Yesterday's Tomorrow

Yesterday's Tomorrow

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Yesterday's Tomorrow episodes

  • Tech Nation - Electric Cars and Virtual Reality
    06/22/1994 - Electric Cars and Virtual Reality
    Dr. Moira Gunn talks with Dr. Sheldon Kamieniecki, Director of
    Environmental Studies at the University of southern California. They
    discuss the effects of the Clean Air Act on California's environment,
    and look closely at the state of technology for electric vehicles --
    who is working on them, what the cost will be, and how the consumer
    will be affected. They also discuss how international environmental
    policies may be needed to clean up environmentally degraded areas.
    Dr. Gunn also speaks with Elizabeth MacGrath and Nick Bissony, who are
    using the new Virtual World virtual reality entertainment centers to
    build team spirit among the employees of a company. They discuss their
    experience with the pilot project at AT&T, as well as how the
    technology helps teams analyze their performance and make
    improvements.
    1 hr 1 min
  • Tech Nation - What Happens Next?
    06/15/1994 - What Happens Next?
    Dr. Moira Gunn speaks with Paul Saffo, research fellow at the
    Institute for the Future. They look at whether or not Silicon Valley
    eats its young, and discuss the true time it takes for technologies to
    catch on. Of major interest is the upcoming information glut, the
    power of the individual, and the most significant changes we can
    expect in the next five to 10 years.
    Dr. Gunn also speaks with Mary Cronin, university librarian at Boston
    College. Her new book, "Doing Business on the Internet," examines how
    businesses have begun to use the Internet for commercial
    communications. This international network, which was developed for
    government and research purposes, is now serving the international
    business community, and companies of all kinds -- from single-person
    entrepreneurs to giant corporations -- will benefit from using it.
    1 hr 1 min
  • Tech Nation - TechNation Live! From the PRC
    06/10/1994 - TechNation Live! From the PRC
    This program was taped live at the 1994 Public Radio Conference in San
    Antonio, Texas, and features Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin, General
    Chuck Horner, commander of the U.S. Space Command, Skip Johns,
    associate director for technology of the Executive Office of the
    President Office of Science and Technology Policy, Dr. Carolyn
    Huntoon, director of the NASA/Johnson Space Center, and Dick MacLeod,
    president and executive director of the U.S. Space Foundation.
    This program of TechNation focuses on the 25th anniversary of the
    Apollo moon landing. Dr. Moira Gunn speaks with her guests about the
    role of the space missions today and the future of space exploration
    tomorrow. The program includes results of the recent Space Symposium
    and current information on the status of the manned space station.
    1 hr 1 min
  • Tech Nation - Victims of Technology
    06/08/1994 - Victims of Technology
    Moira Gunn speaks with Don Sellers, documentary filmmaker and author
    of "ZAP! How your computer can hurt you -- and what you can do about
    it." Mr. Sellers discusses the aspects of using personal computers
    that can affect health, the problems with using new technology before
    its impact is fully understood, and the pros and cons of legislation
    aimed at ensuring that computer users are protected.
    Dr. Gunn also speaks with Lauren Wiener. An accomplished technical
    writer, Ms. Wiener has written a book called "Digital Woes -- why we
    should not depend on software." She recounts such tales as the private
    programmer "alarms" that almost halted the first Apollo moon landing
    and the design and perception problems with the radar system in the
    USS Vincennes that resulted in the destruction of a civilian passenger
    aircraft. Ms. Wiener discusses the incredible amount of software that
    surrounds individuals in their homes and the problems that can be
    anticipated in using modern domestic technology.
    58 min
  • Tech Nation - Nanotechnology and Corporate Computers
    06/02/1994 - Nanotechnology and Corporate Computers
    Moira Gunn gets small with K. Eric Drexler on the future of
    nanotechnology. "Nano" means "small," and nanotechnology explores
    manufacturing on a molecular scale. The discussion explores the
    concept of robots that put molecules together, along with the idea
    that these robots could themselves be structures of molecules. Drs.
    Gunn and Drexler also discuss applications for these machines, efforts
    that are being directed internationally, and the difficulty of
    developing such technologies. Dr. Drexler is the president of the
    Foresight Institute and author of a number of books on nanotechnology.
    Dr. Gunn also speaks with Jay Amato, president of the corporate
    division for the newly named Vanstar Corporation. Amato discusses how
    corporations buy PCs today and the services they need to perform on a
    cost-effective basis. Vanstar is an offshoot of Computerland, a retail
    corporation. This market's significance is demonstrated by the fact
    that the Computerland group experienced revenues of $2 million in
    1990; by 1993 this had grown to $1.3 billion. This burgeoning market
    reflects a new infrastructure in American companies.
