history
When one electrical engineer’s dreams of working for Disney were dashed, he didn’t give up. Instead, he invented something that changed the world. Read More...
If you don’t think sewers are as impressive as iPads, think again. Author Steven Johnson explores some innovations with unintended consequences. Read More...
In the 1930’s, the president of Harvard devised a military-inspired way to bring in middle and lower-income scholarship students. However, in the past 80 years, it’s expanded way beyond the original purpose. Read More...
In order to sell this everyday item, marketers mythologized it. And consumers happily paid excessive prices. What is it? Listen to find out. Read More...
New superpower cities may be built on the foundations of the past, but they're creating an entirely new future, according to Daniel Brook, author of "A History of Future Cities." Read More...
As the Cold War raged, concerns grew over American children’s education. Then a new rhyming book flipped literacy on its head. Read More...
In order to sell this everyday item, marketers mythologized it. And consumers happily paid excessive prices. What is it? Listen to find out. Read More...
Are we sowing the seeds of our own destruction? Jared Diamond, Pulitzer-prize winning author of Guns, Germs, and Steel, talks about the trends that can doom civilizations - and the steps we can take to protect ourselves. Read more...
Forget the Hollywood survival stories — what would we really have to do to survive after a catastrophe? Read More...
Historian Simon Schama, author of The Story of the Jews, explains that being outsiders may have helped Jews become great innovators. Read More...
