Engines of Our Ingenuity
1,199 episodes - English - Latest episode: 13 days ago - ★★★★★ - 165 ratingsThe story of technological progress is one of drama and intrigue, sudden insight and plain hard work. Let’s explore technology’s spectacular failures and many magnificent success stories.
This content is in service of Houston Public Media’s education mission and is sponsored by the University of Houston. It is not a product of our news team.
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Episodes
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1138: The Texas City Disaster
March 22, 2024 05:01 - 3 minutes - 1.63 MBEpisode: 1138 Texas City, Roseburg, World Trade Center, Oklahoma City: a story of fertilizer and cigarettes. Today's story is about cigarettes and fertilizer.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1948: Lobster Shells
March 21, 2024 05:01 - 3 minutes - 1.73 MBEpisode: 1948 Sex, Love and Lobster Shells. Today, guest scientist Andrew Boyd asks where lobsters come from.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 2977: Thomas Jefferson and the Maison Carrée
March 20, 2024 05:01 - 3 minutes - 1.77 MBEpisode: 2977 Thomas Jefferson, the Maison Carrée of Nîmes, and the Virginia State Capitol. Today, Thomas Jefferson in love.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 3016 Simpson’s Paradox
March 19, 2024 05:01 - 3 minutes - 1.78 MBEpisode: 3016 Simpson's Paradox. Today, paradoxical averages.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1137: America at the First Modern Olympics
March 18, 2024 05:01 - 3 minutes - 1.61 MBEpisode: 1137 America goes to the first modern Olympic Games. Today, amateur America goes to its first Olympic Games.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1135: Ol’ Man River
March 17, 2024 05:01 - 3 minutes - 1.62 MBEpisode: 1135 Trying to hold a river that doesn't want to be held. Today, the Mississippi writes a parable about going with the flow.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1134: Linear B
March 16, 2024 05:01 - 3 minutes - 1.66 MBEpisode: 1134 Linear A and Linear B: Decoding the old Minoan scripts. Today, we struggle to read what our ancestors are saying to us.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1133: Lucille Treganowan
March 15, 2024 05:01 - 3 minutes - 1.6 MBEpisode: 1133 Of Lucille Treganowan and automobile transmission repair. Today, let's meet an unexpected auto mechanic.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1929: Switched on Bach
March 14, 2024 05:01 - 3 minutes - 1.72 MBEpisode: 1929 Wendy Carlos and Switched-On Bach -- new technology, new music. Today, guest scientist Andy Boyd makes music.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 2998: Evolution in a Test Tube
March 13, 2024 05:01 - 3 minutes - 1.75 MBEpisode: 2998 Test Tube Evolution. Today, evolution in a test tube.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 2851: Unplanned Obsolescence
March 12, 2024 05:01 - 3 minutes - 1.73 MBEpisode: 2851 The Lake Breeze Fan: Unplanned Obsolescence. Today, invention and obsolescence.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1132: The Siege of Paris
March 11, 2024 05:01 - 3 minutes - 1.65 MBEpisode: 1132 In which balloons deliver the mail during the Siege of Paris. Today, the very first airmail service is used to break a siege.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1131: John Hunter
March 10, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.65 MBEpisode: 1131 John Hunter: idiosyncratic medical pioneer. Today, the history of medicine provides a strange hero.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1129: Alphonse Penaud
March 09, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.62 MBEpisode: 1129 In which Alphonse Penaud invents the model airplane. Today, a very young man teaches us to fly, after all.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1128: Of Whales and Elephants
March 08, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.6 MBEpisode: 1128 Of whales and elephants: a remarkable convergence of attributes. Today, we find that whales and elephants have more in common than just size.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1926: Rhetoric
March 07, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.69 MBEpisode: 1926 Rhetoric: An ancient idea in serious need of rehabilitation. Today, guest scientist Andrew Boyd persuades us.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 2654: Bike Variations
March 06, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.75 MBEpisode: 2654 Recumbent bicycles and the One Hour record. Today, variations on a bicycle.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 3295: The Age of Silicon-Based Species
March 05, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 3.37 MBEpisode: 3295 The Age of Non-Carbon Species; The Age of Artificial Intelligence. Today, the age of silicon-based species.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1127: Germany and the Atom Bomb
March 04, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.63 MBEpisode: 1127 Why Germany didn't make an atomic bomb during WW-II? Today, we ask about Germany and the atom bomb in WW-II.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1126: An Academic Hoax
March 03, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.64 MBEpisode: 1126 An academic hoax: When we let our words get too complicated. Today, a disturbing parable about clarity and falsehood.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1125: The Visible Man
March 02, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.62 MBEpisode: 1125 The Visible Man: An executed convict is brought back to life on the internet. Today, we create a body of knowledge.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1124: The New Religion
March 01, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.64 MBEpisode: 1124 Pythagoras' Trousers: How physics and the priesthood are reopening to women. Today, let's talk about physics, religion, and gender.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1921: Arrow’s Paradox
February 29, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.74 MBEpisode: 1921 Arrow's Paradox and third party candidates. Today, guest scientist Andrew Boyd votes.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 3014: Measuring Almost Nothing
February 28, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.74 MBEpisode: 3014 Measuring Almost Nothing. Today, we measure almost nothing.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1786: Circumstantial Evidence
February 27, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.72 MBEpisode: 1786 Acting and reality: in which the story is formed by circumstances unseen. Today, our guest, Seattle actor Megan Cole, has an acting technique for understanding behavior.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1123: Whiplash
February 26, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.66 MBEpisode: 1123 Whiplash: Why doesn't it exist in Lithuania? Today, we go looking for whiplash.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1122: Offshore Rig Disposal
February 25, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.62 MBEpisode: 1122 Getting rid of old offshore oil platforms -- and other old technologies.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1121: Neolithic Farming in Europe
February 24, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.62 MBEpisode: 1121 How farming came to Europe 8000 years ago. Today, farming comes to Europe.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 3294: Coastlines
February 23, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 3.43 MBEpisode: 3294 How the length of coastlines depend on how you measure them. Today, how long is a coastline?
