Energy Gluttons
The following audio clip is excerpted from the BackStory episode “From Whales to Wind: A History of Energy.” You can listen to the entire episode here. Historian David Nye discusses the origins of Americans’ ample appetites for energy. [Audio clip: view full post to listen] Excerpted from: From Whales to Wind: A History of Energy
The Age of Horses
The following audio clip is excerpted from the BackStory episode “From Whales to Wind: A History of Energy.” You can listen to the entire episode here. Historian Ann Norton Greene explains why the “Age of Steam” was also the Age of Horses. [Audio clip: view full post to listen] Excerpted from: From Whales to Wind: [...]
The Ice King
The following audio clip is excerpted from the BackStory episode “Climate Control: A History of Heating & Cooling.” You can listen to the entire episode here. The story of Frederic Tudor, the “Ice King,” who made his fortune harvesting New England ice and–in the process–transformed the American ideal of comfort. [Audio clip: view full post [...]
The Stove Revolution
The following audio clip is excerpted from the BackStory episode “Climate Control: A History of Heating & Cooling.” You can listen to the entire episode here. Historian Howell Harris explains why the Franklin Stove was mis-named, and what winter was like in the North before the stove revolution caught fire. [Audio clip: view full post [...]
“Climate Control” Transcript
This is the transcript of “Climate Control: A History of Heating and Cooling,” broadcast in March 2010. You can listen to the entire episode here.
Climate Control: A History of Heating & Cooling
What was life like before the era of the thermostat? And how did America become the “land of comfort?”
From Whales to Wind: A History of Energy
In this episode, BackStory takes on big oil! And big trees, big water, big whales.. How have changing energy sources shaped the growth and decline of cities and towns? What are the social costs and benefits of new energy technologies?
