Look Both Ways
Look Both Ways
Playlist by Look Both WaysLook Both Ways is a podcast about the unsung failures of the past and the unsolved challenges of the present. Stories are told. Experimentation is celebrated. Streets are safely crossed en route to ne…Follow the podcast:
26 clip(s) in playlist
100 Year Leaps: The Analytical Engine & Quantum Computing
Charles Babbage is famous for two things: He invented computers and he never built them. While that sounds like an inventor’s version of “I’m invisible, but only if you close your eyes,” it’s actually true. After designing the steam-powered calculating machine known as The Difference Engine, Babbag…
1:04:13
People Machines: The Simulmatics Corporation & Algorithm Accountability
Did we nearly have a 50 year head start on some of Big Tech’s stickiest ethical dilemmas? Say hello to the “What If” men of The Simulmatics Corporation. As so expertly illuminated in Jill Lepore’s book IF/THEN: How The Simulmatics Corporation Invented the Future, the company aimed for a radical ide…
1:03:13
Play: Ancient Rubber Balls & Toy Design
Charles Goodyear may have developed vulcanized rubber in 1839, but its origins are actually much older and more playful than you might imagine. After a visit to ancient Mesoamerica, Azhelle Wade joins us to talk about her career as a toy designer, patented inventor, and her latest adventures in the…
38:55
Community Memory & The Decentralized Web
The first public computerized bulletin board system predates the world wide web by nearly two decades, yet might exemplify just the type of “digital space” we still have too little of. With the help of co-creator Lee Felsenstein, we travel back to 1973 to understand why. Josh Kramer of New Public …
1:02:56
Ben Franklin Zaps a Turkey
For a special Thanksgiving bonus mini-episode, we drop by one of Benjamin Franklin's electricity-themed parties. Franklin has promised the most delicious turkey ever tasted, cooked to perfection via electrocution. What could go wrong? Plus: How not to baste your turkey, where to cook your feast o…
11:41
George Washington Carver's Kitchen Experiments & Regenerative Agriculture
Is remembering George Washington Carver as “The Peanut Man” misunderstanding his legacy? Not only did most of Carver’s famed 300 uses for the peanut never make it beyond his “kitchen experiments,” but developing them as products was never his aim in the first place. With the help of Dr. Raymon Shan…
46:04
Language: The Invented & The Endangered
Humankind has a long history of trying and failing to "fix" language. What can Benjamin Franklin, 500 year old maps of the universe, and Klingon Christmas Carols teach us about how language affects us? And for the thousands of indigenous languages at risk of extinction, how can the knowledge they h…
1:14:34
Nikola Tesla Revisited: Making Wireless Work
Safely beaming electricity through the air is officially not science fiction. Back in August, we kicked off our season with a deep dive into Nikola Tesla’s unrealized dream of wireless energy transmission. As a special follow up episode, we’re putting the spotlight on Emrod Energy, a New Zealand-ba…
20:29
The Cincinnati Time Store & Bitcoin's Energy Problem
As the debate about Bitcoin’s energy use rages on, what’s being lost in translation? Are mining companies doing enough to address the problem? Are crypto skeptics missing the broader human rights implications of decentralized money? We go in search of answers. But first, a visit to 1827 in Cincin…
53:55
The Original EPCOT & Human-Centered Cities
In the original plans for Disney World, EPCOT wasn’t a theme park at all. Join us as we explore Walt Disney’s unrealized dream of an experimental prototype community and the impact it might have had on urban design. We’re also joined by Brenna Berman, Founder and CEO of CityTech, to unpack what hum…
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