One Year, Two Hoaxes

Henriette D'angeville was the first woman to climb Mount Blanc in the Alps, despite everyone advising her not to try it. Decades later, Julia Archibald Holmes (a friend of John Brown's) became the first woman to summit Pike's Peak, a feat that Pike himself never did. 

Philo Farnsworth loved electricity so much he came up with a way to invent television - as a 14 year old! Centuries beforehand Stephen Gray, a British scientist, learned more about electricity than anyone before him - and he used children to show how it worked! 

This episode will make you hungry! Rufus Estes and Chin Foin both left a big mark on food, both lived in Chicago at the same time, and both had their food featured in important cookbooks in 1911. 

Meet Nikola Tesla, an engineer WHO was instrumental in inventing some of the world's most prominent technologies, such as air conditioning and the modern-day lightbulb! Join Rebecca Sheir as we meet this innovator and discover how his WOWs have changed the world! Head to whowhenw ... Show More

What does it take to become an inventor? To find out, we spoke with an inventor named Josh Miele about one of his greatest inventions: tactile maps! Tactile maps use braille technology to help blind people explore their neighborhoods with their fingers first. But how does Josh cr ... Show More

It is literally all around you (and even inside you) - electricity makes up the basis of modern life. But what exactly is electricity and how does it work? In this classic episode, Josh and Chuck chase away the darkness and explain electricity in their usual electrifying way.See ... Show More

Brains On is a non-profit public radio program. There are lots of ways to support the show:Support the podcast with donation | Subscribe to Smarty Pass for ad-free episodes and bonus content | Buy our book and merch | Come to our live showsSolar panels capture energy from the sun ... Show More

In 1890, the Governor of New York called for a new method of capital punishment. A more modern, efficient, scientific method was being sought. There was still a buzz around the recently harnessed power of electricity, which, when delivered. at high voltage to a prisoner strapped ... Show More

A long time ago, people had to copy books by hand, which took a very long time. Then, Johannes Gutenberg invented a special machine called the printing press. It helped make books much faster and cheaper, so more people could read and learn new things. His invention changed the w ... Show More

February 24, 1893. Most homes don't have electricity. And yet, one of the technology's pioneers, Nikola Tesla, is about to give the world a glimpse into a fully electrified future.He takes the stage at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, and begins a demonstration. He shoots ... Show More

Daniel and Katie explain how electric current, lightning and static electricity emerge from the strange quantum nature of electrical charge.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.