Clarence Birdseye and the Rise of Frozen Food...

This 2019 episode covers the Regulator War, aka the War of the Regulation, aka the Regulator Movement. It was a North Carolina event which arose in response to unfair taxes, poor representation and corruption.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

Tracy shares why Bhagat Singh Thind rocketed to the top of her topics list. Holly shares a story of bad cat behavior.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

Are we entering an era when robots will finally liberate people, and particularly women, from the drudgery of housework? There is certainly a buzz around domestic robots right now and every month seems to bring us a new autonomous machine that can fold your clothes or stack your ...  Show more

We start with the world's first general purpose electronic computer, the ENIAC, built in 1946 by a team of female mathematicians including Kathleen Kay McNulty. We speak to Gini Mauchly Calcerano, daughter of Kathleen Kay McNulty, who developed ENIAC.

Then we hear about ...

The 1980s promised robotic servants were in reach. They’d clean up our houses. Bring us drinks. Usher in an era of leisure. We didn’t get robot butlers. But if we look around, we’ll find an army of robotic servants already automating away domestic drudgery.  Richard Rowland recou ...  Show more

When did automatons first emerge? Which science-fiction depiction of robots is the most accurate? And why did so many people fall for a hoax machine called the "Mechanical Turk"? In conversation with Spencer Mizen, author and academic Kerry McInerney answers some of the most pres ...  Show more