TechStuff
Episodes
TechStuff Classic: TechStuff Conjures Up Brian Brushwood
29 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
How did Brian get his start in stage magic? What is the Afterlyfe.me project? How do the worlds of technology and stage magic overlap? Join Chris and ...
RERUN: How Solar Towers Work
27 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What are solar towers? How do they generate electricity? What's the future of solar power? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodc...
The Spotify Story
25 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Where did Spotify come from and how did it change the way we listen to music? In this episode, we look at the origin and evolution of Spotify. Learn ...
TechStuff Classic: TechStuff Counts Some Number Stations
22 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What is a number station? What is shortwave radio? What could these numbers mean? In this episode, Chris and Jonathan dive into the murky, mysterious ...
The Facebook Privacy Problem
20 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On March 6, 2019, Mark Zuckerberg published a long essay about privacy and social media. Does this indicate a change in philosophy for Facebook or is ...
What is WebAuthn
18 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The W3C and FIDO recently adopted the WebAuthn specification as a standard. What is WebAuthn, and will it replace passwords? Learn more about your ad...
TechStuff Classic: TechStuff Looks at Ballistics
15 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
How can you determine if a gun fired a particular bullet? What is rifling? How do forensics experts test weapons? Join Jonathan and Chris as they draw...
TechStuff Flies on the Concorde
13 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
From 1976 until 2003, the Concorde provided a fast option for air travel if you happened to have enough cash for a ticket. How does supersonic air tra...
What is 5G?
11 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The future is 5G. So what the heck is 5G? It's a big, confusing topic but by the end of this episode you'll understand it. Learn more about your ad-c...
TechStuff Classic: Was Ada Lovelace the first computer programmer?
08 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Jonathan and Chris discuss Ada Lovelace, daughter of the infamous Lord Byron and widely considered to be the first computer programme...
TechStuff Pumps the Brakes
06 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
How do car brakes work? From the earliest wooden block brakes to anti-lock brake systems, we learn about the science of coming to a stop. Learn more ...
Techstuff Throws Rotten Tomatoes
04 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In 1998, a web designer launched a movie review aggregator site. A couple of decades later, it has changed the film industry. This is the story of Rot...
TechStuff Classic: TechStuff Stares at OLEDs
01 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What is an OLED? How do OLED displays work? How do they compare to other display technologies? Join Chris and Jonathan as they break down the nuts and...
Social Networks that Didn't Make It
27 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
For every Facebook and Twitter, there are half a dozen failed social networks that didn't survive to today. We look back on a few of them. Myspace Not...
Quicktime
25 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Before there was YouTube, there was Quicktime. How did a project inside Apple become a dominant standard for computer-based video playback and more? ...
TechStuff Classic: TechStuff Spies on the U-2
22 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Why did the United States develop the U-2? What connection does the U-2 have to Area 51? Why hasn’t the U-2 been retired yet? Join Chris and Jonatha...
How Clean Coal Works
20 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Is there such a thing as clean coal? In this episode, we look at the technologies designed to reduce the environmental impact of burning coal and ask ...
TechStuff Does the Robot
18 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Adam Doud of Android Authority joins the show to talk about the robots he saw at CES 2019. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpo...
Research Revealed at Think 2019
17 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
At the 5 in 5 presentation at Think 2019, five presenters talked about how technology can improve practically everything about the way we grow, proces...
Being Open at Think 2019
16 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What does open source mean and why would IBM's strategy revolve around it? From the acquisition of Red Hat to supporting humanitarian hacking efforts,...
Cloudy With a Chance of IBM Think 2019
15 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Cloud computing can be a confusing topic. It gets even trickier when you start talking about hybrid clouds. What's going on with cloud computing and h...
AI at IBM Think 2019
15 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
IBM has a long history with artificial intelligence competing against human beings. Deep Blue mastered Chess, Watson scored big on Jeopardy and now Pr...
Thats So Project Raven
13 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What is Project Raven? We look into the spy program from the United Arab Emirates and how it employed ex NSA agents. Learn more about your ad-choices...
The Ose CES Controversy
11 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Stuff Your Mom Didn't Tell You host Anney Reese joins the show to talk about a controversy during CES 2019. A sex toy called the Ose received an innov...
