TechStuff
Episodes
The Early Days of eBay
06 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
TechStuff listener Niel asked that we take a look at eBay. How did a Mac programmer get the idea for the auction web site? What was the first thing so...
TechStuff Gets on the Radar
05 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Several TechStuff listeners have asked me to do an episode about radar. In this episode, we take a quick look at several of the people responsible for...
Tim Schafer and Double Fine Productions
04 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
After producing two critically acclaimed but low-selling games, what did Tim Schafer and his Double Fine Production company do next? Learn more about...
Techstuff Classic: The Mythology of Area 51
01 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Area 51 factors into stories about everything from weather-control devices to aliens. Ben Bowlin joins the show to look at the mythology of Area 51. ...
Tim Schafer: From Monkey Island to Brutal Legend
31 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
TechStuff listener Juan asked that we talk about Tim Schafer, a computer game designer famous for making clever, quirky adventure games. In this first...
Demystifying WiFi
30 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Where did the WiFi standard come from? What are the differences of the various flavors of WiFi? And why should you care? Learn more about your ad-cho...
Instagram Gets Big
29 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Shortly after Instagram launched, Facebook moved to acquire the company for a billion dollars. What made the photo sharing service so valuable and wha...
The Birth of Instagram
28 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Listener Nelly asked me to look into the story of Instagram. In this episode, we learn about the co-founders and the abandoned app that ended up spawn...
Techstuff Classic: The Max Headroom Incident
25 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How did hackers take over a television signal in the late 1980s? Stuff You Should Know's Chuck Bryant joins the show to talk about the Max Headroom In...
TechStuff Profile: Robert N. Hall
24 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Robert N. Hall died in 2016 at the age of 96. The New York Times published an obituary two years later. What were Dr. Hall's contributions to tech...
Engage the Cloaking Device
23 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
A popular gadget in science fiction is the cloaking device, a technology capable of rendering entire vehicles invisible. Recently, researchers at the ...
What is Project Maven?
22 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
A project dedicated to bringing artificial intelligence into military operations in a real combat theater has prompted more than a dozen Google employ...
How LORAN Worked
21 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Alfred Loomis created the long range navigation system called LORAN. How did it work? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastne...
Techstuff Classic: TechStuff Gets Flushed
18 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How do toilets work? What's the secret behind using a Japanese toilet? And can you enter a toilet race? Josh Clark joins the show. Learn more about y...
TechStuff Profile: Alfred Loomis
17 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Listener Kris asked that I do a profile on Alfred Lee Loomis, an inventor and philanthropist who had a huge impact on world history and the funding of...
TechStuff at the Bat
16 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Listener Carter asked us to take a look at the technology behind the humble baseball bat. Is it just a stick or is there more to it? From manufacturin...
The Rise and Fall of Nokia
15 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
A century after its founding, the Finnish company Nokia entered the world of electronics. How did Nokia come to dominate the cellular phone industry a...
The Origins of Nokia
14 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Marcus asked me to look into Nokia, and so this episode is about how the company started and grew over several decades. Did you know Nokia is more tha...
Techstuff Classic: The Sewing Machine
12 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Holly Frey from Stuff You Missed in History Class joins the show to talk about the sewing machine and how it shaped patent law. Learn more about your...
Why did Gibson Declare Bankruptcy?
11 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
By the 1960s, Gibson was well established as a premier electric guitar manufacturing company. But the following decades brought strife to Gibson, and ...
The Birth of Gibson Guitars
10 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
From a humble luthier in Kalamzoo michigan to the introduction of the Les Paul signatue guitar, we take a look at the early days of Gibson. Learn mor...
How Speakers and Amplifiers Work
09 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How does a speaker generate sound? What does an amplifier do and how does it work? We learn more about the science and tech behind our audio equipment...
The History of Loudspeakers
08 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Where did the loudspeaker come from? How did we go from acoustic horns to electronic speakers? We learn about the inventors who made speakers possible...
Death Star Weaponry
07 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How did the Death Star's superlaser work? Is such a weapon even possible? And what the heck was up with that ventilation shaft? Learn more about your...
