Engines of Our Ingenuity

Engines of Our Ingenuity

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.

Episodes

July 20, 2025 3 mins
Episode: 1409 The Douglas DC-3: an airplane for all seasons.  Today, we ride the first modern passenger airplane.
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Episode: 1408 Fast game, slow game, and Stone Age population dynamics.  Today, a Paleolithic story of the tortoise and the hare.
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Episode: 1407 A matter of size: scaling laws among living species.  Today, a matter of size.
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Episode: 2491 Mitch Miller and the Gang: A Look at American Pop Culture in the Late 1950s.  Today, we follow the bouncing ball.
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Episode: 2809 Laurence Housman designs an edition of Christina Rossetti's poem Goblin Market.  Today, Goblins, sisterly love, and a masterpiece of book design.
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Episode: 2613 Can we hear shapes?  Today let's ask: Can we hear shapes?
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Episode: 3320 Brown.  Today, Let’s talk about the color brown.
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Episode: 1406 The end of the medieval age of reason.  Today, a brief bright era in medieval Europe.
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Episode: 1405 Marc Isambard Brunel and his son, Isambard Kingdom Brunel.  Today, two larger-than-life engineers.
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Episode: 1404 Prerequisites seen as a reflection of the structure of science.  Today, let's talk about the prerequisite course.
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Episode: 2485 Jean Le Rond d'Alembert: Controversial Mathematician of the Enlightenment.  Today, the controversies of an enlightened mathematician.
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Episode: 2725 The Atocha Bombing Memorial: Remembering the dead — creating hope.  Today, mourning and monuments.
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Episode: 3319 Perhaps WWII really began when Mussolini invaded Ethiopia in 1935.  Today, when did World-War-Two begin?
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Episode: 3318 Vera C. Rubin: The astronomer who brought dark matter to light.  Today, meet Vera Rubin.
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Episode: 1402 Ben Franklin and Le Ray de Chaumont's house in Paris.  Today, Ben Franklin, revolution, and a house in Paris.
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Episode: 1401 Theodore Roosevelt and Frederic Remington defining the West.  Today, Roosevelt and Remington go West.
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Episode: 1400 Trying to catch the flavor of the past.  Today, a look back.
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Episode: 2483 Public Transportation and Technology: The Harris County Metropolitan Transit Authority.  Today, we leave the car at home.
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Episode: 3235 Gender, labor history, and the devaluation of film editing.  Today, the mother of all film editors.
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Episode: 3317 Specialized Railcars for Heavy Cargo. Today, how railroads move the unmovable.
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