American Innovations

By Wondery

History Kids & Family

What's American Innovations about?

DNA science. Artificial intelligence. Smartphones and 3D printers. Science and technology have transformed the world we live in. But how did we get here? It wasn’t by accident. Well, sometimes it was. It was also the result of hard work, teamwork, and competition. And incredibly surprising moments. Hosted by bestselling author Steven Johnson (“How We Got To Now”), American Innovations uses immersive scenes to tell the stories of the scientists, engineers, and ordinary people behind the greatest discoveries of the past century. All episodes are available now. You can binge the series - including exclusive seasons - ad-free on Wondery+ or on Amazon Music with a Prime membership or Amazon Music Unlimited subscription.

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Introducing: Reign of Error

05.15.2023

James Dolan was born into immense privilege. He could have done anything with his life. But he chose the family business — a cable television empire that came to include ownership of the New York Knicks, one of the most ...

American Innovations episodes:

05.15.2023 Introducing: Reign of Error James Dolan was born into immense privilege. He could have done anything with his life. But he chose the family business — a cable television empire that came to include ownership of the New York Knicks, one of the most ...
05.01.2023 Wondery Presents - Flipping The Bird: Elon vs Twitter When Elon Musk posted a video of himself arriving at Twitter HQ carrying a white sink along with the message “let that sink in!” It marked the end of a dramatic takeover. Musk had gone from Twitter critic to “Chief ...
03.24.2023 Wondery Presents Against the Odds: Alaska Bear Attack What would you do if you were attacked by a bear? The odds of survival are almost zero. For an unfortunate few, this became their reality – but they weren’t ready to give up. AGAINST THE ODDS is a podcast ...
11.14.2022 Wondery Presents: This Job is History Where the oddest jobs from the past meet a comedian from the present… and it’s awkward! On this weekly show, Chris Parnell (SNL, Rick and Morty) welcomes guests who have held some of human history’s most unexpected and downright bizarre ...
09.12.2022 Introducing: How I Built This with Guy Raz When Guy Raz interviews business leaders from the world’s biggest companies on How I Built This, he’s looking for more than anecdotes of success. Guy has spoken with the founders of some of the world’s best-known companies about their journey ...
12.30.2021 Tech’s Next Big Waves \| 3 For our last episode before American Innovations goes on hiatus, we look to the future of new technology from artificial intelligence and virtual reality to carbon capture and the electrification of mobility. Steven talks about these innovations and more with ...
12.23.2021 The Mystery of Stuxnet \| All The President’s Malware \| 2 Experts at Symantec have finally discovered that the virus Stuxnet is designed to target nuclear facilities in Iran. But many questions remain. Who is responsible for the virus? How did it get out? As veteran New York Times reporter David ...
12.16.2021 The Mystery of Stuxnet \| Cracking the Code \| 1 In the summer of 2010, a mysterious computer virus called Stuxnet lands on the desk of Symantec cybersecurity analyst Liam O’Murchu. Stuxnet is unlike anything O’Murchu has ever seen: a highly sophisticated piece of malware that serves no obvious purpose. ...
12.09.2021 Encore: The Modern Ambulance \| 1 Today when you dial 9-1-1, a squad of trained medical professionals arrives, often within minutes. But just 55 years ago, emergency calls were generally dispatched to funeral homes, simply because their vehicles were suited to transporting bodies. You’d be lucky ...
12.02.2021 Man with No Memory \| The Observer \| 4 In losing his ability to form memories, Henry Molaison also lost the ability to learn new skills, retain information and form relationships. He became a kind of time traveler, living forever in the present moment. In this episode, Steven talks ...
11.25.2021 Man with No Memory \| Henry's Final Flight \| 3 Henry Molaison has now lived over half his life unable to form new memories. And with the passing of his parents -- the one constant in his life -- he descends into despair. With no one else to turn to, ...
11.18.2021 Man with No Memory \| The Permanent Now \| 2 Without a functioning memory, Henry Molaison struggles to cope with everyday life. He loses his job, and becomes totally dependent on his overwhelmed parents. Meanwhile, neuroscientist Brenda Milner realizes that Henry’s tragic case can solve some profound mysteries about how ...
11.11.2021 Man with No Memory \| The Accident \| 1 Even as recently as the early 1950s, we didn’t understand that there were different types of memory, or how the brain processed and stored memories. Then, in 1953, a radical surgery by a reckless doctor gave us tremendous insights into ...
11.04.2021 Predator Drone \| In The Pilot’s Seat \| 4 The Predator drone made a dramatic transformation from unarmed reconnaissance vehicle to lethal weapon in 2001, just after 9/11. On this episode, Steven talks to retired Air Force officer and pilot Scott Swanson, who was part of the team tasked ...
