The 3 Best How It Began: A History of the Modern World Podcast Episodes
1) Refrigeration: From Ice Harvests to Superconductivity
Historian Brad Harris reveals what empowered us to wield cold. While most of the achievements of technology seem based on our conquest of heat, the unsung technological hero of modernity is refri...Show More
AUDIO REMOVED: The podcast creator has removed the audio for this episode.2) Mastering Metals: From Sticks & Stones to Cars & Computers
The transition from the Stone Age to the age of metals marks the historical arrival of civilization. But, how was it that people first learned to see stone not as a tool in itself but as a reservoir o...Show More
AUDIO REMOVED: The podcast creator has removed the audio for this episode.3) Wolves to Dogs: The Origins of Our Alliance
In this episode, historian Brad Harris brings us back in time over 35,000 years ago to reveal the very beginning of dog domestication. Learn how humanity gained the upper hand in an ancient competitio...Show More
4) A Message From Brad Harris
To download your own copy of all 20 ad-free episodes of the How It Began series, head to bradharris.com.
5) Context
I’m thrilled to announce the launch of my new podcast: Context. If you’ve enjoyed engaging in history with me so far, I think you’ll continue to find value in the new show. Join me as we explore how o...Show More
6) Money: From Barter to Blockchain
Money is a form of trust. And credit, not coins, has been the heart of financial innovation. Communities that have figured this out have sustained the most progress, from the Medician money exchan...Show More
AUDIO REMOVED: The podcast creator has removed the audio for this episode.7) Measuring Time: The Hidden Mechanism of Modernity
Our submergence in the flow of time makes it difficult to comprehend how fundamental timekeeping technology has been to the evolution of civilization. But, to wind up the mechanism of modernity, our m...Show More
AUDIO REMOVED: The podcast creator has removed the audio for this episode.8) The Enlightenment: From a Medieval to a Modern Mindset
The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement centered in Europe during the 1700s that established our modern convictions concerning the virtues of representative government, religious toleration, an...Show More
AUDIO REMOVED: The podcast creator has removed the audio for this episode.9) The Printed Book: Opening the Floodgates of Knowledge
We've all heard about how the printing press revolutionized book production. But, the real revolution was in how printed books, as opposed to handwritten ones, obliterated the intellectual barriers be...Show More
AUDIO REMOVED: The podcast creator has removed the audio for this episode.10) Coffee: Sobering Up for The Enlightenment
Historian Brad Harris reveals the correlations between the spread of coffee and the rise of modern institutions. From science to security, insurance to stock exchanges, and all the way through to d...Show More
AUDIO REMOVED: The podcast creator has removed the audio for this episode.