Engines of Our Ingenuity
Houston PR
The story of technological progress is one of drama and intrigue, sudden insight and plain hard work. Let’s explore technology’s spectacular failures and many magnificent success stories.
This content is in service of Houston Public Media’s education mission and is sponsored by the University of Houston. It is not a product of our news team.
Location:
Houston, TX
Networks:
Houston PR
Description:
The story of technological progress is one of drama and intrigue, sudden insight and plain hard work. Let’s explore technology’s spectacular failures and many magnificent success stories. This content is in service of Houston Public Media’s education mission and is sponsored by the University of Houston. It is not a product of our news team.
Language:
English
Episodes
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1983: Inventing the Newspaper
11/20/2024
Episode: 1983 Inventing the newspaper in seventeenth-century England. Today, our guest, historian Cathy Patterson reports on the invention of the newspaper.
Duration:00:03:49
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2502: Computer Proofs
11/19/2024
Episode: 2502 Computer assisted proofs: How machines extend our mind's reach. Today, let's ask how computers help us see mathematical truths.
Duration:00:03:49
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1282: Window Glass
11/18/2024
Episode: 1282 The development of the seemingly uncomplicated window pane. Today, we learn to make window panes.
Duration:00:03:41
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1281: A Window on the Huguenots
11/17/2024
Episode: 1281 An old religious tract provides a window upon the Huguenots. Today, an old book and a new look at creativity and dissent.
Duration:00:03:40
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1280: Visual Display of Information
11/16/2024
Episode: 1280 On making data tell their story. Today, let's figure out how to plot a graph.
Duration:00:03:40
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1279: Kater’s Applied Mechanics
11/15/2024
Episode: 1279 Two Newtons, an old mechanics text, and the fight against slavery. Today, a moving bit of marginalia.
Duration:00:03:39
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2384: Sway
11/14/2024
Episode: 2384 Swaying wooden roller coasters. Today, we sway.
Duration:00:03:50
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2487: Von Neuman, Computers, and Brains
11/13/2024
Episode: 2487 John von Neumann's ideas on the similarities and differences of computers and brains. Today, UH math professor Krešo Josić talks about brains, computers and John von Neumann.
Duration:00:03:54
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2143: Emma Lazarus
11/12/2024
Episode: 2143 In which Emma Lazarus reinvents the Statue of Liberty. Today, UH scholar Dorothy Baker tells us about Emma Lazarus.
Duration:00:03:54
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1278: Quonset Huts
11/11/2024
Episode: 1278 The Quonset hut: a design with remarkable staying power. Today, we build an instant house.
Duration:00:03:43
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1277: Railroads in Winter
11/10/2024
Episode: 1277 Railroads in winter: finding our way through the snow. Today, rails and snow.
Duration:00:03:43
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1276: A Feast of Lights
11/9/2024
Episode: 1276 In which the art leads the mind how to cast light on nature. Today, light calls up the creative muse.
Duration:00:03:37
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1275: An Old Company Town
11/8/2024
Episode: 1275 Merthyr Tydfil, a window into the squalid conditions after the Industrial Revolution. Today, let's visit Merthyr Tydfil.
Duration:00:03:40
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2361: Cellulosic Ethanol
11/7/2024
Episode: 2361 Making ethanol from cellulose. Today, we make moonshine.
Duration:00:03:50
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2279: Babies in Sideshows
11/6/2024
Episode: 2279 In which medical people learn how to save babies on the boardwalk. Today, our guest, medical historian Julie Anderson takes us to see premature babies at carnival sideshows.
Duration:00:03:50
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2356: College Yiddish vs Living Hebrew
11/5/2024
Episode: 2356 Hebrew and Yiddish struggle for ascendancy after WW-II. Today, scholar Richard Armstrong considers the world of language textbooks
Duration:00:03:51
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1274: The Maxim Gorky
11/4/2024
Episode: 1274 The Maxim Gorky, largest airplane of its time. Today, Stalin builds a big airplane.
Duration:00:03:37
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1273: Science and Technology in 1852
11/3/2024
Episode: 1273 Some surprises in the 1852 Annual of Scientific Discovery. Today, an old book takes stock of science and art in 1852.
Duration:00:03:39
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1271: The Longest Race
11/2/2024
Episode: 1271 In which automobiles race around the world in 1906. Today, an incredible, and nearly-forgotten, race!
Duration:00:03:40
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1270: Wallace’s Line
11/1/2024
Episode: 1270 Wallace's line and the evolution of modern humans. Today, we cross Wallace's line.
Duration:00:03:35