American Innovations Wondery

Nolan Bushnell's Computer Space was the world's first commercial video game, but it failed to win over the masses. Now Bushnell’s plotting his comeback … and his comeback has a name: Atari.

Call of Duty, Fortnite, Animal Crossing.... The video game industry generates billions of dollars each year. But not so long ago, video games were mostly played by the programmers who made them. On our new season, we’re telling the story of how video games broke out of university computer labs and found their way straight to the heart of popular culture.

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Back-to-school season is here, but students across the country aren’t going anywhere. Anya Kamenetz, NPR’s education correspondent, returns to the show to shed light on the greatest educational crisis of our time. How can we safely reopen schools? And what can we learn from countries that have tried – and failed?

Listen to Anya’s stories for NPR at https://www.npr.org/people/302894536/anya-kamenetz.

Since World War II, scientists have continued to use radar to explore what we can’t see or hear ourselves. And their uses have become increasingly creative. On this episode, we’re talking to three people involved in some of the most fascinating applications of radar today.

First up, Steven talks to Sara Kiley Watson about ground-penetrating radar, which provides archaeologists with breathtakingly clear pictures of underground cities. Next, Dr. Jyotika Virmani tells Steven about what oceanographers are learning as radar helps them plumb the mysteries of the ocean floor. And finally, engineering professor Youngwook Kim shares a surprising new way radar can aid in search and rescue missions. Read Sara Kiley Watson’s article in Popular Science, “Scientists explored a buried Roman city without digging up an ounce of soil”: https://www.popsci.com/story/science/falerii-novi/
View radar images of Falerii Novi, a buried Roman city: https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/sacred-topography-0013831
Lean more about the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s efforts to map the ocean floor: https://schmidtocean.org/cruise-log-post/mapping-earths-ocean-seafloor/


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As German bombers raze England’s cities, American scientists race to build the world’s first air-to-air radar system. But building the system is only half the challenge. If the scientists succeed, they’ll also have to fit the world’s most cutting-edge technology inside the nose of a B-18 – a space that’s smaller than a shoe box.

Blood Ties Season 2 is out now!

Blood Ties is a scripted audio drama starring Gillian Jacobs, Josh Gad, Dominic Monaghan, Amy Landecker, and Wayne Knight.  

After the sudden death of Michael and Eleonore Richland’s billionaire father, disturbing allegations emerge about his dark past. These revelations thrust them into a fight they’re completely unprepared for. As the stakes of telling the truth continue to rise, they grapple with their father’s legacy and what to do with it. 

Listen today at wondery.fm/bloodties_ai.