Techstuff Classic: Mars Simulation Takes to the HI-SEAS
05 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Recently, a year-long isolation experiment simulating a mission to Mars concluded. What were the results? And why did it happen in Hawaii? Learn more...
Death Star Support Systems
04 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
From its propulsion systems to artificial gravity, we explore the greatest weapon in the galaxy. May the 4th be with you! Learn more about your ad-ch...
The Story of Oracle: Part Three
02 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In part three of our series, we explore what kept the database software company called Oracle busy between 2000 and 2018. Learn about the acquisitions...
The Story of Oracle: Part Two
01 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In the early 1990s, Oracle found itself teetering on the edge of disaster. What nearly sunk the company and how did it recover? Learn more about your...
The Story of Oracle: Part One
30 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison has earned himself a flamboyant reputation among the tech elite. How did a self-taught programmer help start the secon...
Techstuff Classic: How MP3 Compression Works
28 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How does a computer program decide which bits of an audio file to keep and which to ditch during compression? We learn about the mp3 algorithm and Jon...
The NetSuite Story
27 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Where did NetSuite come from and what does it do? We look at the story behind the world's first cloud computing company. Learn more about your ad-cho...
Two Turntables and a TechStuff Episode
27 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
TechStuff Listener Gellert asked that I cover DJ tech in an episode. That includes a lot of stuff, so today's episode is specifically about turntables...
Cloud Computing Overview: Part Two
26 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What are some of the modern uses for cloud computing? How safe is it? And who owns all that data anyway? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://...
Cloud Computing Overview: Part One
25 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What exactly is cloud computing? We trace the development of cloud computing from the days of mainframes to the modern Internet. Learn more about you...
The Birth of the Turntable
25 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
From phonautographs to the early record players, we take a look at the birth of the turntable as an entertainment device. Learn more about your ad-...
End to End Encryption Services
24 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
An anonymous listener wanted to know more about end to end encryption. How is it possible to encrypt information across the Internet so that only the ...
Techstuff Classic: The Dirt on Digital Audio
21 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How is audio recorded digitally? In this first episode on a series about mp3 and digital audio, Jonathan breaks down how we convert sound into 0s and ...
Getting MIDI With It
20 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What is MIDI and how does it work? We answer a request from listener Jesse and take a look at the history and evolution of MIDI and what it is (and is...
Listener Grab Bag
18 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes, I get requests for topics that aren't quite robust enough for a full episode. Here I'll cover several requests and give shortish answers to...
The Nintendo Story: Part Four
13 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It's been two years since we last detailed the course of Nintendo. What has the company been up to since April 2016? Learn more about your ad-choices...
Send in the Clones: The IBM PC Story
11 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
IBM was known for its business-to-business operations. So when the corporate giant decided to get into the home computer market, people took notice. H...
How Apple Survived the PC Wars: Part Two
06 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
After introducing the Macintosh computer, Apple struggled a bit to ensure its future. As it continued to rely upon the sturdy Apple II platform, the c...
How Apple Survived the PC Wars: Part One
04 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In 1976, two Steves got together and created a startup company called Apple. Their computers ushered in an era of home computers. But the journey didn...
The Computers That Time Forgot
30 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We know about Macs and PCs, but there used to be a lot of other personal computers on the market. This is an episode about those machines and what hap...
What was Stuxnet? Part Two
28 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How did investigators unravel the truth behind Stuxnet? And exactly how clever was this piece of malware? We take a closer look at the first documente...
Three Cool Talks at Think2018
28 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Learn about the presentations Neil deGrasse Tyson, Michio Kaku and Tanmay Bakshi gave at IBM's Think2018 conference. From space to artificial intellig...
Quantum Computing 101
27 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What exactly is quantum computing? How does it relate to quantum mechanics? And what sort of problems could quantum computing solve in the future? Le...
The Journey To AI
24 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We have simple forms of AI right now like image recognition and natural language processing. In the future, we may have artificial intelligence that c...
What was Stuxnet? Part One
23 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In 2010, a computer virus targeting specialized equipment at an Iranian nuclear facility made world news. What was Stuxnet and what did it have to do ...
The Think 2018 Science Slam Part Two
22 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
At IBM's science slam at Think2018, three more scientists explain their work and how it impacts the world. We learn about a 3D microscope that can obs...
