Hollywood Bombshell & the Mother of Wifi - Rediscovering Hedy Lamarr

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Rhodes joins us to talk about the remarkable story of science history: how a ravishing film star and an avant-garde composer invented spread-spectrum radio, the technology that made wireless phones, GPS systems, and many other devices possible. Beginning at a Hollywood dinner table, Hedy's Folly tells a wild story of innovation that culminates in U.S. patent number 2,292,387 for a "secret communication system." Along the way Rhodes weaves together Hollywood’s golden era, the history of Vienna, 1920s Paris, weapons design, music, a tutorial on patent law and a brief treatise on transmission technology. Narrated with the rigor and charisma we've come to expect of Rhodes, it is a remarkable narrative adventure about spread-spectrum radio's genesis and unlikely amateur inventors collaborating to change the world.Order "Hedy's Folly" on Amazon! Please Subscribe and Share This Show! Show your support for Truth Be Told by shopping our website for official merchandise! www.truthbetoldworldwide.com