteor landing in Grover's Mill, New Jersey, and the subsequent emergence of "strange creatures" with devastating heat rays. Listeners who tuned in late often missed the program's introduction, which identified it as a dramatization, leading them to believe they were hearing actual breaking news reports of an alien invasion.

The realistic portrayal, complete with sound effects and "on-the-scene" reporting, tapped into the anxieties of the time, including economic turmoil and the looming threat of war in Europe. Reports describe people fleeing their homes, clogging phone lines to police and newspapers, and even seeking medical treatment for shock. While the extent of the "mass panic" has been debated by historians, the incident undeniably highlighted the powerful influence of radio as a new medium and launched Orson Welles into national prominence.