W. Bernard Carlson

We all have cell phones, but how many of us know how they actually work? Visit the world of communications satellites, radio towers, and mobile networks. You'll take an in-depth look at how bandwidth, infrastructure, and competition between companies like Motorola and AT&T have allowed for truly global communications.

Drawing on themes of previous lectures - the widespread availability of electric power, the mass production of goods, and consumer distribution channels - this lecture shows you how appliances such as vacuum cleaners and washing machines were invented, how they changed life in American homes, and how they act as symbols for the middle class.

This lecture tracks the story of genetics from Darwin and Mendel to Watson and Crick. Then turn to genetic engineering - the direct manipulation of an organism's hereditary information by introducing foreign DNA or synthetic genes. This technology - PCR - has important applications for today's agriculture, medicine, forensics, and more.

From prehistoric times to the 21st century, inventions have changed the world, enabling humans to produce more food and energy and to establish social order and cultural meaning. In fact, great inventions have marked a number of key turning points in human history, transforming society and our daily lives. Now you can learn the remarkable stories surrounding history’s most monumental inventions.

See how the combination of several essential functions - the detection of radio waves, the amplification of weak signals, and the operation of switches - led to all of our electronic gadgets, from radios to computers. Professor Carlson takes you into the fascinating world of vacuum tubes, transistors, and integrated circuits.

Other than the personal computer, the Model T may be the single most important technology artifact of the 20th century. After surveying the history of automobiles, this lecture introduces you to Henry Ford and tells the story of the Model T - the car that changed the way Americans thought about travel and launched a consumer revolution.

Study two of the major inventions of the 20th century, nuclear weapons and nuclear power. Nuclear technology has inspired the utopian dream of cheap, abundant electricity as well as the apocalyptic fear of annihilation. This captivating lecture gives you a look at the inner workings - and risks - of nuclear bombs and reactors.

One of the recurring themes in the history of invention is the way technology leads to material abundance. See how the Agricultural Revolution changed life for early humans. Then trace the development of alcoholic beverages from the earliest days of civilization through the Middle Ages and consider the cultural insights alcohol can offer.

Inventions are not necessarily "finished" until they are put into the hands of consumers, and perhaps nowhere is this more apparent than in the world of social media, where a Tunisian blogger can be as much an "inventor" of Facebook as Mark Zuckerberg. This lecture looks at the evolution of social media and its role in recent political events around the world.

The story of invention is often the story of cultural contact. Witness the origins of gunpowder in ancient China and trace its movement into Europe. Then, shift your attention to the development of gunpowder weapons and consider how cannons, rifles, and handguns changed the face of warfare as well as the world's political and social structures.