logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2023
30m 21s

How six women programmed the world’s fir...

IMMEDIATE MEDIA
About this episode
During the Second World War, six talented mathematicians were brought together to make history. These women had one mission: to program the world’s first and only supercomputer. Speaking with Rachel Dinning, Kathy Kleiman explores the vital but overlooked role the “Eniac 6” played in the history of computing during and after the Second World War. (Ad) Kath ... Show More
Up next
Yesterday
Inside Venice’s Jewish ghetto
In the early 16th century, Venice confined its Jewish population to a restricted quarter on an island in the city. It was the first settlement to bear the name 'ghetto' – a word that would go on to shape the history of Jewish persecution and segregation. Alexander Lee explores th ... Show More
46m 49s
Sep 29
WW2's bloody battle for Arakan
In 1944, the Allies unleashed an offensive in Burma – a brutal campaign spearheaded by 3 Commando Brigade alongside the Indian and West African troops of XV Corps. Against a ruthless enemy and in one of the world’s most unforgiving environments, these men launched daring amphibio ... Show More
37m 43s
Sep 28
The Bayeux Tapestry: secrets of the stitchers
Mia Hansson has spent 10 years making an exact replica of the Bayeux Tapestry. In conversation with Dave Musgrove, she explains what her modern remake experience can teach us about the women who made the original artefact in the 11th century, and the secrets she has spotted in he ... Show More
32m 15s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2024
Technology and artificial intelligence
<p>We start with the world's first general purpose electronic computer, the ENIAC, built in 1946 by a team of female mathematicians including Kathleen Kay McNulty. We speak to Gini Mauchly Calcerano, daughter of Kathleen Kay McNulty, who developed ENIAC.</p><p>Then we hear about ... Show More
50m 52s
Feb 2014
Colossus: the World's First Electronic Computer
In February 1944, the world's first electronic computer began attacking encrypted Nazi messages, from the secret British codebreaking centre at Bletchley Park. Hear from one of the engineers tasked with building and maintaining Colossus during World War Two. 
9 m
Oct 2020
Nasa's pioneering black women
Usually it is the names of astronauts that people remember about the space race. But less celebrated are the teams of people working on how to put a rocket into orbit. Only in recent years have stories come to light of the contributions of the black women involved. Many were recr ... Show More
8m 57s
Jun 2023
Female Spies of World War Two
During World War Two, dozens of British-trained women were deployed as spies and saboteurs, to infiltrate behind enemy lines in Nazi-controlled France. Ranging from housewives to countesses, they were trained as secret agents, and played critical roles to aid the war effort. But ... Show More
52m 53s
Mar 2025
Pioneering Women: Ada Lovelace & Florence Nightingale
<p>Ada Lovelace and Florence Nightingale came from different worlds but shared a determination to defy expectations and change history. Ada, the visionary mathematician, laid the groundwork for modern computing, while Florence revolutionized healthcare and nursing. In this episod ... Show More
14m 41s
Oct 2020
Nasa's pioneering black women
Usually it is the names of astronauts that people remember about the space race. But less celebrated are the teams of people working on how to put a rocket into orbit. Only in recent years have stories come to light of the contributions of the black women involved. Many were recr ... Show More
8m 57s
Feb 2023
How Women Won WWII: With a Flash and a Rumble
For 3 years, scientists in secret cities around the U.S. had been in a race against time to complete the world’s first atomic weapon. And in July of 1945, the very first plutonium bomb was ready. Constructing “The Gadget” as it was called, had taken 2 billion dollars and the coll ... Show More
29m 4s
May 2024
The Spy Who Wouldn't Lie | The Unsung Heroines Of WW2 | 5
The endeavors of the women of the Special Operatives Executive were vital to many of Britain's successes during WW2. But the secretive nature of their work meant that many of their heroic feats have been lost to time.Anita Anand discusses how exactly they waged a secret war for f ... Show More
31 m
Jun 2018
SYMHC Classics: Alan Turing, Codebreaker
<p>This is a revisit of a Sarah and Deblina episode on Alan Turing, who conceived of computers decades before anyone was building one. He also acted as a top-secret code breaker during World War II. Despite his accomplishments, he was prosecuted as a homosexual by the British gov ... Show More
20m 33s
Aug 2025
The Star Who Invented the Future
A goal of helping to fight against the Nazis during World War II leads a Hollywood star, known as the "most beautiful woman in the world," to invent the technology which changes the world. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our col ... Show More
37m 26s