Mars Mania: How America Became Obsessed with Mars

The Pulse | Sep 4, 2025

We think of Martians as belonging to the realm of sci-fi — but in the early 1900s, a radical idea swept the nation, scientists included: that Martians weren’t only real, they were intelligent beings with their own sophisticated civilization. On this episode, we hear about the astronomer who pushed “Mars Mania,” and a cautionary tale of what happens when belief trumps science.

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