Episode · Stuff You Should Know · 2024-05-18
Books mentioned on Selects: The Great War of the Worlds Panic Myth
On Halloween 1938 young radio star Orson Welles scared the pants off of America with a fictional news bulletin claiming Martians had landed and were destroying the country. People across the nation ran wild with panic in the streets – or did they?
Josh Clark discussed The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, and Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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The War of the Worlds
The War of the Worlds by H.
Discussed“well not 1898 that's when the book came out yeah but in 1938 I mean what 40 years later”
Where to get it
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Treasure Island
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson is a classic adventure novel that follows young Jim Hawkins on a dangerous quest for buried pirate treasure.
Discussed“CBS had them uh do hourong radio adaptations of classic um like novels like Treasure Island they they did”
Where to get it
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Around the World in 80 Days
Discussed“Around the World in 80 Days and so since it was October they wanted to do something spooky”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (1) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
Passing Animal Farm
“And uh, sure, it caused, um, or at least it was intended to cause people to take kind of a hard look at, uh, pre-Animal Farm, uh, to make sort of a social statement about how we treated animals.”