Honestly with Bari Weiss26 Aug 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

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(360)

Kids Don't Need Phones with Jonathan Haidt

You probably know Jonathan Haidt as the guy trying to save your kids from smartphones and social media apps. Likely you’ve read The Anxious Generation, which has been translated into 44 languages and ...

18 Nov 20251h 20min

Democratic Dissident John Fetterman

Who owns the future of the Democratic Party? That’s the question on everyone’s mind since last Tuesday night—when the richest city in America elected 34-year-old democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani a...

11 Nov 20251h 21min

How We Lost Ourselves to Technology—and How We Can Come Back

Do you feel uneasy? Do you feel a level of ambient anxiety? Do you feel despair, despite the fact that we live in the most luxurious time and place in human history? The point is, you are not crazy....

4 Nov 202556min

Can Reading Fix Men?

It’s no secret that young men are sort of unwell. They are four times more likely to kill themselves, three times more likely to struggle with addiction, and 12 times more likely to be incarcerated t...

30 Okt 20251h 4min

Palmer Luckey and the Future of American Power

A former Senate staffer recently told our friend, reporter Dexter Filkins: “The last socialist systems in the world are in Cuba and the Pentagon.” My guest tonight is trying to do something about that...

28 Okt 20251h 29min

Trailer | Spiral: Murder in Detroit

On October 21, 2023, beloved Detroit community leader Samantha Woll was found brutally stabbed to death outside her home—two weeks to the day after the October 7 attacks on Israel. It looked like an o...

23 Okt 20251min

How Katie Herzog Drank Her Way to Sobriety

If you’re listening to this, you probably know someone who has struggled with alcohol addiction, or maybe you’re an alcoholic yourself. It’s one of the most universal human experiences. In 2023, 10 pe...

21 Okt 20251h 5min

The Hostage Release and the Future of Gaza

At 3:22 a.m. ET on October 7, 2023, Bari texted her producer: “Candace, there’s war in Israel.” At that moment, Hamas men still roamed southern Israel, and the details were far from clear. What we kne...

14 Okt 20251h 59min