The Secret History of the Future

From Slate and the Economist.

About the Show

Journey into the past and you’ll discover the secret history of the future. From the world’s first cyberattack in 1834, to 19th-century virtual reality, the Economist’s Tom Standage and Slate’s Seth Stevenson examine the historical precedents that can transform our understanding of modern technology, predicting how it might evolve and highlighting pitfalls to avoid. Discovering how people reacted to past innovations can also teach us about ourselves.

Hosts

New Media, Old Story

What can new forms of media (like podcasting!) learn from the evolution of radio in the early 20th century?

A Brief History of Timekeeping

The history of timekeeping is a history of control—a duty to be “on time.” Could a new kind of clock change our relationship with timekeeping, forcing us to think not of hours and obligations but of eons and possibilities?

Salvation in the Air

Could we pull the solution to climate change out of thin air? An oft-forgotten but hugely important scientific technique from the early 20th century suggests the idea isn’t crazy.

Bug in the System

What can a mistake in a computer program from 1843 tell us about modern-day biases in software algorithms?

Dots, Dashes, and Dating Apps

What can modern online daters learn from 19th-century telegraph romances?

Mars on Earth

What can Victorian-era polar exploration teach us about space travel?

Meat and Potatoes

What can the potato—the superfood of the past—teach us about new efforts to create the superfoods of tomorrow?