Sam Webster Harris chronicles the complete history of innovation from the Stone Age to the modern day. Learn how transformative ideas build upon each other to change the world and shape the future of humanity.
Every breakthrough that changes civilization begins with curiosity. From the first controlled fire to artificial intelligence. Follow the journey, step-by-step, tracing the evolution of human progress and society. On the way, uncovering the nerdy stories and fun facts behind world-changing inventions and the mental models that drive systemic change.
Each episode is a deep dive into innovation patterns and the threads that shape our world:
- From Leonardo Da Vinci dissecting human bodies to editing our own DNA
- Maritime Navigation sets the course for Interstellar exploration
- Hammurabi's legal code is relevant in algorithmic governance
Modern revolutions in technology and the future of AI are a continuation of core needs of their human creators. Our desire for leverage shows up time and again in the history of civilization.
Drawing insights from psychology, economics, and anthropology, we explore how change makers in history like Galileo, Newton, and Tesla didn't just discover big ideas. They transformed civilization itself. Their playbooks reveal timeless strategies for anyone seeking to understand how the world works.
This isn't surface-level history. It's intellectual history told through narrative learning—connecting past invention stories to the future of technology, future of society, and patterns of history that will define the Anthropocene.
Whether you're fascinated by the timeline of human history, founder stories, or the psychology of change, each episode delivers actionable mental models wrapped in engaging storytelling. Learn something new about human progress while discovering your own potential to change the world.
For the intellectually curious seeking to understand innovation, drive progress, and glimpse the future of humanity.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sam Webster Harris chronicles the complete history of innovation from the Stone Age to the modern day. Learn how transformative ideas build upon each other to change the world and shape the future of humanity.
Every breakthrough that changes civilization begins with curiosity. From the first controlled fire to artificial intelligence. Follow the journey, step-by-step, tracing the evolution of human progress and society. On the way, uncovering the nerdy stories and fun facts behind world-changing inventions and the mental models that drive systemic change.
Each episode is a deep dive into innovation patterns and the threads that shape our world:
- From Leonardo Da Vinci dissecting human bodies to editing our own DNA
- Maritime Navigation sets the course for Interstellar exploration
- Hammurabi's legal code is relevant in algorithmic governance
Modern revolutions in technology and the future of AI are a continuation of core needs of their human creators. Our desire for leverage shows up time and again in the history of civilization.
Drawing insights from psychology, economics, and anthropology, we explore how change makers in history like Galileo, Newton, and Tesla didn't just discover big ideas. They transformed civilization itself. Their playbooks reveal timeless strategies for anyone seeking to understand how the world works.
This isn't surface-level history. It's intellectual history told through narrative learning—connecting past invention stories to the future of technology, future of society, and patterns of history that will define the Anthropocene.
Whether you're fascinated by the timeline of human history, founder stories, or the psychology of change, each episode delivers actionable mental models wrapped in engaging storytelling. Learn something new about human progress while discovering your own potential to change the world.
For the intellectually curious seeking to understand innovation, drive progress, and glimpse the future of humanity.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
"The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it" - Alan Watts
This opening episode invites you on a journey, not just through time, but through perspective.
From fire-starting hominids to spacefaring technologists, we are going to trace the ripples of human imagination that turned tools into empires, and sparks into systems.
In this introduction episode:
Change is rarely neat or obvious, but this podcast is here to help us understand it. You'll start to connect the dots that are all around you.
History isn't just a study of the past, it is also our present. As we live through unprecedented innovation, it's a perfect time to study the forces of tectonic shifts and how to guide them.
If you're curious, optimistic, and even a little lost. You're in the right place.
ABOUT
This show is an independent podcast on a mission.
It is written, recorded, re-recorded, rewritten and re-re-recorded entirely by Sam Webster Harris.
Designs were crafted by Francisca Correia.
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Introduction: The Dawn of Human Influence
02:22 A Journey Through Time
05:10 The Plan for the Podcast
07:08 What counts as an innovation
08:31 Release Schedule
09:40 Beyond a history podcast
10:54 Why this point in history
12:34 A map is not a blueprint
14:24 Why is Sam doing this?
17:19 Why should you listen?
18:29 Psychology and Innovation
19:01 Bias and Hindsight
19:37 Illusion of obviousness
20:32 Gratitude - Understanding - Curiosity
20:34 The Myth of Stability
21:42 7 Core Principles of the Show
21:51 1 - Interdisciplinary Thinking
22:34 2 - Systems Thinking
23:21 3 - Understanding of knowledge
25:01 4 - Context
26:06 5 - No current affairs and politics
27:14 6 - Side Quests
28:23 7 - Optimism
29:26 Mission and sign off
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