TechStuff Classic: Sets its VCR
08 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
When was the VCR invented? Who opposed the VCR? When did the VCR die? Listen in as Chris and Jonathan explore the origin, opposition to and death of t...
The Epic Story of Fortnite
06 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In 2011, Epic Games teased a new video game called Fortnite. Six years later, the game finally emerged from development and took the world by storm. W...
RCA and its 100th Year
04 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We say that it's RCA's 100th anniversary, but is the company of today the same as the one that debuted in 1919? We look at how RCA has changed dramati...
TechStuff Classic: Old Tech Never Dies
01 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What is legacy technology? Why do we still have old technology that should be obsolete? Will the fax machine ever die? Join Chris and Jonathan as they...
RCA and Color Television
30 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
RCA and CBS were in a race to define the standard for color television. CBS won. Or did it? How did RCA and David Sarnoff push a different approach to...
RCA During World War II
28 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Before the United States entered World War II, RCA was developing an electronic television. How did TV work and what did RCA do while the country was ...
TechStuff Classic: How Image Sensors Work
25 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
How important is a digital camera’s image sensor? What are the two main types of image sensors? Which type of image sensor is best? Tune in as your ...
The Birth of RCA
23 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
RCA is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2019. How did this company get started and how did it dominate radio for years? Learn more about your ad-...
Breaking Up AOL is Hard To Do
21 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The AOL Time Warner arrangement was doomed not long after it was formed. What led to AOL splitting off and where is the company today? Learn more abo...
TechStuff Classic: How Helicopters Work
18 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
How do helicopters work? Why does a helicopter need a tail rotor? What is a quadrocopter? Join Jonathan and Chris as they look at the quirky contrapti...
AOL and the Very Bad Business Deal
16 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
When AOL acquired Time Warner, people worried that the new mega company would become an unstoppable force. Instead, the relationship became known as t...
The Birth of AOL
14 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What did the Atari 2600 have to do with the birth of America Online? We look at the company's origins and how it helped usher in the online age. Lear...
TechStuff Classic: TechStuff Plays with Plasma
11 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What is plasma? How do plasma cutters work? Are plasma weapons possible? In this episode, Jonathan and Chris break down the basics of plasma, along wi...
CES 2019 Overview
09 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Jonathan gives a bird's eye view on CES 2019, with a hint of the old, the new, and the just plain view. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://w...
Working with the Large Hadron Collider
07 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Jonathan is joined by Daniel Whiteson of Daniel and Jorge Explain the Universe. Daniel works in the field of experimental particle physics and conduct...
TechStuff Classic: TechStuff Overclocks a CPU
04 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What is overclocking? What is a clock cycle? Why would you want to overclock a computer? In this episode, Chris and Jonathan explore the pros and cons...
TechStuff's Wishlist for 2019
02 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Instead of making predictions for 2019, Jonathan decided to create a show about what he hopes will happen over the next 12 months. From video games to...
2018 Predictions Scorecard
31 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
At the end of 2017, TechStuff made some predictions for the following year. Now it's time to find out if Jonathan is really a time traveler. Learn mo...
TechStuff Classic: TechStuff Looks at Radio Telescopes
28 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What is a radio telescope? How can we “see” with radio waves? Why are radio telescopes so large? Join Chris and Jonathan as they explore the nuts ...
The Top Tech Stories of 2018
26 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We reflect on some of the biggest tech stories to emerge in 2018. From scandals to giant business deals, how did tech impact the world? Learn more ab...
The Amazon HQ2 Decision
24 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
After months of speculation (not to mention outlandish competition), Amazon finally announced the location of HQ2, its second headquarters. What's the...
TechStuff Classic: TechStuff Plays with R/C
21 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How do radio-controlled toys work? What frequencies do RC toys use? Why do some toys interfere with each other? Join Jonathan and Chris as they break ...
A Critical Examination of The Singularity
19 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
When people talk about the Singularity, what do they mean? How far off might it be? Or is it even a realistic notion at all? We look at the arguments ...
Is Autonomous The Way To Go?
17 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Concluding our episodes on driverless cars is a look into the arguments for and against the technology. Does it make sense? Is it ready? What are the ...
TechStuff Classic: TechStuff Goes to RAMing Speed
14 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What is RAM? Why do computers need RAM? How is RAM different from ROM? In this episode, Jonathan and Chris take a closer look at the nuts and bolts of...