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1912: Consciousness
February 22, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.75 MBEpisode: 1912 Am I conscious, or do I just think I am? Today, guest scientist Andrew Boyd explores how we think.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 2193: Dover Beach
February 21, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.79 MBEpisode: 2193 Matthew Arnold's honeymoon on Dover Beach: an odd Valentine's Day greeting. Today, a Valentine's Day greeting.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 2976: Embracing Puzzles
February 20, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.66 MBEpisode: 2976 Puzzles, Intellectual Exercise, and Everyday Problem Solving. Today, we put puzzles to use.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 3293: Research and Water
February 19, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 3.35 MBEpisode: 3293 A look at water in its many forms as a subject of university research. Today, let’s talk about research and water.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1120: Cayley’s Flying Machine
February 18, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.62 MBEpisode: 1120 Cayley's Flying Machine. Today, a boy begins what the Wrights will finish.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1119: An Old Book of Recipes
February 17, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.63 MBEpisode: 1119 Lee's Priceless Recipes: How to make everything from lipstick to dynamite. Today, a book tells how our great-grandparents did things.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1118: Nuclear Power
February 16, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.65 MBEpisode: 1118 What in the world did we let happen to nuclear power? Today, let's talk about nuclear power in America.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1897: Optimal Routes
February 15, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.75 MBEpisode: 1897 Optimization: much more than just driving to work and selling door-to-door. Today, guest scientist Andrew Boyd drives us to work.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 2798: Behold the Mighty Transistor
February 14, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.75 MBEpisode: 2798 Behold the Mighty Transistor. Today, a small item creates a large impact.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 3204: Mobility Matters
February 13, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.73 MBEpisode: 3204 Transforming Transportation from Engines to Motors. Today, our thoughts are about motors instead of engines.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1117: History of the Wound
February 12, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.6 MBEpisode: 1117 Searching out the early history of treating wounds. Today, we look for the history of the wound.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1116: An Attack on Superhighways
February 11, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.62 MBEpisode: 1116 Revisiting a 1970 attack on the Interstate Highway System. Today, let's look at an old attack on the Interstate Highway System.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1114: Gore’s Metaphor
February 10, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.66 MBEpisode: 1114 Today, let's talk about distributed intelligence. Al Gore's metaphor of distributed intelligence.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1115: Books of the Century
February 09, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.64 MBEpisode: 1115 New York Library's selection of the Books of the Century. Today, a bold listing of books that've shaped us.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1859: Hal, the Computer
February 08, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.74 MBEpisode: 1859 Today, our guest, scientist Andrew Boyd discusses a legendary movie figure. Waiting for HAL 9000: the lure of artificial intelligence.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 2279: Babies in Sideshows
February 07, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.76 MBEpisode: 2279 In which medical people learn how to save babies on the boardwalk. Today, our guest, medical historian Julie Anderson takes us to see premature babies at carnival sideshows.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 3112: Creative Editor
February 06, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.77 MBEpisode: 3112 Donald Barthelme: Creative Editor. Today, a sheriff of an editor.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1113: How Can I Tell You About Math?
February 05, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.65 MBEpisode: 1113 How can we talk to our children about mathematics? Today, three mathematicians wonder how to teach math.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1112: On Being Human
February 04, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.61 MBEpisode: 1112 Rene Dubos asks "What makes us human?". Today, a scientist wonders what sets us apart as humans.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1111: The Numbers 1 Thru 10
February 03, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.62 MBEpisode: 1111 Reading the symbolic content of the numbers 1 through 10. The Numbers 1 Thru 10.
Engines of Our Ingenuity 1110: Origami
February 02, 2024 06:01 - 3 minutes - 1.65 MBEpisode: 1110 Origami: Where there is paper, it will be folded. Today, we fold paper.