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.
Why do some ideas and technologies proliferate across history, whilst others die painfully?
Innovations aren't just bound by the laws of Physics, but also the powerful laws of Nature and Biology.
In the "Lessons of History", Will and Ariel Durant propose the 3 Laws of Biology. Extending on the work of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution with a lens of human history. They explain the rules that govern life on earth and how it applies to humanity. In this episode, Sam extends the concept whilst also explaining a brief history of life on Earth whilst he's at it.
In it, you'll learn the fundamental rules of competition, selection and reproduction that govern the success of any organism, idea or technology.
We'll explore
Come away with key mental models for understanding the future of innovation, technology and humanity.
ABOUT
How to Change the World is an independent podcast on a mission to document the entire history of innovation. One world-changing event at a time. In the process we are building out frameworks and mental models to think more coherently about global change and the future of technology.
Learn more and contact us - ChangeTheWorldPod.com
Written, edited, recorded, and produced entirely by Sam Webster Harris.
(He also makes the music...)
Help from:
REFERENCES
The Lessons of History - Will and Ariel Durant
An epic overview of the lessons these authors learnt in the process of writing their series, covering every era of humanity.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humanity - Yuval Noah Harari
This episode only used the first paragraph... But some of the topics of the history of life are also in the first chapter.
Home Deus: A History of Tomorrow - Yuval Noah Harari
The first chapter has a great section about Famine, Disease, and War.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Is a hot dog a sandwich?
00:28 The Beginning of the Universe
01:10 The Story of Life on Earth
01:34 Three Rules of Biology
05:03 FIRST LAW: Life is Competition
09:54 SECOND LAW: Life is Selection
11:59 Inequality in Nature and Society
13:47 Balancing Freedom and Equality
16:48 THIRD LAW: Life Must Breed
18:34 Human Progress, Fire and Agriculture
19:10 Agricultural Revolution and Civilization
19:48 Fertility and Population Dynamics: Japan vs. Nigeria
21:12 Ideas and Religions: Survival of the Fittest
22:49 Horsemen of Apocalypse: Famine, Disease, and War
28:13 Modern Challenges and Fertility Trends
30:20 Conclusion and Future Episodes
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
