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The Night 60 Million Americans Listened Together
Description
One week after Pearl Harbor, at a moment when the country was uncertain, shaken, and searching for meaning, something extraordinary happened.
Over 60 million Americans—nearly half the nation—paused to listen to a single radio broadcast.
This was We Hold These Truths.
Written by Norman Corwin and performed by an all-star cast including Orson Welles and James Stewart, it wasn’t just a program—it was a national moment. A meditation on the Bill of Rights. A declaration of identity. A work of art at industrial scale.
In this Chesterton Radio deep dive, broadcasting from Atchison, Kansas, we explore:
* How this unprecedented nationwide broadcast came together
* Why it reached tens of millions at once
* The storytelling techniques that made it unforgettable
* And the deeper question it raises:
👉 What does it mean to hold truths—especially in times of crisis?
This is more than radio history.It’s a reminder of something we may have lost:a culture that could still listen together.
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