More from Dick Meister
The Plight Of The Pregnant Worker
(00:04:42)
From: Dick Meister
Despite the anti-discrimination laws, many pregnant workers are being legally fired for being pregnant.
Sit Down, Punk!
(00:04:56)
From: Dick Meister
Labor leader Art Carter was an important but now largely forgotten hero of the anti-Vietnam War movement.
So, What About The State Of The Unions, Mr. President?
(00:04:43)
From: Dick Meister
Although President Obama said nothing about organized labor in his State of the Union address, he won labor plaudits for the pro-worker programs he proposed.
Labor's Honorary Lesbian
(00:04:13)
From: Dick Meister
San Francisco labor leader Walter Johnson was a key supporter of gay rights.
It's Do Or Die For The United Auto Workers
(00:04:26)
From: Dick Meister
The United Auto Workers is in danger of losing its standing as one of the country's most important institutions.
Student Athletes Deserve Pay For Their Play
(00:03:49)
From: Dick Meister
So-called student athletes should be paid for their work in bringing billions of dollars to the nation's colleges and universities.
A Decent Living For All?
(00:06:25)
From: Dick Meister
The minimum wage is increasing in eight states.
Stamp Out Sexual Harrassment!
(00:02:53)
From: Dick Meister
The need to combat sexual harassment on the job is drawing lots of attention.
Unemployment Slamming Public Employees
(00:04:03)
From: Dick Meister
Public employees, many of them African-Americans, are being hit particularly hard by today's high levels of unemployment.
Six Ways To Heal The Economy
(00:03:25)
From: Dick Meister
The AFL-CIO has a very promising plan to heal our very sick economy.
Related Pieces
Piece Description
It's the anniversary of the broadcast on Halloween broadcast on Halloween eve of 1938 of Orson Welles' frightening radio play adapted from H.G. Wells' novel, "The War of the Worlds." Orson Welles meant the program as a harmless Halloween prank, but it caused national hysteria. Academic studies showed that at least one million of the six million Americans who heard the broadcast were panicked by its masterful description of an invasion from Mars that threatened our entire civilization.
Transcript
You are about to hear a recording of one of the most famous radio dramatizations of all time: Orson Welles’ Mercury Theater production of “The Invasion from Mars, “ adapted from H.G. Wells’ novel, “The War of the Worlds.”
The broadcast was heard over the CBS radio network by some six million Americans on October 30, 1938 … Halloween eve.
Orson Welles meant the program as a harmless Halloween prank. But, to his amazement, it caused national hysteria.
Academic studies showed that at least one-million listeners became panic stricken by the description of an imaginary in invasion of Martians … a threat to our entire civilization.
Shortly after the broadcast, Dr. Hadley Cantril and a group of his associates at Princeton University undertook an extensive study of the program and its effects. It was a rare opportunity to study mass behavior ands panic.
Dr, Cantril noted that “probably ne...
Read the full transcript
Intro and Outro
INTRO: OUTRO:Dick Meister is a longtime journalist.
James Reiss
Posted on October 16, 2009 at 11:17 AM | Permalink
The Martians Are Coming
What could be more spine tingling for Halloween than a rebroadcast of Orson Welles’s famous radio play, “The Invasion from Mars”? Most Americans know the grisly story of its initial airing on October 30, 1938. Although Welles prefaced his production with a statement that “The Invasion” was a play, at least a million listeners were so persuaded by the power of his drama that they thought Martians were indeed invading the Earth. As a result, the Golden Age of Radio turned into One Huge Dollop of Panic, One Chaotic Evening of More than Trick or Treating.
I for one have never heard “The Invasion from Mars,” and I’d welcome bending an ear to it on Halloween eve. If it were aired, Dick Meister’s introduction would be must-hear material. Even though more than 71 years have elapsed, making the audio quality of Welles’s premiere sound a bit antique, I’d bet that, without Meister’s sage and salty introduction, thousands of people listening to “The Invasion” would go berserk in 2009 just as they did prior to World War Two. After all, we are still involved in at least one war that spans a great deal of the world. We are still as gullible as ever.
I only wish Meister’s elocution were crisper and clearer. He’s a terrific journalist but not expert at reading his script aloud in front of a mic.
Small potatoes when you consider the giant jack-o’-lantern “The Invasion” would be if it were rebroadcast on Saturday night October 31, 2009.
I vote for Dick Meister as MC of the evening.