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 3328: A Horse Adventure
8/25/2025
Episode: 3328 A Brief History of Horses, and their role in Japan. Today, an adventure on horseback.
Duration:00:03:52
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1426: Skyscrapers
8/24/2025
Episode: 1426 The skyscraper: a Phoenix out of the great Chicago Fire. Today, let's talk about skyscrapers.
Duration:00:03:39
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1425: Transatlantic Cable
8/23/2025
Episode: 1425 Laying the transatlantic telegraph cable. Today, Queen Victoria sends a telegram to President Buchanan.
Duration:00:03:40
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1424: La Sylphide
8/22/2025
Episode: 1424 La Sylphide: an elemental in the Industrial Revolution. Today, a ballet gives us an odd window into history.
Duration:00:03:43
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3327: Pasteurization
8/21/2025
Episode: 3327 Different Methods of Pasteurization in Different Countries. Today, an experiment.
Duration:00:03:48
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2658: Massively Multiplayer Mathematics
8/20/2025
Episode: 2658 Massively Multiplayer Mathematics. Today, let's talk massively multiplayer mathematics.
Duration:00:03:50
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2456: Ode To Kodachrome
8/19/2025
Episode: 2456 The invention and history of Kodachrome film. Today, photographic memory.
Duration:00:03:52
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3326: Aeroplane Structures
8/18/2025
Episode: 3326 An old book on airplane structures reveals its secrets. Today, we build old aeroplanes.
Duration:00:03:50
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1423: The Day I Met Einstein
8/17/2025
Episode: 1423 An encounter with Einstein. Today, a young man lets history slip by him.
Duration:00:03:43
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1422: Alexandria
8/16/2025
Episode: 1422 Technology in Alexandria, ca. 200 BC. Today, a 2200-year-old age of invention.
Duration:00:03:40
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3325: Machines That Forgot to Fail
8/15/2025
Episode: 3325 Machines That Forgot How to Fail: An AI Guest’s Perspective on Reliability. Today, our guest, ChatGPT, talks about machines that forgot to fail.
Duration:00:03:38
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2495: Creativity Within Limits
8/14/2025
Episode: 2495 Creativity Within Limits: Rules as a Source of Creativity. Today, bounded creativity.
Duration:00:03:57
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3236: The Humble Index Card
8/13/2025
Episode: 3236 Analysis, Creativity, and the Humble Index Card. Today, the humble index card.
Duration:00:03:44
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3324: Flying Blind
8/12/2025
Episode: 3324 Jimmy Doolittle, Inventor of Instrument Flying. Today, flying blind.
Duration:00:03:37
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3323: Biting Words
8/11/2025
Episode: 3323 We learn a new way of speaking in the 1930s. Today, biting words.
Duration:00:03:53
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1421: Rocket Boys
8/10/2025
Episode: 1421 The Rocket Boys, a moving story of adolescence and engineering. Today, a book with a surprising subtext.
Duration:00:03:39
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1420: The Erie Canal
8/9/2025
Episode: 1420 The Erie Canal. Today, we ride 568 feet uphill in a barge.
Duration:00:03:33
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1419: Another Look as the Plague
8/8/2025
Episode: 1419 Another way of looking at the 14th century Plague. Today, population reduction by disaster.
Duration:00:03:44
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3322: Very Fast Trains
8/7/2025
Episode: 3322 Some Thoughts on the Future of High-Speed Rail. Today, very fast trains.
Duration:00:03:50
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2824: A Brass Catalogue
8/6/2025
Episode: 2824 An 18th-century catalogue of brass objects, an early approach to marketing, and decorative drawer handles. Today, we look at a mysterious catalogue.
Duration:00:03:48