Honestly with Bari Weiss26 Elo 2025

Breaking History: The Invention That Changed Everything

Ever travel to Europe in the summer and suddenly feel very “ra ra ra” about America? It’s not because of American culture, or food, or architecture. The thing people miss first and foremost is AC. Yes, air-conditioning. It’s an American treasure and of course, fodder for many dad jokes. But beyond the jokes, this invention has been politically and culturally transformational. AC allowed factories to operate through the summer—creating more productivity, prosperity, wealth, and American dynamism. It’s allowed Americans to live in the most uninviting places in the country—ever been to Arizona or Texas in the summer? And this very flexibility to live in places like Phoenix and Austin has shifted migration, demographics, and even our political map. So today we want to bring you podcasts from another show in The Free Press podcast network—Breaking History. Eli Lake and his producer Poppy Damon speak with Salvatore Basile, the author of Cool: How Air Conditioning Changed Everything, about how air-conditioning—once called “comfort cooling” and “refrigeration systems”—evolved from a bespoke invention to a household status symbol and a political force. The episode is so interesting because it highlights inflection points that propelled this technology. If you’re listening with your AC on high, you won’t want to miss it. If you want to hear more from Eli Lake on Breaking History, follow here. Header 6: The Free Press earns a commission from any purchases made through all book links in this article. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(360)

María Corina Machado’s Fight to Free Venezuela

Congratulations are not usually in order for someone who has been forced into hiding, someone whose children are scattered across continents for their safety, someone whose supporters are sitting in p...

13 Loka 202551min

Niall Ferguson on October 7 and Our Changed World

This week commemorates the two year anniversary of October 7, 2023. That morning, Hamas invaded Israel. They slaughtered some 1,200 people and took another 250 hostage. Forty-eight hostages, some aliv...

8 Loka 20251h 9min

He Spent 491 Days as a Hamas Hostage. This Is How He Survived.

Two years ago today, five terrorists broke into Eli Sharabi’s safe room on Kibbutz Be’eri. He had been sheltered there for hours with his wife, Lianne, and teenage daughters, Noiya and Yahel, reading ...

7 Loka 20251h 35min

The Future of The Free Press

An announcement from The Free Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

6 Loka 20259min

How One Man Overcame His Autism

Leland Vittert is one of America’s most recognizable television correspondents. You’ll know his face from years of frontline reporting in places like Egypt, Libya, Israel, and Ukraine. You may have ...

30 Syys 20251h 33min

Inside the Mossad

If you’re anything like us, you’re a sucker for a good spy show: Homeland, Tehran, Fauda, The Bureau. We’re fascinated by the life of spies—the secret meetings in Beirut cafés, the wigs and false iden...

23 Syys 20251h 29min

Woody Allen on Life and Death

You know the name Woody Allen. Everyone does. He’s made some of the most acclaimed films ever made: Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters, Crimes and Misdemeanors—he list goes on and on and on. He’s made...

17 Syys 20251h 35min

Charlie Kirk’s Murder and the Rise of Political Violence

Yesterday, in broad daylight, in front of a crowd of 3,000 people at Utah Valley University, Charlie Kirk was shot dead. Kirk was not just a husband, not just a father, and not just one of the most pr...

11 Syys 20251h 28min