Dr. John Lienhard – Houston Public Media

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1600: Adams’s Education 11.07.2026 ↓

Episode: 1600 Henry Adams ponders the Virgin and the Dynamo. science, medieval architecture, Langley, 1900 Paris exhibition, Chartres cathedral.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1599: Urban Archaeology 10.07.2026 ↓

Episode: 1599 Urban archaeology: a privy provides a window to the past. Today, history in a trash bin.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity #3387: Burington’s Handbook 07.07.2026 ↓

Episode: 3387 In which an old handbook keeps teaching me for almost eight decades years. Today, an old book keeps informing me.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3386: Fourth Dimension 06.07.2026 ↓

Episode: 3386 In which the search for visualizing four dimensions leads, ultimately, to mathematics. Today, the missing dimensions.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1598: Surface Tension 05.07.2026 ↓

Episode: 1598 Surface Tension: a tiny force, but omnipresent. Today, we look at the edge of a water droplet.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1597: Ottoman Telegraph 04.07.2026 ↓

Episode: 1597 The Ottoman Empire telegraph, linking Europe and Asia. Today, the telegraph connects Europe and Asia.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1596: The First Automobile? 03.07.2026 ↓

Episode: 1596 Looking for the “first” automobile. Today, let’s try to find the first automobile.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3385: Blohm & Voss BV141 30.06.2026 ↓

Episode: 3385 The weird Blohm & Voss BV141 airplane, and reflections on asymmetry. Today, a weird aeroplane.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3384: Alien Life Forms 29.06.2026 ↓

Episode: 3384 Further thoughts about the search for extra-terrestrial life. Today, Alien life forms.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1595: Alfred Stieglitz 28.06.2026 ↓

Episode: 1595 In which Alfred Stieglitz and 291 anticipate Modern. Today, Stieglitz and photography, art and reality.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1594: The Mad Scientist 27.06.2026 ↓

Episode: 1594 The Mad Scientist — he keeps coming back. Today, the mad scientist.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1593: LST-325 26.06.2026 ↓

Episode: 1593 The LST-325: Thirty old men and an old ship become young again. Today, the LST-325.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3382: Disorder 23.06.2026 ↓

Episode: 3382 Thoughts about coping with the disorder in our lives and the disorder in our world. Today, disorder.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3381: Shuttle-Carrier N905NA 22.06.2026 ↓

Episode: 3381 The last ride of NASA's Shuttle carrier, N905NA. Today, the last Shuttle-carrier.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1592: Specialized Language 21.06.2026 ↓

Episode: 1592 In which we use fancy words instead of simple ones. Today, the quotidian denominator.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1591: Completed Technologies 20.06.2026 ↓

Episode: 1591 Baroque violins and the notion of a completed technology. Today, let’s talk about complete technologies.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1590: The Great Wall of China 19.06.2026 ↓

Episode: 1590 The Great Wall of China — a long and checquered history. Today, a 2300-year-old wall.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1589: Pluto (The Planet) 15.06.2026 ↓

Episode: 1589 Pluto: We finally reach the outer fringe of the Solar System. Today, we discover Pluto.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1588: Nieuport 17 14.06.2026 ↓

Episode: 1588 The Nieuport 17, early harbinger of the finished WW-I fighter. Today, a case history of technological change.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1587: Early Warplanes 13.06.2026 ↓

Episode: 1587 In which airplanes gradually learn to wage war. Today, we turn plowshares into swords.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1586: Topsell’s Beasts 12.06.2026 ↓

Episode: 1586 Topsell’s history of four-footed beasts and serpents. Today, a zoology book.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3380: Ergodicity 09.06.2026 ↓

Episode: 3380 What underlies a term from physics: Ergodic (or Ergodicity). Today, let us steal a word from physics.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3379: Gestalt 08.06.2026 ↓

Episode: 3379 A look at the overarching meaning of the word "Gestalt." Today, a curious word: Gestalt.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1585: Dissonance 07.06.2026 ↓

Episode: 1585 In which the elephant Prathida teaches me about dissonance and Christmas. Today, dissonance, elephants, and the holiday season.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1584: Hugo Distler 06.06.2026 ↓

Episode: 1584 Hugo Distler: Beleaguered pioneer of twentieth century music. Today, the brief moment of a musical genius.