Nikola Tesla

18 snips

Jan 19, 2026

In this engaging discussion, Richard Munson, an authoritative voice on Nikola Tesla, delves into the life of the elusive inventor. He recounts Tesla's transformative innovations, like the polyphase AC motor and wireless power dreams. Richard shares the emotional backstory of Tesla's childhood, marked by family tragedy, and highlights his rivalry with Thomas Edison. They also explore Tesla's theatrical public demonstrations and eccentric later life, revealing how this genius, though often overlooked, forged the very foundations of modern technology.

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ANECDOTE

Man-Made Lightning Captivates Audiences

Nikola Tesla's lecture at Columbia amazed audiences with man-made lightning and glowing tubes, appearing like a wizard to some attendees.
The demonstration combined theatrical showmanship with clear electrical principles to win public imagination.

INSIGHT

Arrival With Ideas, Not Wealth

Tesla arrived in America with almost nothing but revolutionary ideas that reshaped electricity distribution.
His inventions spanned motors, remote control, and foundational radio concepts that prefigured many 20th-century technologies.

ANECDOTE

Stormy Birth And Family Tensions

Tesla was born during a thunderstorm in 1856 in Smiljan and grew up in an Orthodox Serbian family in modern Croatia.
His mother encouraged tinkering while his father pushed for the clergy, shaping Tesla's early conflicts and talents.

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Nikola Tesla, the visionary inventor, helped shape the modern world. Hailing from what is now Croatia, he arrived in America with just four cents in his pocket and a head full of inventions. Within a few short years, he revolutionised the burgeoning industry of electricity. As well as induction motors that run our appliances and factories to this day, Telsa also invented robots and remote control, developed foundation technology for radio, and dreamed up plans for cell phones, the Internet, death ray weapons, and electric cars. He was also a charismatic showman who drew crowds but couldn’t bear to touch people. A workaholic who made vast sums and lost them.

But what drew this young man from central Europe to physics? What was his path from would-be priest to trailblazing inventor? And as a key figure in the engineering revolution that brought electricity into almost every aspect of modern life, why has he been largely overlooked by history?

This is a Short History Of Nikola Tesla.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Richard Munson, author of Tesla: Inventor of the Modern

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