Robots
Many of us became familiar with robots through science fiction — R2D2, C3PO, Rosie from the Jetsons, Marvin the Paranoid Android. In comparison, it can feel like the robots we actually interact with t...
1 Maj 202234min
Wheeled Suitcase
We put man on the moon before we invented the wheeled suitcase. Why did it take so long? Find out in todays episode with guest Katrine Marçal, whose research has revealed a hidden chapter in invention...
27 Apr 202226min
Tanks
Tanks defined 20th century conflict — they conjure to mind images of Tiananmen Square or the Soviet Army rolling into a liberated Berlin. But over the past couple of weeks, we have began seeing them a...
24 Apr 202228min
The Origin of Zero
Nada, naught, nil, zip, zilch, zero. Whatever you call it, it's hard to imagine the world without it. Zero is the basis for all modern computing and engineering, including trigonometry, algebra, and b...
20 Apr 202223min
The First Motion Picture: Conspiracy, Murder, and Movies
In 1890, the man who shot the first ever motion picture boarded a train in Paris — and was never seen again. Shortly after his disappearance, another inventor showcased a camera with uncanny similarit...
17 Apr 202229min
The Treadmill
Before they found their way into gyms, treadmills had a much darker history. In the 19th Century, they could most commonly be found in prisons. In contrast to their modern track record of improving he...
13 Apr 202224min
The Ear Trumpet
Ear Trumpets are seen as old fashioned and clumsy, mostly deployed in pop culture for comic effect as a snarky shorthand for how old and out-of-touch a person is.But during the Enlightenment there was...
10 Apr 202230min
Monks: Medieval Masters of Invention
In medieval times it was monks who were the masters of invention. They were the most educated members of society who saw scientific and philosophical investigation as a way to get closer to god. Howev...
6 Apr 202235min
