Spooked!: How a Radio Broadcast and The War of the Worlds Sparked the 1938 Invasion of America

One evening in 1938, a unique radio broadcast on CBS shook the country and its American listeners. A dramatic re-enactment of War of the Worlds, performed by Orson Welles and John Houseman, created confusion and panic as listeners were the victims of a large-scale hoax, from which the fall-out is still felt today, in particular, in discussions about fake news and propaganda. Senior secondary students may be encouraged to consider contemporary examples of how media is used today to control populations as well as the parallels between hoaxes in our current political and global climate. In the classroom, this text could be a non-fiction resource that carries a case study, accompanied by audio of the original War of the Worlds broadcast. Students may also be encouraged to reflect on the ethical considerations when examining the timing of the broadcast in a historical context.