This podcast investigates the curious history of invention and innovation. Did Thomas Edison take credit for things he didn’t actually invent? What... more
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? A UFO maybe? Or is it some reflective Lichen? Where does the... more
On 17 December 1903 the Wright Brothers successful completed the first manned, controlled and sustained flight in human history.They made... more
Invented in the mid-1800s, bicycles have had enduring popularity. Across cultures, they have been embraced, promising freedom and mobility at... more
How — and why — did Prozac become the best-selling antidepressant of all time? As it is Mental Health Awareness Week,... more
How did LSD go from accidental discovery to the counter cultures go to drug?On April 19th 1943 Albert Hoffman had... more
Staples, paper clips, and washers - small inventions that improve our everyday lives and have even saved lives. In this... more
Many of us became familiar with robots through science fiction — R2D2, C3PO, Rosie from the Jetsons, Marvin the Paranoid... more
We put man on the moon before we invented the wheeled suitcase. Why did it take so long? Find out in todays... more
Tanks defined 20th century conflict — they conjure to mind images of Tiananmen Square or the Soviet Army rolling into... more
Nada, naught, nil, zip, zilch, zero. Whatever you call it, it's hard to imagine the world without it. Zero is... more
In 1890, the man who shot the first ever motion picture boarded a train in Paris — and was never... more
Before they found their way into gyms, treadmills had a much darker history. In the 19th Century, they could most... more
Ear Trumpets are seen as old fashioned and clumsy, mostly deployed in pop culture for comic effect as a snarky... more
In medieval times it was monks who were the masters of invention. They were the most educated members of society... more
Creating a successful spacesuit was one of the biggest challenges in man's quest to land on the moon. And, it... more
Kellogg's Cornflakes are arguably the most iconic breakfast cereal, and for good reason. It was this product that launched breakfast... more
In a world at war, and with no end in sight, the atomic bomb was positioned to be the one... more
As today’s guest puts it, there have been condoms for as long as there have been penises. But, how did... more
Drone technology has transformed the way we wage war today. They have been key in every major conflict since at... more
The revolution in speed ground to a halt in the 1960s. The previous half-century saw great leaps in how quickly... more
As today’s guest puts it, there have been condoms for as long as there have been penises. But, how did condoms as... more