What technology won WWII? Most people would say the atomic bomb, but the real answer is radar.As a small island country, vulnerable to aerial attacks, England took the lead in developing radar in the 1930s. But the early radar systems were too massive to fit into planes, where they would be of most use in the fight against the Germans. At the heart of the pr ... Show More
Jul 2020
Video Games | Electric Dreams | S30-E1
Call of Duty, Fortnite, Animal Crossing.... The video game industry generates billions of dollars each year. But not so long ago, video games were mostly played by the programmers who made them. On our new season, we’re telling the story of how video games broke out of university ... Show More
38m 56s
Aug 2020
Keeping Cool | A Chilly Reception | S31-E1
Muggy. Sticky. Miserable. For eons, that’s just what summer was. In fact, when air conditioning first became available, few people took advantage of it. Wasn’t summer supposed to be uncomfortable? This is the story of how people finally warmed up to the idea of keeping cool.You c ... Show More
38m 53s
Oct 2020
The Fight Against AIDS | The Epidemic Begins | S32-E1
In the early 1980s, a mysterious new disease spread like wildfire through the gay communities of major U.S. cities. Before it even had a name, AIDS had already killed over half its victims. Public response was hampered by ignorance, fear, and homophobia. This is the story of the ... Show More
42m 23s
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