Driverless Cars from 2007 to Today
13 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In the wake of the 2007 Urban Challenge, several companies began to pour some serious money and effort into developing driverless car technology that ...
The 2007 Urban Challenge
12 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How did the 2007 Urban Challenge differ from the two earlier DARPA Grand Challenges? And how did that set the stage for where autonomous cars would go...
The DARPA Grand Challenges
11 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In the mid 2000s, the Department of Defense R&D agency DARPA sponsored competitions in an effort to kickstart autonomous car technology. This is t...
Driverless Cars: The Early Concepts
10 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Wouldn't it be awesome if your car took you where you needed to go without you having to touch the wheel? In this episode, we look at the history behi...
TechStuff Classic: TechStuff Looks for Abandonware
07 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What is abandonware? Can you acquire abandonware legally? What does copyright law have to do with abandonware? In this episode, Jonathan and Chris bre...
Time After Time Travel
06 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
If there were a time traveler among us, how would we know? Jonathan takes a look at various strategies to catch that pesky time traveler who may be me...
TechStuff Visits Mars
05 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
There's no doubt about it: Mars is trying to kill you. It's just not very good at ranged attacks. But get close enough? BAM! What challenges will we h...
InSight into Mars
04 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
On November 26, 2018, NASA engineers and scientists celebrated upon receiving confirmation that the Martian lander InSight had touched down successful...
TechStuff Enters the Wasteland
03 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Where did the Fallout series of games come from and how have they evolved? From its origins as a game engine experiment from Interplay to the newly re...
TechStuff Classic: TechStuff withdraws from an ATM
30 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Who invented the automated teller machine? How do ATMs keep track of your money? What is an ATM skimmer? Join Chris and Jonathan as they take a deeper...
TechStuff Gets Scooting
29 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It seems like electric scooters are everywhere and dockless scooter businesses are becoming the next big thing. Where did these companies come from an...
TCP and its History
28 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We look at the history of the Transmission Control Protocol and why the next version of HTTP won't be relying upon it. What does TCP do and how does i...
Is E3 Still Relevant?
27 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In mid November, 2018, Sony dropped a bombshell - the company would not attend the 2019 E3 conference. Has the video game trade show outlived its usef...
Heigh-Ho Hydrogen
26 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Hydrogen is the most plentiful substance in the universe. Could it also be the fuel of the future? In this episode, we look at the challenges and oppo...
TechStuff Classic: TechStuff Looks at Night Vision
23 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What are the two main types of night vision? How can you see heat? Why do some night vision systems only display in monochromatic green? Join Jonathan...
Facebook's Accountability Problem
22 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
A piece in the New York Times examined how Facebook navigated a tricky situation through questionable strategies in the wake of multiple scandals. Wha...
The History of Cyber Monday
21 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What is Black Friday, and how did it spawn Cyber Monday? From business trends to marketing schemes, we take a look at the history of holiday shopping ...
How AI Can Make You Look Like a Better Dancer
20 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Today, it's possible to manipulate photos and videos in ways that were unthinkable just a few years ago. We look at a research project that uses compu...
The Boring Podcast
19 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How do tunneling machines work? We look at the science and tech behind burrowing under the Earth. Learn more about your ad-choices at https...
TechStuff Classic: TechStuff Adjusts the Thermostat
16 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What are the parts of a thermostat? How do bimetallic thermometers work? What is a mercury switch? In this episode, Chris and Jonathan break down the ...
DARPA in the 1970s
15 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How did DARPA navigate the choppy political waters in the wake of the Vietnam War and the rise of the counterculture movement? From a re-branding to a...
DARPA's First Projects
13 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
From weather satellites to horrifying herbicides, we explore some of DARPA's projects during its first years of operations. How was this agency meant ...
The Origins of DARPA
12 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How did a Soviet satellite kickstart the R&D branch of the US Department of Defense? We look at how DARPA was founded and the problems it was mean...
TechStuff Classic: The Story of Rim
09 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What is Research in Motion? What did the company do before inventing the Blackberry? Why do so many people direct criticism at RIM today? Tune in as J...
Robots are People Too?
08 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
An ongoing debate in Europe concerns whether or not we should extend the concept of personhood to robots. Why would we do such a thing and what would ...