10.28.2021 Predator Drone \| Lethal Weapon \| 3 In post 9/11 Afghanistan, the Predator drone proves wildly successful for the military, helping kill a key Al Qaeda leader, and aiding in the rescue of Army Rangers trapped on a mountainside. It's the start of a new era in ...
10.21.2021 Predator Drone \| Hellfire \| 2 The Predator proves its value as a “spy in the sky” for the U.S. military in Bosnia in the mid-90s. But it's not until the Predator is handed over to the Air Force that it reaches its full potential. Aided ...
10.14.2021 Predator Drone \| From Albatross to Amber \| 1 What if you could design a spy plane that could be flown remotely and hover in the sky for hours, providing reconnaissance for troops on the ground? In the early 1980s, the visionary inventor Abe Karem begins building drones out ...
09.30.2021 Encore: Organ Transplant \| A Short History of Living Longer \| 4 In the past 100 years, we’ve doubled life expectancy. It might be the single greatest achievement of the modern era. So why haven’t we done more to celebrate it? On this episode, Rufus Griscom, host of Wondery’s “The Next Big ...
09.23.2021 Encore: Organ Transplant \| The Heart Race \| 3 In 1967, an unlikely surgeon performs the first human heart transplant – and shocks the world. As others race to replicate his achievement, one surgical team makes a mistake that could spell the end of organ transplants in the United ...
09.16.2021 Encore: Organ Transplant \| A Matter of Life and Death \| 2 By the early 1960s, surgeons have proven that it's possible to transplant kidneys and lungs. Now, with heart disease still the leading cause of death, they've set their sights on performing the first human heart transplant. But first, they've got ...
09.09.2021 Encore: Organ Transplant \| The Kidney Twins \| 1 A century ago, organ transplants were the stuff of science fiction. But a handful of experimental surgeons believed that transplants were not just possible – they had the potential to save thousands of lives. Then, in 1954, a man agreed ...
09.02.2021 Social Media \| Interview: #DearInternet \| 4 Facebook, Friendster and MySpace weren’t the only companies that pioneered social media. In 2006, a new company turned the act of “tweeting” into an opportunity for wide-ranging commentary, and made your number of “followers” a status symbol. On this episode, ...
08.26.2021 Social Media \| Move Fast and Break Things \| 3 By 2007, Facebook finds itself at a crossroads. Its sole focus has been growing its users and traffic. Now, it needs to turn a profit. Luckily for Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook possesses an invaluable asset: deep knowledge of the personal data ...
08.19.2021 Social Media \| It's Complicated \| 2 It’s the mid 2000s, and social media is mainstream. MySpace has eclipsed Friendster and been acquired by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. Meanwhile, another company is quietly reinventing social media yet again, founded by a college sophomore with a rare combination ...
08.12.2021 Social Media \| Find Your Friends \| 1 Today social media is such a dominant part of our daily lives, it's hard to believe that only 20 years ago, it didn’t exist. Then a newly single tech entrepreneur named Jonathan Abrams wondered: What if you could use the ...
08.05.2021 Fracking \| Interview: The Price of Gas \| 4 Families who leased their gas-rich land to fracking companies during the boom are still wrestling with the impact of that decision. On this episode, Steven talks to Eliza Griswold, an award-winning poet, writer and journalist. Her book, “Amity and Prosperity: ...
07.29.2021 Fracking \| Something in the Water \| 3 As stories of water contamination and health issues become public, one of the largest grassroots environmental movements in decades emerges to protest fracking. The fracking industry, led by Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon, fights back with lobbyists, PR flacks, and ...
07.22.2021 Fracking \| Land Grab \| 2 By the early 2000s, fracking was seen as the most promising new energy industry technology in decades. And when a Penn State geologist discovered that the shale field sitting under Pennsylvania and Upstate New York held over 50 trillion cubic ...
07.15.2021 Fracking \| The Source Rock \| 1 In the late 1970s, oil and natural gas fields across the U.S. were drying up, making the country increasingly dependent on foreign oil. Then, a Texas energy magnate named George Mitchell decided to try extracting natural gas from shale, a ...
07.08.2021 Encore: Heimlich Maneuver \| Heimlich’s Maneuver \| 1 In the 1960s, choking was a national epidemic. In the United States alone, close to 4,000 people were dying from choking every year. Lobster, ham, and hamburger were common culprits. But steak was by far the greatest offender. Coroners called ...
07.01.2021 Cryonics \| Suspended Animation \| 3 Robert Ettinger was a science teacher and writer who launched the field of cryonics and became its most most fervent ambassador, even choosing to be cryogenically frozen himself. On this episode, Steven talks to filmmakers Josh Koury and Myles Kane. ...
06.24.2021 Cryonics \| Frozen Heroes \| 2 Bob Nelson is hoping cryonics will become the business boon he's been expecting. Operating on a shoestring budget and employing the most primitive methods of freezing and storing bodies, Nelson struggles to stay in business. He continues to believe he’s ...
