The Secret History of the Future

By: The Economist
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  • Summary

  • Examine the history of tech to uncover stories that help us illuminate the present and predict the future. From the world's first cyber attack in 1834, to 19th century virtual reality, The Economist's Tom Standage and Slate's Seth Stevenson find the ancient ingenuity that our modern digital technology can learn from, and expose age-old weaknesses we are already on a course to repeat. Only by discovering what time has to offer can we really learn about ourselves, and can we reveal the secret history of the future.
    The Economist
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Social Sciences
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Episodes
  • The Secret History of the Future: New Media, Old Story

    The Secret History of the Future: New Media, Old Story
    Sep 4 2019
    Radio was originally a social medium, as early radio sets (each of which could transmit as well as receive) turned cities into giant chatrooms, populated by Morse Code-tapping enthusiasts. But the excitement of this democratic, digital platform did not last, and radio was tamed by corporate interests in the 1920s. The utopian dream of platforms that are open and meritocratic has been reborn in the internet era in the form of blogging, and more recently podcasting. But can it ever come true?
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    38 mins
  • The Secret History of the Future: A Brief History of Timekeeping

    The Secret History of the Future: A Brief History of Timekeeping
    Aug 28 2019
    The first mechanical clocks were made to summon monks to prayer. Ever since, timekeeping technology has often been about control and obligation. But underneath a mountain in Texas, a new kind of clock is being built that’s meant to alter the way we think about time. Can it force us to connect our distant past with our distant future, tick by tick?
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    33 mins
  • The Secret History of the Future: Salvation in the Air

    The Secret History of the Future: Salvation in the Air
    Aug 21 2019
    At the dawn of the 20th century, chemists dreamed of extracting nitrogen from the air and turning it into a limitless supply of fertiliser. Sceptics thought they were crazy—it was possible in theory, but it was unclear if it could be done in practice. What happened next changed the course of 20th-century history, and provides inspiration to innovators pursuing a different dream today: sucking carbon dioxide out of the air to avert climate change. Might they not be quite so crazy after all?
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    34 mins

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