On October 30, 1938, Americans tuning into Orson Welles' radio adaptation of The War of the Worlds heard what seemed to be live reports of a Martian invasion. The broadcast, part of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, used the familiar format of interrupted programming and authoritative voices to make an impossible invasion sound real. Some listeners believed it, and the resulting alarm became a cultural touchstone. Eighty-eight years later, National bestselling author William Elliott Hazelgrove examines that night in his book Dead Air: The Night That Orson Welles Terrified America, tracing the creation of the broadcast, the frightened listeners who took it seriously, and the controversy that followed.
Hazelgrove is marking the anniversary with a series of media appearances and events. He has already been interviewed on WDCB 90.9 FM's The Arts Section with Gary Zidek, and a replay is available at https://soundcloud.com/wdcbnews/the-arts-section-10-25-26. Other appearances include interviews on The Steve Gruber Show, WGN Radio's John Landecker, and WCPT 820's Richard Chew, as well as a presentation at the Wheaton Public Library. An essay by Hazelgrove is scheduled for publication in The Hill on October 30, and Wellesnet, the Orson Welles resource, featured his anniversary media campaign on October 9.
The book arrives at a moment when fabricated audio, manipulated video, and rapidly circulating rumors are raising fresh questions about what people believe and why. Hazelgrove argues that the reaction to the 1938 broadcast was more substantial than some later interpretations suggest, entering the ongoing debate over the scale of the panic. The broadcast's central questions endure: Why do people believe what they hear? How does fear affect judgment? And what makes a message sound trustworthy? These questions are particularly urgent today, as technology makes it easier than ever to create convincing falsehoods.
Dead Air has received praise from The Wall Street Journal, which called it a "granular history." The book also earned a starred review from Booklist and coverage in Publishers Weekly. Hazelgrove is the author of ten novels and fifteen narrative nonfiction titles, and his work has been featured in The New York Times, LA Times, Chicago Tribune, and on CSPAN and NPR. His insights into the 1938 broadcast offer a timely reminder of how fear and media can intersect—and why the lessons of that night remain relevant for readers, publishers, and anyone navigating today's information landscape.