06.17.2021 Cryonics \| Immortality On Ice \| 1 Not everyone chooses burial or cremation after death. Some believe in cryonics, freezing their bodies in the hopes of being reanimated sometime in the future. Bob Nelson, a TV repairman with no scientific background, made history when he froze the ...
06.10.2021 Storm Chasers \| Reaping the Whirlwind \| 3 Storm chasing is part scientific inquiry, part amateur thrill seeking — and sometimes, a bit of both. On this episode, Steven talks to journalist Brantley Hargrove, author of The Man Who Caught the Storm, about legendary storm chaser Tim Samaras, ...
06.03.2021 Storm Chasers \| Blown Away \| 2 Thanks to the movie “Twister” and the popularity of David Hoadley’s “Storm Track” newsletter, by the late 1990s, storm chasing has gone mainstream. But with more and more chasers on the road, it’s only a matter of time before some ...
05.27.2021 Storm Chasers \| Tornado Alley \| 1 No extreme weather phenomenon fascinates us more than tornadoes. For most of human history, very little was known about how these graceful yet violent columns of swirling air formed or behaved. Then, in the 1950s, a teenager from North Dakota ...
05.20.2021 Hacking \| Heroes and Villains of the Digital Age \| 4 Hackers helped shape the digital world we live in today. But more than ever, that world is under attack by a new generation of cyber-criminals. On this episode, Steven talks to Wired editor-at-large Steven Levy, author of the seminal book ...
05.13.2021 Hacking \| White Hat vs. Black Hat \| 3 For two years, super-hacker Kevin Mitnick eludes the FBI by living under a series of false identities. But in a fit of hubris, he hacks Tsutomu Shimomura, one of the country’s leading computer security experts. It’s hacker vs. hacker as ...
05.06.2021 Hacking \| The John Dillinger of Cyberspace \| 2 In the 1980s, computers, now more powerful and more affordable, become a bigger part of people’s work and life. And that makes hackers a greater threat. America’s laws are slow to keep up with this new form of break-in. Then, ...
04.29.2021 Hacking \| What’s in the Blue Box? \| 1 Hackers: the criminals who prey on our digital lives. Today they steal credit cards and personal information, or even commit acts of cyber-terrorism. But in the early days, hackers were largely seen as harmless pranksters. And it wasn’t computers they ...
04.22.2021 Breaking The Sound Barrier \| Who Got to Mach 1 First? \| 3 In 1947, Chuck Yeager made history when he flew faster than the speed of sound. But was he really the first to do it? On this episode, Steven talks to aviation historian and retired fighter pilot Dan Hampton, whose book ...
04.15.2021 Breaking The Sound Barrier \| Sonic Boom or Bust \| 2 With each test run, pilot Chuck Yeager is getting closer to taking the top secret Bell X-1 plane past the speed of sound. But just before a critical flight, an accident on the ground jeopardizes his chances of success. Listen ...
04.08.2021 Breaking The Sound Barrier \| A Bullet With Wings \| 1 In the 1940s, as planes got faster, it seemed like they were hitting a wall -- literally. Many pilots tried to travel faster than the speed of sound, often with fatal results. Could American test pilot Chuck Yeager succeed where ...
04.01.2021 Encore: Electric Chair \| A Matter of Light and Death \| 3 In the summer of 1888, just as the electric chair controversy was unfolding, Nikola Tesla moved to Pittsburgh to work for George Westinghouse, fulfilling a year-long commitment he made when Westinghouse purchased Tesla’s AC motor patents. The deal would make ...
03.25.2021 Encore: Electric Chair \| The War Becomes Electric \| 2 After his unceremonious departure from Edison Electric, Nikola Tesla found himself broke and dejected, but more determined than ever to share his alternating current system with the world. And thanks to the help of one man who really believed in ...
03.18.2021 Encore: Electric Chair \| Power to the People \| 1 On August 6, 1890, a prisoner named William Kemmler became the first man executed in the electric chair. It was designed to be a more humane form of execution, but the gruesome scene in the death chamber that day revealed ...
03.11.2021 Lie Detector \| The Future of Lying \| 3 What new technologies might eventually replace the still-popular but widely debunked polygraph? On this episode, Steven talks with Ken Alder, author of the book “The Lie Detectors: The History of an American Obsession,” about the lie detector’s enduring appeal and ...
03.04.2021 Lie Detector \| Larson's Monster \| 2 In 1922, a murder case in Washington, DC presents the first opportunity for lie detector results to be used in a criminal trial. But even as lie detectors become more commonly used, one of the device’s inventors begins to have ...
02.26.2021 Sponsored: The Way Things Should Be \| Carmax \| 6 The weed whacker. The microwave. Instant noodles. Three simple yet ingenious inventions that challenged the status quo and made our lives easier. On this special episode, we tell the stories of three inventors who, through their visionary products, showed us ...
02.25.2021 Lie Detector \| The Heart of a Liar \| 1 Humans are shockingly bad at telling whether or not someone is lying. That’s why, a century ago, psychologists and criminologists developed machines to detect lies for us, by measuring blood pressure, pulse, and breathing rate. Their lie detectors promised to ...

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