Skip to main content
War of the Worlds

Up Next

The Perfect Crime

The Perfect Crime

Season 28 Episode 5
52:03
American Experience Season 28

The Boys of '36

Season 28 Episode 7
52:55
Rachel Carson

Rachel Carson

Season 29 Episode 3
1:53:15
The Gilded Age

The Gilded Age

Season 30 Episode 3
1:52:46
The Eugenics Crusade

The Eugenics Crusade

Season 30 Episode 11
1:53:12
Part 1 | The Vote | American Experience

Part 1 | The Vote | American Experience

Season 32 Episode 9
1:52:42
Part 2 | The Vote | American Experience

Part 2 | The Vote | American Experience

Season 32 Episode 10
1:52:47
The Blinding of Isaac Woodard

The Blinding of Isaac Woodard

Season 33 Episode 3
1:52:23
The Blinding of Isaac Woodard, Spanish

The Blinding of Isaac Woodard, Spanish

Season 33 Episode 42
1:52:49
Plague at the Golden Gate

Plague at the Golden Gate

Season 34 Episode 4
1:52:39
The Lie Detector

The Lie Detector

Season 35 Episode 1
52:45
Women in American History

Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming A Space

Season 35 Episode 2
1:52:24
Back to Show
American Experience

War of the Worlds

Season 25 Episode 6

Shortly after 8 p.m. on the Halloween Eve, 1938, a panicked radio announcer broke in with a report that Martians had landed in the tiny town of Grovers Mill, New Jersey. Although most listeners understood that the program was a radio drama, the next day's headlines reported that thousands of others plunged into panic. It turned out to be H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds performed by Orson Welles.

Watch Preview
Sign up now for inspiring and thought-provoking media delivered straight to your inbox.
Support Provided By
Season
The Gilded Age
1:52:46
The Gilded Age: Full Film
Rachel Carson
1:53:15
The woman whose groundbreaking books revolutionized our relationship to the natural world.
American Experience Season 28
52:55
The story of nine young men from Washington who captured gold at the 1936 Olympic Games.
The Perfect Crime
52:03
After attempting to commit the perfect crime, would two boys get the death penalty?
stonewall-uprising-preview
1:20:50
The Stonewall riots marked a major turning point in the modern gay civil rights movement.
The Polio Crusade
52:01
In the 1950's a Polio outbreak swept the U.S., devastating communities nationwide.
The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer
1:49:38
The man behind the atomic bomb is put on trial for suspected communist ties in 1954.
American Experience Season 13
Unlock with PBS Passport
51:35
In 1927, the Mississippi River flooded from New Orleans, leaving a million people homeless
The Presidents
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:53:50
Ronald Reagan left the White House one of the most popular presidents of the 20th century.
Earth Month
Surviving the Dust Bowl
Unlock with PBS Passport
51:28
The Dust Bowl brought drought, dust, disease and death to the Midwest for nearly a decade.
The Presidents: Reagan (Part 1)
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:50:17
A biography from American Experience's collection of presidential portraits.
The Presidents: LBJ (Part 2)
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:50:24
Follow LBJ from rural Texas to his ascendancy to the presidency after the assassination of JFK.
Active loading indicator