Clever Confidential is Clever’s offshoot series, where we dig into the darker side of design - the shadowy, sometimes sordid tales hiding under a glossy topcoat of respectable legacy.

Before Silicon Valley, there was Olivetti—an Italian design powerhouse on the brink of changing the world. But just as their revolutionary computer neared completion, tragedy struck.

Visionary leader Adriano Olivetti and brilliant engineer Mario Tchou both died suddenly, their deaths cloaked in secrecy and Cold War paranoia. What really happened to them—and who stood to gain?

Host Amy Devers and writer Andrew Wagner follow the trail of innovation, betrayal, and buried history to uncover how a company destined to shape the digital age was silenced... and why its story was nearly erased.

Images of Programma 101 and more about Olivetti on cleverpodcast.com

Many thanks to this episode’s guest expert Barry Katz. 

Audio clips courtesy of Luca Cottini from his Italian Innovators youtube video - CAMILLO & ADRIANO OLIVETTI. At the Origins of the Computer Age. You can find him on Linkedin and instagram @italianinnovators

Writing and research: Amy Devers, Andrew Wagner, Ilana Nevins

Editing and Sound Design: Camille Stennis and Mark Zurawinski

Theme Music: “Astronomy” by Thin White Rope courtesy of Frontier Records

Production: Devers Endeavors

SUBSCRIBE - listen to Clever on any podcast app!

SIGN UP - for our Substack for news, bonus content, new episode alerts

VISIT - cleverpodcast.com for transcripts, images, and 200+ more episodes

SAY HI! - on Instagram & LinkedIn @cleverpodcast @amydevers

Special thanks to our sponsors!

Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.

Apply to participate in Emerging Designers Spotlight LIVE

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.