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War of the Worlds
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Steven Spieberg’s adaptation of “War of the Worlds” opens in theaters across the country today. The original novel by H.G. Wells detailed an alien invasion in Victorian England, a subversive undermining in the golden age of the British Empire.

Orson Welles created the infamous 1938 radio broadcast, which sent listeners into a state of panic when they believed that the news reports were real. The 1953 movie “The War of the Worlds” capitalized on the Cold War communist scare.

The events of 9/11 act as a backdrop to Steven Spielberg’s adaptation, which features an American family’s struggle to survive in a world of terrorists, and now, alien invaders.

Tune in for a conversation about H.G. Wells’ classic “War of the Worlds” and its meaning for the nation in different times of war.

Guests:

Sean Smith, senior writer, Newsweek;

Dan Dinello, independent filmmaker and film professor, Columbia College and author of the forthcoming book “Technophobia: Science Fiction Visions of Post Human Technology”;
Alex Lubertozzi, co-editor of “The Complete War of the Worlds”;
Michele Hilmes, professor of communications at the University of Wisconsin and author of “Radio Voices: American Broadcasting, 1922-1952.”

 
ONPOINT
TODAY
May 23, 2013
In this 2010 photo, a sign announcing the acceptance of electronic Benefit Transfer cards is seen at a farmers market in Roseville, Calif. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP)

Congress says food stamps are costing the country too much and debating big cuts. One in every seven Americans is using them to eat. What’s going on?

May 23, 2013
In this 2011 photo, U.S. Navy sailors participate in intense 10-minute workout intervals. (Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Michael K. McNabb/U.S. Navy)

Rock-hard bodies in a fraction of the time. We’ll look at the 7-minute workout and the promises of high-intensity exercise.

RECENT
SHOWS
May 22, 2013
A woman carries her child through a field near the collapsed Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla., Monday, May 20, 2013. (Sue Ogrocki/AP)

After Oklahoma’s giant twister, does Tornado Alley need to change the way it builds and lives in the age of superstorms?

 
May 22, 2013
Apple CEO Tim Cook is sworn in on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, May 21, 2013, prior to testifying before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent subcommittee on Investigations hearing. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Apple in the hot seat. Lawmakers say the company dodged billions in taxes on overseas profits. We’ll look at the world of off shore tax escapes.

On Point Blog
On Point Blog
Is American Coming Undone?
Thursday, May 23, 2013

New York writer George Packer says yes. He reflected on the nation’s core institutions failing the American people.

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WIRED’s Bill Wasik On The Henry Fords Of Today
Wednesday, May 22, 2013

He talked about how Google and Tesla are paving the way of innovation and how technological development is related not only to creativity but to environmental responsibility.

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Switching Shows For Our Second Hour Today
Friday, May 17, 2013

Adventures in live radio. Richard Snow, our guest for our show on Henry Ford, was held up — possibly by a faulty Model T? — so we’re running a terrific archive show on great quotations.

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