The Think 2018 Science Slam Part One
21 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
At IBM's Think2018 conference, several scientists got up to give short presentations on groundbreaking work they are pursuing that could shape our wor...
TechStuff Takes Off The Training Wheels
21 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
From the earliest two-wheeled, human-powered vehicles to today's racing bicycles, we look at how the humble bike was invented and how it evolved over ...
Jonathan Attends IBM Think 2018
20 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Jonathan attends the Think 2018 conference in Las Vegas, where IBM showcases the latest in technologies ranging from AI to quantum computing. Hear abo...
An Update On IPv6
16 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Back in 2011, TechStuff did an episode about why we needed to switch to the IPv6 protocol. Where are we at now, and why exactly is it necessary? Lear...
First Contact (Lens)
14 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How were contact lenses invented? Who came up with the idea? How were they first made? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastn...
The Naughty Dog Story Part Two
09 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How did Naughty Dog follow up the smash hit of Crash Bandicoot? And how did the departure of the two co-founders affect the company? Learn more about...
Good Games From a Naughty Dog
07 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Naughty Dog is the company behind games like Crash Bandicoot and the Uncharted series. What's the story behind the games? Learn more about your ad-ch...
Gone Baby Gone - The Deleted Story
02 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How deleted is deleted? What does it take to truly eradicate digital data? And are deleted messages completely beyond retrieval? Learn more about you...
The Phantom Zone
28 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In the early 2000s, a company called Infinium Labs promised to revolutionize gaming with a console called The Phantom. It never materialized. What hap...
The Boston Dynamics Story
23 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
You've seen the video of a man kicking a four legged robot. But what's the story behind the robotics company that built it? Learn more about your ad-...
Evolution of Watching TV
21 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The way we consume traditional media continues to evolve. The age of the DVR ushered in time-shifting viewing habits. But now with services like Sling...
An Interview with the Creators of Homestar Runner
16 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The creators of Homestar Runner hop on TechStuff to talk about their pioneering work in web series production and how StrongBad is going to catch up o...
Swipe Right: Dating in the Digital Age
14 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Happy Valentine's Day! Today, we look at the apps and services meant to connect people to one another. What's the story behind the romance? Learn mor...
The Uber Story Part Two
09 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Recently, Uber has been under the magnifying glass as corporate policies and executive behavior have drawn criticisms from around the world. What's go...
The Uber Story Part One
07 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Uber set out to disrupt the cab hailing industry. How did it get its start? And are the stories of underhanded tactics true? Learn more about your ad...
Put on Your Jetpacks and Let's Fly!
02 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The jetpack is a staple in science fiction transportation. Is the technology practical? Will we all one day dart around using personal jetpacks? Lear...
TechStuff Takes a Ride in a Personal Submarine
31 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Scott Benjamin from CarStuff joins the show to talk about the unusual world of personal submarines. What's the tech behind this luxurious, dangerous e...
Time to Talk About Clocks
26 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Where did the first mechanized clocks come from and how did they work? It's time to talk about time. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www....
CES 2018 Roundup
24 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Every year, manufacturers, retailers and the press gather in Las Vegas to look at the latest in tech. What were the big takeaways this year, apart fro...
The YouTube Story Part Three
19 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Our three part series concludes with an examination of what's been going on with YouTube recently. From advertising crises to weird algorithms that cr...
The YouTube Story Part Two
17 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Picking up in 2007, we explore how YouTube grew rapidly, launching a few folks into celebrity status in the process. How did YouTube change in that ti...
The YouTube Story Part One
12 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How did YouTube get its start? We trace the history from its days as an independent company to the historic Google acquisition. Learn more about your...
How Pagers Work
10 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Remember pagers? Who invented them and how do they work? How are they related to gangsters and the CIA? And who still uses them? Learn more about you...
The Sierra OnLine Story
05 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Jonathan talks with Ken Williams, co-founder of Sierra Games. We look at how a husband and wife team created one of the most powerful computer game co...
How Blockchain Works
03 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Technology analysts say blockchain is the technology of the future. So what exactly is it and how does it work? Learn more about your ad-choices at h...
