Thomas Edison electrocuted an elephant to win a business argument. That single sentence sounds like a lie — but it's one of the most documented events in the history of American invention. This is the story of two geniuses, one impossible rivalry, and a war fought not with weapons but with electricity. The wrong side almost won.

In this episode:

• How Nikola Tesla arrived in New York with four cents and an idea that would power the entire modern world
• Edison's horrifying public campaign to discredit alternating current — including paying children to collect stray animals for electrocution
• The night at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair when 200,000 lightbulbs proved Edison wrong in front of 27 million visitors
• Why Tesla died broke in a hotel room while the man who tried to destroy him died a millionaire

Words to know:

Ruthless (adjective) — willing to do anything to achieve your goal, without caring who gets hurt. "The CEO was ruthless in cutting costs — she fired two hundred people in a single afternoon."

Discredit (verb) — to damage someone's reputation or make people stop trusting something. "The politician tried to discredit the journalist by calling her a liar."

Go deeper: Search: "War of Currents Edison Tesla" · "Topsy elephant electrocution 1903" · "Tesla Niagara Falls power plant"

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