Whether in miles or pounds, meters or kilograms, we take daily measure out our lives. But how did these units ever come to be, and why do we want to change them? From light-years to leap seconds, we look at the history of efforts to quantify our lives and why there’s always room for greater precision. Plus, we debate the virtues of staying imperial measurements vs. going metric.

Guest:

James Vincent - Author of Beyond Measure, the Hidden History of Measurement

Featuring music by Dewey Dellay and Jun Miyake

Originally aired March 24, 2023

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