The Montgolfier Brothers and Their Balloons

Melitta Bentz invented the coffee filter in 1908 and changed coffee culture forever. Through the decades and after reckoning with its relationship with the Third Reich, the company she founded in her Dresden apartment endures today. Research: “The Weimar Republic 1918-1929 - Edex ...  Show more

Part two of this 2020 episode looks at some of the specifics of the COINTELPROs that targeted black liberation organizations and the New Left, as well as how these programs were finally exposed to the public. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

At the dawn of human flight you had one option... Balloons! Balloons were all the rage in 1700s France and Aeronauts were the daredevils / entertainers at the cutting edge of this new science that made the spectacle come alive! Matt and Helen discuss this magical time with profes ...  Show more

People have been burning fires on cliffs as long as other people have used boats, but after the Age of Exploration, lighthouses took their unmistakable form and the great stories of the people who kept the lights around the world began.

Orville and Wilbur Wright are famous for their developments in aeronautics. What began in Dayton, Ohio as entertainment later became a scientific passion for the brothers. The Wright Brothers risked their lives, again and again, to make their dream of human flight a reality. Lear ...  Show more

Air conditioning has had a profound impact on modern life -- and in more ways than you might realize. In this trio of Invention episodes, Robert and Joe explore pre-AC cooling methods, the invention itself and the many ways it changed the shape (and temperature) of our lives. Lea ...  Show more