We want to hear from you! We’re asking listeners to complete a short 5 minute survey so we can understand what you liked about the show and how we can make it even better. To take the survey please visit stpp.co/survey.Once you complete the s

Facial Recognition: How a forgotten AI pioneer, the CIA, and Google Glass are helping the visually impaired

Oct 18th, 2022 24m 44s

Every person’s face is unique. We intuitively know that to be true. But what exactly makes your face different from another person? And how can we measure and quantify that difference to make the world more accessible for the visually impaired?

Electric Cars: The story of L.A. smog, a homemade scooter and the ultimate redemption

Oct 4th, 2022 28m 6s

In an age where gas-powered vehicles account for nearly half of greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector, electric vehicles are a way to help slow global warming. Over the last decade, the EV industry grew by leaps and bounds and T

eBooks: A snack run and the Declaration of Independence changed the way we read

Sep 20th, 2022 27m

At our core, humans are storytellers. And books are one of the oldest technologies we use to document and preserve our stories. But the printed book has remained relatively unchanged for hundreds of years so it might just be ready for a makeove

Solar Panels: A flashlight-powered windmill and electrifying the world’s most remote villages

Sep 6th, 2022 28m 3s

In just one hour, the earth catches enough solar energy to power the world for a year. Big solar farms, home installations and increasingly efficient solar cells are slowly, but surely, converting more and more of the sun’s energy into electric

WiFi & Wireless Comms: A Hollywood starlet’s quest to defeat Hitler led to lightbulbs that transmit the internet

Aug 23rd, 2022 27m 42s

There are over 20-billion connected wireless devices in the world today. So right now, whether you’re sitting on your couch or on your way to work, there are likely dozens of invisible WiFi signals all around you. But what if we didn’t get our

Cell Phones: The portable police radio and Apple’s secret project that changed the way we communicate

Aug 9th, 2022 24m 38s

Your cell phone is more than just a phone. It’s your camera, address book, wallet, alarm clock, music player, map, newspaper… you get the point. And it’s changed how we interact with each other and how we navigate the world. And no cell phone h

Digital Cameras: How Kodak’s blunder and the camera on a computer chip could help us see further into space

Jul 26th, 2022 25m 51s

If you want a taste of just how profoundly the digital age changed photography, consider this: more pictures will be taken worldwide in the next two minutes, than were taken during the first 150 years of photography.In this episode, Steven Sa

VR Gloves: Where air guitar meets a Nintendo flop, meets the future of remote surgery

Jul 12th, 2022 25m 1s

When you think of virtual reality, your next thought is probably gaming. And while it’s certainly a mainstay in the gaming industry, VR has more applications than you realize.In this episode, Tom Zimmerman remembers how his love for air guita

Introducing Ahead of Its Time

Apr 25th, 2022 1m 56s

Welcome to a new show about the tech underdogs no one realized would shape the future. You'll explore the forgotten origins of today’s most transformative technology and relive the eureka moments of the people who first imagined it. Discover wh