Engines of Our Ingenuity
Houston PR
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.
Location:
Houston, TX
Networks:
Houston PR
Description:
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.
Language:
English
Episodes
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3369: Tiny Living Factories
4/27/2026
Episode: 3369 Small cells and microorganism that behave like living factories. Today, tiny living factories.
Duration:00:03:35
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3368: Reality
4/25/2026
Episode: 3368 The possibility that there exists a reality out of reach of any human science. Today, we wonder what’s real.
Duration:00:03:50
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1564: The Second Law of Thermodynamics
4/25/2026
Episode: 1564 The Second Law of Thermodynamics and time's arrow. Today, we see why time goes only from then to now.
Duration:00:03:40
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1562: Guido da Viegevano
4/24/2026
Episode: 1562 Guido da Vigevano uses war as an excuse to invent. Today, a medieval inventor goes to war -- almost.
Duration:00:03:41
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1561: Herbert J. L. Hinkler
4/23/2026
Episode: 1561 'Hustling Hinkler, Up in the Sky' - an early Australian flier leaves his mark. Today, an odd hero of early aviation.
Duration:00:03:43
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2585: Measuring Race Times
4/22/2026
Episode: 2585 The technology of timing races. Today, who won that race?
Duration:00:03:48
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2942: Hilton Hotels in Space
4/21/2026
Episode: 2942 Hilton Hotels in Space. Today, we reach for the stars.
Duration:00:03:50
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2638: Artificial Gravity
4/20/2026
Episode: 2638 Artificial Gravity for Human Spaceflight; What is Gained, What is Lost. Today, astronaut Michael Barratt discusses the pros and cons of artificial gravity.
Duration:00:03:49
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1560: Narrow Perception
4/19/2026
Episode: 1560 In which we 'look' at the world through a narrow slit. Today, we look at the world through a narrow slit.
Duration:00:03:40
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1559: The Oldest Technology
4/18/2026
Episode: 1559 Music-making: the first technology. Today, we look for the oldest technology.
Duration:00:03:41
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1558: We O’ercome by Art
4/17/2026
Episode: 1558 Mastered by nature, we o'ercome by art - then as now. Today, an old debate in a new arena.
Duration:00:03:41
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1556: The Manual Arts
4/16/2026
Episode: 1556 In which we run out of manual arts teachers for our schools. Today, let's work with our hands.
Duration:00:03:43
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2583: Children and Their Goals
4/15/2026
Episode: 2583 Children and their Goals. Today, president, pope, astronaut.
Duration:00:03:49
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3253: Machine Learning
4/14/2026
Episode: 3253 Teaching Computers to Think. Today, Teaching a Computer.
Duration:00:03:48
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3166: Spoonerisms
4/13/2026
Episode: 3166 Spoonerisms and Their Unwilling Namesake. Today, spooning in speakerisms.
Duration:00:03:48
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1554: Scientific Instruments
4/12/2026
Episode: 1554 In which new science yields new instruments: 1500 to 1950. Today, a new class of machines and new viewpoint.
Duration:00:03:44
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1553: In Vacuo
4/11/2026
Episode: 1553 Galileo, Torricelli, von Guericke, and the idea of a vacuum. Today, we invent vacuum.
Duration:00:03:42
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1552: Global Warming Again
4/10/2026
Episode: 1552 The ocean - the wild card in global warming. Today, we wonder how things are really heating up.
Duration:00:03:39
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1551: Inventing the Piano
4/9/2026
Episode: 1551 In which Gary Larson tells us the piano was invented earlier than we thought. oday, a lesson in invention from the Far Side.
Duration:00:03:41
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2578: Water Towers
4/8/2026
Episode: 2578 The Wonders of Water Towers. Today, water flows downhill.
Duration:00:03:48