{"podcast":{"title":"History That Doesn't Suck","slug":"history-that-doesn-t-suck-528206","podcast_index_feed_id":528206,"rss_url":"https://rss.amperwave.net/v2/feed/audacynetwork/e69da14a26973f1dc761432876205254","website_url":"https://www.htdspodcast.com/","image_url":"https://images.castfire.com/image/661/0/0/0/0-8382936.jpg","author":"Prof. Greg Jackson","episode_count":227,"summary":"HTDS is a bi-weekly podcast, delivering a legit, seriously researched, hard-hitting survey of American history through entertaining stories. To keep up with History That Doesn’t Suck news, check us out htdspodcast.com or follow on Facebook and Instagram: @historythatdoesntsuck. Become a premium member to support our work, receive ad-free episodes and bonus episodes.Pre-order Prof. Jackson's new book Been There Done That: How Our History Shows What We Can Overcome","last_synced_at":"2026-07-06T12:17:07.451620+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/history-that-doesn-t-suck-528206"},"episode":{"title":"191: Halloween Special V: “The War of the Worlds” on the Radio","slug":"191-halloween-special-v-the-war-of-the-worlds-on-the-radio","published_at":"2025-10-20T06:30:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/history-that-doesn-t-suck-528206/191-halloween-special-v-the-war-of-the-worlds-on-the-radio","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/history-that-doesn-t-suck-528206","url":"https://p.podderapp.com/1794982497/tracking.swap.fm/track/v9Uiw3bGr54f6BVZKSyc/pscrb.fm/rss/p/serve.castfire.com/audio/8253633/8253633_2026-04-14-133033.192.mp3?rssID=6404","audio_url":"https://p.podderapp.com/1794982497/tracking.swap.fm/track/v9Uiw3bGr54f6BVZKSyc/pscrb.fm/rss/p/serve.castfire.com/audio/8253633/8253633_2026-04-14-133033.192.mp3?rssID=6404","summary":"“No more defenses. Our army is wiped out—artillery, air force, everything wiped out.” This is the story of the invasion of New Jersey. “The War of the Worlds” is a 1938 radio adaptation of an 1897 science fiction novel by H.G. Wells that details an alien invasion of Earth, a seminal work that popularized the term “Martian” and the theme of “first contact” in sci-fi. 23-year-old Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre team were tasked with zhuzhing up the classic novel for their series of one-hour CBS radio plays, but unfortunately, the contemporary American setting, the shockingly realistic news bulletins, and the harrowing eyewitness accounts all added up to produce a panic among out-of-the-loop listeners. Invasion, fictional or otherwise, was at the fore of many minds as Germany broke treaties and demanded more land—the Allies ceded the Sudetenland just one month prior to the broadcast. The stories of a mass hysteria that gripped the nation have been exaggerated, but have no fear: we’ll take you through the radio play and the aftermath so you can decide whether or not you believe it. ____ Connect with us on ⁠HTDSpodcast.com⁠ and go deep into ⁠episode bibliographies⁠ and ⁠book recommendations⁠ join discussions in our ⁠Facebook community⁠ get news and discounts from ⁠The HTDS Gazette⁠ come ⁠see a live show⁠ get ⁠ HTDS merch ⁠ or become an ⁠HTDS premium⁠ member for bonus episodes and other perks.","meta_description":"“No more defenses. Our army is wiped out—artillery, air force, everything wiped out.” This is the story of the invasion of New Jersey. “The War of the Wor…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2330,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/history-that-doesn-t-suck-528206/episodes/191-halloween-special-v-the-war-of-the-worlds-on-the-radio/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/history-that-doesn-t-suck-528206/191-halloween-special-v-the-war-of-the-worlds-on-the-radio.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}