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They would be particularly proud of the exhilarating timely series America's Town Meetings of the Air that spanned over twenty years. They would tell you that in 1935, George V. Denny, Jr., associate director of the Hall, conceived an idea that put The Town Hall on the map as a national, and then international, symbol of the free exchange of ideas. That idea, America's Town Meetings of the Air was a radio program in which four speakers discussed a predetermined question. The series was launched by The National Broadcasting Company on Memorial Day 1935. The first Town Meeting, on the subject of the coexistence of communism, fascism, socialism and democracy, hit NBC's Blue Network airwaves. The success of The Town Meeting was attributed to several things: the dynamic format, the audience participation, the chosen topic which was always relevant to world events, the wide range of experts and well-known personalities that participated and the sheer power of radio at that point in history. One radio station and 500,000 listeners grew to 78 stations and 2.5 million listeners in the course of three years, and "The Town Meetings" became so successful that it had to go to court on more than one occasion to protect its name and trademarks. The Town Meeting toured the states and twelve cities on three continents. There were numerous awards, including the George Peabody Institute award (the radio equivalent of the Oscar) in 1950 & 1954.
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