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https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/baltimore-war-of-worldsTickets here, show at 630

Profs and Pints Baltimore presents: “Fake News and War of the Worlds,” a look at an infamous Orson Welles broadcast as an early lesson on mass media’s dangers, with Daniel H. Foster, associate professor and chair of liberal arts at Johns Hopkins University’s Peabody Institute.
On the evening of October 30th, 1938, somewhere between 6 and 12 million Americans tuned in the radio version of New York City’s experimental Mercury Theater. It was a decision that some, no doubt, came to regret. What they heard was an all-male chorus of talking heads—scientists, journalists, politicians, and military experts—repeatedly telling them that New Jersey was being invaded by Martians.
The ensuing hours were alarming ones for those who did not realize they were listening to Mercury Theater on the Air’s adaptation of the classic H.G. Wells science fiction novel War of the Worlds. The performance, directed by and starring Orson Welles, pushed the still young medium of radio drama further than many had pushed it before. Its masterful use of music, sound effects, and especially silence showed how radio could ignite the imagination and make listeners fear the worst.
Revisit that classic moment in media history, and learn what lessons it holds for us today, with Professor Daniel Foster, who over the years has taught the “War of the Worlds” broadcast as part of courses in radio, theater, and sound studies at several universities.
His talk will go beyond the trivia and urban legends surrounding the broadcast and focus on the broadcast itself, to reveal what really happened and why it mattered. He’ll look at the broadcast not just as a moment of public panic, but a daring work of art.
Aired during a period of rapid modern change, marked by the rise of dictators in Europe to the recent fiery destruction of the Hindenburg, the “War of the Worlds” broadcast tapped into widespread anxiety about new technologies and invading forces. Often labeled as an early case of “fake news,” it exposed deep questions about the institutions listeners trusted: education, the media, government, and the military.
To emphasize the mischief radio can bring to the world, Orson Welles, at the end of the broadcast and in person, compared the radio to a jack-o-lantern and warned us to beware this “invader of the living room.”
Answering questions about the performance, its historical context, and radio as a medium—new, blind, and global— isn’t merely an academic exercise. It can help us better understand how fake news works today and how to detect such lies before they cause irreparable harm. (Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Bar doors open at 5 pm. The talk starts at 6:30).

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Profs and Pints Baltimore presents: “Satanic Panics,” a look at waves of fear of demonic activity as an American tradition, with Luxx Mishou, cultural historian and former instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy and area community colleges.
[Doors open at 5. The talk starts at 6:30. The room is open seating.]
The 1980s found the United States gripped by fear of Satanic cults targeting children. They were believed to be corrupting young ones in daycare centers and tempting teens through subliminal messages on heavy metal albums or through the quiet inclusion of demonic rituals in role-playing games. Satanic serial killers supposedly stalked the suburbs. Doctors helped patients uncover what were claimed to be repressed memories of ritualistic satanic abuse.
Parents, police, and politicians were urged to protect impressionable youths from both moral and physical danger. With Satanic cults deemed to be a real and material threat, it was a frightening time for everyone, including those who suddenly came under suspicion for doing evil deeds.
Then, suddenly, it all faded from public consciousness, just as surely as did eighties fads such mullet haircuts, leg warmers, and Cabbage Patch Kids.
Why did it all start? Why did it stop? And has this happened before or since?
Hear such questions tackled by Luxx Mishou, a cultural historian and media specialist who has long researched the devious and villainous in cultural artifacts. She’ll discuss moral panics as a longstanding cultural tradition, with each new one stemming from fear of cultural shifts and shaped by the time and place where it occurred. Among the panics we’ll look into are the Red Scare of the 1950s and the public response to the gruesome 1969 murders committed by the Manson Family.
Delving into the 1980s panic, Mishou will describe how it began with the 1980 publication of psychiatrist Lawrence Pazder’s memoir Michelle Remembers, detailing the suppressed memories of ritualistic abuse reportedly suffered by a patient. As that book quickly became a best seller, its ideas saturated American culture. A California daycare center became the focus of a three-year investigation, followed by three years of trials, based on allegations that its owner had engaged in secret ritualistic abuse of the children in its care.
Mishou will lead you through the media that convinced the public that devil worshipers were among them, and she’ll talk about how reactions to imagined threats can have very real social costs. (Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID.)

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❄️ Snow Tubing Shenanigans at Avalanche Express ❄️
Because gravity is free and joy is mandatory.
Join us for a glorious day of snow tubing at Avalanche Express, where the hills are icy, the tubes are fast, and dignity is optional. No skills required—just the ability to sit in a tube, scream a little (or a lot), and walk back up the hill questioning your life choices.
Whether you’re a thrill-seeker chasing speed, a casual slider living your best winter life, or someone who just wants to watch their friends wipe out in slow motion, this is the event for you.
What to Expect:

• Multiple tubing lanes engineered for maximum giggles
• A conveyor lift that does most of the uphill work (bless)
• Cold air, warm laughs, and questionable selfies
• Applause for strangers, competitive trash talk, and repeat runs because “one more time” is a lie we all believe

What to Bring:

• Warm clothes (layers are your friend)
• Gloves (highly recommended unless you enjoy frozen fingers)
• Waterproof boots if you have them
• A sense of humor and zero concern for looking cool

Good to Know:

• This is a weather-dependent, outdoor event
• Tubing is beginner-friendly—no experience needed
• Expect a mix of adrenaline and mild chaos

Come slide, laugh, and embrace winter the way nature intended: hurtling downhill in a giant inflatable donut with strangers you’ll call friends by the end of the day.
👉 RSVP so we know how many brave souls are ready to challenge gravity