TechStuff Predicts 2018
29 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
What's in store for us in the world of technology in 2018? From net neutrality to the next iPhone, Jonathan stares into his faulty crystal ball to mak...
The TechStuff 2017 Predictions Report Card
27 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
A year ago, Jonathan and friends made a bunch of predictions about what might happen in 2017. Did things go the way we expected? Learn more about you...
TechStuff Looks Back on 2017
22 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
From massive data breaches to Uber's scandalous year, we take a look at some of the biggest tech stories to break in 2017. Learn more about your ad-c...
TechStuff Goes to the Ice Rink
20 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
How do you make an ice rink in an area that has a temperature above water's freezing point? We look at the big tech needed to make a lot of ice. Lear...
The Physics of Star Wars
15 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
On the release date for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, we present an episode on how the physics of Star Wars works. Learn more about your ad-choices at ht...
How the EFF Works
13 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
What does the Electronic Frontier Foundation do? We look at the organization, its goals and some important landmark cases that the EFF has participate...
Operation Sundevil and the Birth of the EFF - Part Two
08 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Our story about Operation Sundevil continues as we see how the Secret Service and various law enforcement agencies made the formation of the EFF a nec...
Operation Sundevil and the Birth of the EFF - Part One
06 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We dive into the complex history of the hacker culture that prompted the US Secret Service to conduct massive raids and how the Electronic Frontier Fo...
The HowStuffWorks Story Part Two
01 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
How did HowStuffWorks transform from a website into a podcast network? Some special guests join the show to talk about the transition from writer to I...
The HowStuffWorks Story Part One
29 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
How did HowStuffWorks get started? We look at the humble beginnings of the site and how it evolved over the early years. Learn more about your ad-cho...
Dip Into the 7 Layers of the OSI Model
24 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Time for a delicious 7-layer dip! Only this dip is into the layers in the Open Systems Interconnection or OSI model. What is this model and how does i...
Tron: He Fights For the Users
22 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Steven Lisberger, writer and director of the 1982 film Tron, joins the show to talk about the tech of making the film and the mythology of Tron itself...
How Camera Stabilization Works
17 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
From physical rigs to special software, we explore the technology that helps keep your camera rock steady when it comes time to snapping the perfect s...
How Disney's Happily Ever After Works
15 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
At Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, visitors can witness a nighttime show filled with pyrotechnics and projection mapping. But what makes all that m...
Xerox: New Market. New Xerox.
10 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In the conclusion on our series on Xerox, we learn about the monumental political struggles within the company that nearly brought it down from within...
Xerox: Quick to Innovate. Slow to Integrate.
08 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
After Xerox unveiled its first copier it skyrocketed to success. We learn about how the company made a huge impact on the technology of personal compu...
The Birth of Xerox
03 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Once upon a time, a company called the Haloid Corporation set out to make a small place in the world of photographic paper. As the decades passed, thi...
Making a Board Game - Mondo's The Thing
01 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The surge in board game popularity prompted this question: how do you make a board game? In this episode, we interview folks from Mondo about the new ...
Tech of Ghostbusters
27 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
When it's time to figure out the science behind the Ghostbusters films, who ya gonna call? It turns out the answer is Troy Benjamin, who had the task ...
The Tech of Stranger Things
25 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Jess Royal and John Hilton drop what they're doing on Stranger Things to come by the studio and talk about what their jobs require. From Christmas lig...
Edison Electric Bikes
20 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan Hersh, the founder of Edison Bikes, drops by the studio to talk about how a challenge he faced led to a new business in ebikes. We learn the ins ...
The Tech of Star Trek
18 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
From transporters to replicators, we take a look at the technology of Star Trek. How much of it is based on real technology and how much of it is just...
The Making of Friday the 13th: The Game
13 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
From the initial pitch to a successful crowdfunding campaign to a launch title, we learn how the Friday the 13th game was made. IllFonic CEO Chuck Bru...
The Mixed Bag of Mixed Reality
11 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
What exactly is mixed reality? How far along is the technology? Can VR and AR become successful consumer products? Learn more about your ad-choices a...
The World of eSports
06 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
From professional streamers to full-blown championship tournaments, where did eSports come from and is it really that big a deal? We talk with represe...