Invented in the mid-1800s, bicycles have had enduring popularity. Across cultures, they have been embraced, promising freedom and mobility at a low price point. Today on the show we are joined by Tim Harford, host of the podcasts Cautionary Tales and The BBC’s 50 Objects That Defined The Modern Economy. Tim and Dallas discuss the history of the bike, from the invention story through to bicycle booms, the C5 Sinclair and the rise of dockless bike sharing schemes. Listen to the episode of Cautionary Tales about the Sinclair C5 here: https://timharford.com/2022/04/cautionary-tales-the-false-dawn-of-the-electric-car/

How — and why — did Prozac become the best-selling antidepressant of all time? As it is Mental Health Awareness Week, we are diving into this fascinating story that speaks to a greater shift in psychiatry and attitudes towards mental health since the invention of the first antidepressants in the 1950s. We’ll also look at how depression was treated before drugs, types of antidepressants, why Prozac was so revolutionary, and what its long-term impact of it has been. Today's guest is Dr. Mark L. Ruffalo - a psychotherapist in private practice in Tampa, Florida who teaches widely about the history of psychiatry.For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!To download, go to Android or Apple store.This episode was produced by Emily WhalleyThe senior producer is Charlotte LongEdited and mixed by Seyi Adaobi

How did LSD go from accidental discovery to the counter cultures go to drug?On April 19th 1943 Albert Hoffman had the first ever LSD trip in Basel, Switzerland. He was testing a substance of his own making, that he had initially developed 5 years previously and been thinking about ever since...Today on the show are joined by Tom Shroder, author of Acid Test: Lsd, Ecstasy, and the Power to Heal, who takes us through this incredible invention story, how the uses of LSD changed through the 20th century andwhat the future holds.You can find more about Tom here: (Home - Tom Shroder)For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!To download, go to Android or Apple store.This episode was produced by Emily WhalleyThe senior producer is Charlotte LongEdited and mixed by Seyi Adaobi

Staples, paper clips, and washers - small inventions that improve our everyday lives and have even saved lives. In this episode Dallas is joined by author Helen Pilcher to talk about the origins of these tiny, lifer altering inventions and the impact felt still. From the use of ant heads to stop bleeding, paperclips as a symbol of defiance, and the washer helping to win the Battle of Britain - tune in for stories of how these small inventions have had huge impacts across human history.

Many of us became familiar with robots through science fiction — R2D2, C3PO, Rosie from the Jetsons, Marvin the Paranoid Android. In comparison, it can feel like the robots we actually interact with today fall a bit short of this imagined future.In this episode we are joined by Dr Beth Singler, Research Fellow in Artificial Intelligence at Cambridge University, to discuss the invention and evolution of the robot, as well as the gap between our popular imagination and the technology scrambling to keep up.For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!To download, go to Android or Apple store.

We put man on the moon before we invented the wheeled suitcase. Why did it take so long? Find out in todays episode with guest Katrine Marçal, whose research has revealed a hidden chapter in invention story of rolling luggage. For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!To download, go to Android or Apple store.

Tanks defined 20th century conflict — they conjure to mind images of Tiananmen Square or the Soviet Army rolling into a liberated Berlin. But over the past couple of weeks, we have began seeing them again on our TV screens during the current fighting in Ukraine. Today on Patented, we are joined by war historian James Holland to explore where the idea of the tank came from, how they have been used through time, and what role they play in future conflicts. For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!To download, go to Android or Apple store.

Nada, naught, nil, zip, zilch, zero. Whatever you call it, it's hard to imagine the world without it. Zero is the basis for all modern computing and engineering, including trigonometry, algebra, and binary code. So, pretty important. But despite how integral it is to our lives now, there was once a time when zero never existed. Today we are joined by statistician and author Timandra Harkness, who is going to take us back in time to the invention of zero as a mathematical concept. Tune in to find out how it was discovered, the impact it had, and if we could possibly imagine a world without it today.For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!To download, go to Android or Apple store.This episode was produced by Emily WhalleyThe senior producer is Charlotte LongEdited and mixed by Seyi Adaobi

In 1890, the man who shot the first ever motion picture boarded a train in Paris — and was never seen again. Shortly after his disappearance, another inventor showcased a camera with uncanny similarities. Is it coincidence or conspiracy? Today on the show we are joined by author and filmmaker Paul Fischer who tells the extraordinary story of Louis Le Prince, his untimely disappearance and the scandal that followed. For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!To download, go to Android or Apple store.

Before they found their way into gyms, treadmills had a much darker history. In the 19th Century, they could most commonly be found in prisons. In contrast to their modern track record of improving health, the Victorians saw treadmills as a way to explicitly inflict pain and punishment. A tool for ‘grinding men good’ through gruelling hours of physical activity. What were the moral rationalisations of this corporal punishment? Who was the inventor responsible for these machines? And what cautionary tales can we learn from this punishing chapter of penal history? We answer all these questions and more on the show today with the help of Rosaline Crone, a Senior Lecturer in History at the Open University who specialised in nineteenth-century criminal justice history. For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!To download, go to Android or Apple store.