    1 hr 1 min
  • Tech Nation - Gershwin Lives! and ImagiNation
    05/24/1994 - Gershwin Lives! and ImagiNation
    Moira Gunn speaks with Artis Wodehouse, a pianist and Gershwin
    scholar, who has studied the piano rolls of George Gershwin under a
    grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Her work has
    led her to convert some 65 of the 130 known Gershwin rolls into
    today's technology. A CD, recently released by Elektra Records, is
    entitled "Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls." Dr. Gunn and Ms.
    Wodehouse discuss the technology of the early player pianos and how
    the rolls were translated into notation that could be played by a
    Yamaha Disklavier piano. A Disklavier is on hand in the studio for
    actual demonstration.
    Also, Moira Gunn speaks with Jeff Liebowitz, director of marketing for
    the ImagiNation network. Mr. Liebowitz discusses this innovative new
    network that enables users to establish graphical "personas" and to
    play adventure games with other actual personas. They also discuss the
    socialization aspects of the network, including the 13 marriages that
    have resulted from people meeting on the network, and the unusual
    connections formed between people of all ages.
    1 hr 1 min
  • Tech Nation - The Scientific Search for the Soul
    03/18/1994 - The Scientific Search for the Soul
    Dr. Moira Gunn speaks with Dr. Francis Crick, who, with James Watson,
    discovered the double helix structure of DNA. Crick and Watson
    received the Nobel Prize in Medicine for this work. Crick's most
    recent research has investigated the role of the brain in what we have
    come to call consciousness. Crick reveals his discoveries in his
    latest book, "The Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific Search for
    the Soul."
    Also interviewed is Doris Hamburg, head of paper conservation for the
    Library of Congress. Ms. Hamburg has recently been serving as the head
    conservator for the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit now visiting the United
    States. She explains how the scrolls were found, how they have been
    preserved, what dangers they face from the environment, and what
    science can tell us about them.
    1 hr 1 min
  • Tech Nation - Macintosh and the *New* Point and Click
    03/13/1994 - Macintosh and the *New* Point and Click
    Dr. Moira Gunn speaks with Jef Raskin, creator of the Macintosh
    Project at Apple Computers. First introduced 10 years ago, the
    Macintosh graphic interface has become an industry standard for using
    any personal computer, Macintosh or otherwise. Jef Raskin discusses
    how he first approached the president of Apple and describes his
    original vision. He and Dr. Gunn also discuss where user interfaces
    can go from here.
    Also featured is Sibyl Parker, editor in chief and publisher of both
    the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology and the McGraw
    -Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms. Ms. Parker
    describes the effort to bring these two enterprises together into a
    multimedia encyclopedia. She and Dr. Gunn discuss the future of
    encyclopedias, how people can expect to use them, and the increased
    access to information that results from the joining of CD-ROMs and
    point-and-click technology.
    1 hr 1 min
  • Tech Nation - Cars and Uranium
    03/05/1994 - Cars and Uranium
    Dr. Moira Gunn speaks with Warren Brown, syndicated columnist for the
    Washington Post. Mr. Brown talks about the American car industry, the
    relationship between technology and federal regulations, and the
    international "cross-breeding" of car models. Nominated in 1993 for a
    Pulitzer Prize because of his industry reporting, his latest book is
    "All American Cars and Trucks."
    Dr. Gunn also speaks with Dr. David Rossin. Dr. Rossin is a former
    assistant secretary of energy for nuclear energy and the immediate
    past president of the American Nuclear Society. He was formerly the
    director of the Nuclear Safety Analysis Center at the Electric Power
    Research Institute. Dr. Rossin discusses the recent agreement between
    the United States and Russia whereby the United States will finance
    the building of a Russian factory to convert weapons-grade uranium
    from Russian nuclear bombs to uranium suitable for use as fuel in
    American nuclear power plants.
    1 hr 1 min
  • Tech Nation - Carl Sagan and SETI
    02/25/1994 - Carl Sagan and SETI
    Dr. Moira Gunn speaks with Carl Sagan, Professor of Astronomy at
    Cornell University and host of the award-winning PBS series "Cosmos."
    Dr. Sagan discusses his interest in finding habitable planets that can
    support life, and reviews the characteristics of habitable planets,
    the locations of suspected candidate planets, and the problems with
    all the current theories.
    Dr. Gunn also speaks with Dr. Frank Drake, president of the SETI
    Institute and professor of astronomy and astrophysics at UC Santa
    Cruz. They discuss the strategy for the search for extraterrestrial
    intelligence (SETI), the controversies which surround the efforts,
    the problems with funding such research, and the basic
    scientific assumptions of the technical project.
    1 hr 1 min

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Yesterday's Tomorrows - A look back at tech pioneers who looked forward.