Bergen and McCarthy are sometimes credited with "saving the world" because, on the night of October 30, 1938, when Orson Welles performed his "War of the Worlds" radio play that panicked many listeners, most of the American public had instead tuned to Bergen and McCarthy on another station and never heard Welles' play. Conversely, it has also been theorized that Bergen inadvertently contributed to the hysteria. When the musical portion of Bergen's show, "The Chase and Sanborn Hour", aired approximately 12 minutes into the show, many listeners adjusted their dial and found the "War of the Worlds" presentation already underway with a realistic-sounding reporter detailing terrible events.