Goodbye, Kepler Telescope
07 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
NASA launched the Kepler telescope in 2009 to stare out into space. In October, 2018, the telescope "retired." What did we learn from it and how did i...
John von Neumann and the Bomb
06 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We continue our story about John von Neumann, the mathematical genius. From his work on the Manhattan Project to creating what we now call von Neumann...
Who was John von Neumann?
05 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The Hungarian-born mathematician John von Neumann made numerous contributions to mathematics, computer science and more in his relatively short life. ...
TechStuff Classic: How Metal Detectors Works
02 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What are the three types of metal detectors? How do metal detectors use electromagnetism to detect stuff? What kind of stuff can create interference w...
The Complicated Story of an AI Artist
01 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In October, 2018, a portrait created by an artificial intelligence program sold at auction for more than $400,000. But there's controversy surrounding...
TechStuff's Spooky Halloween Spectacular!
31 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In celebration of Halloween, we take a look at an article from HowStuffWorks titled 10 Scary Modern Technologies. From drones to voices coming out of ...
The Trials of MakerBot
30 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when a company abandons its core philosophy? MakerBot went from embracing open source to incorporating proprietary technology, alienating...
How MakerBot Was Born
29 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
MakerBot is known as the company that brought 3D printing into the consumer market. We learn about how the company was spawned from a project intended...
TechStuff Classic: How Theremins Work
26 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
So what exactly is a theremin? It's got an unmistakably unique sound, and it's one of the world's first electronic musical instruments. Join Chris and...
Sleepy Time Tech
25 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when sleep and technology meet? From sleep trackers to the world's first "sleep robot," we look at the science behind sleeping and the te...
Powerful Lasers and Their Uses
24 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How do lasers work? What are the most powerful lasers out there today and what do they do? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodc...
E-Waste and What To Do With It
23 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What is electronic waste? What makes it so problematic? And what's the best way to deal with it? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.ihea...
AI Gone Rude
22 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Science fiction authors have thoroughly explored what could happen if we implement artificial intelligence irresponsibly. But they didn't predict that...
TechStuff Classic: TechStuff Stares at Laser Eye Surgery
19 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How does laser eye surgery work? How does the human eye work? What types of eye problems can laser eye surgery correct? Join Jonathan and Chris for a ...
Could we make a sarcastic supercomputer?
18 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
As we develop more advanced natural language systems, will we ever reach a point where a computer can detect not just what we say but what we actually...
More Space Planes
17 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we learn about more recent and proposed space planes. What happens when they transition from experimental aircraft to practical vehic...
Planes in Spaaaace
16 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What is a space plane and how does it work? From the Space Shuttle to the super secret X-37B, we look at the designs and proposals for reusable spacec...
Voting and Technology
15 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Bob Sullivan of the Breach Podcast joins the show to talk about the intersection between tech and voting. Is there a sweet spot? And do voting machine...
TechStuff Classic: TechStuff Ponders an Enigma
12 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What was the Enigma machine? What is a cipher? How did the Enigma machine work? Join Chris and Jonathan to learn more about cryptography. Learn more ...
Death of the Amiga
11 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The Amiga computers had a reputation for being incredibly powerful, particularly for video applications. But numerous problems at Commodore meant the ...
The Amiga 500 and Amiga 2000
10 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Following the somewhat disappointing performance of the Amiga 1000, Commodore released two new computers to try and capture both the high-end market a...
Building the First Amiga Computer
09 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Jay Miner and his team of engineers were hard at work building the components for the Amiga 1000. Meanwhile, Atari and Commodore were maneuvering agai...
The Birth of Amiga
08 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
TechStuff listener Matt wanted to know more about the Amiga line of computers. We take a look at how an engineer from Atari took a big leap in order t...
TechStuff Classic: What does NASA's Mission Control Do?
05 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Reaching space is difficult, and returning safely is even trickier. Luckily for astronauts, Mission Control follows each shuttle launch in minute deta...
TechStuff Gets a MoviePass
04 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Susannah asked that I do an episode about the company MoviePass. Where did it come from? What impact did it have on the entertainment industry? And do...
The Podcast Patent Problem
03 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How did a patent filed in 1996 cause huge headaches in the podcasting industry? And how did a decision in 2018 finally put the matter to rest? We look...