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 ... Show More
Jul 2020
Video Games | Electric Dreams | S34-E1
<p>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 univers ... Show More
38m 56s
Aug 2020
Keeping Cool | A Chilly Reception | S35-E1
<p>Muggy. Sticky. Miserable. </p><p>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 <em>supposed</em> to be uncomfortable? </p><p>This is the story of how people finally warmed ... Show More
38m 53s
Oct 2020
The Fight Against AIDS | The Epidemic Begins | S37-E1
<p>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 t ... Show More
42m 23s
May 2018
The Space Race | Playing Catch Up | 2
<p>Information sharing was normal in the global scientific community, but when it came to rockets, normal rules didn’t apply. If the details got passed along to civilian scientists, there was no telling where that intel might end up…</p><p>But for many Americans, the Eisenhower j ... Show More
37m 29s
Jan 2024
The Manhattan Project | Chain Reaction | 1
<p>In December 1938, a team of German physicists achieved an astonishing scientific breakthrough: they split the nucleus of a uranium atom. In the United States, news of the discovery sparked fear in the scientific community. Atomic fission could power a devastating new weapon, a ... Show More
40m 4s
Jun 2024
Eric Schmidt's AI Drones for Ukraine, SpaceX's Starship Milestone, Humane's Fire Alert, ALS Research Breakthrough, and D-Day Stories
In this episode of Discover Daily, we explore a range of captivating stories from the worlds of technology, science, and history. We begin with the secretive military drone startup, White Stork, founded by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. These AI-powered kamikaze drones are desig ... Show More
5m 3s
Jun 2024
Meta AI Pause, Pope's AI Warning, Sun's Magnetic Field, Alien Life Evidence, and DARPA's UAVs
In this episode, we covered a wide range of fascinating stories from the worlds of technology, science, and culture. We began with Meta's decision to pause its AI plans in Europe after facing privacy complaints and regulatory pressure. The company had intended to use public ... Show More
10m 55s