TechStuff

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 your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 scientific research. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 manufacturing to the regulations that define a bat's performance, we find out. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A century after its founding, the Finnish company Nokia entered the world of electronics. How did Nokia come to dominate the cellular phone industry and why did it lose enough ground to sell off its mobile division to Microsoft? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 than 100 years old? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

By the 1960s, Gibson was well established as a premier electric guitar manufacturing company. But the following decades brought strife to Gibson, and in 2018 the company declared bankruptcy. What went wrong? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 executive shuffling and the controversies! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison has earned himself a flamboyant reputation among the tech elite. How did a self-taught programmer help start the second-biggest software company in the world? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 Jonathan talks about math a lot. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. Where did they come from and how have they changed? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What exactly is cloud computing? We trace the development of cloud computing from the days of mainframes to the modern Internet. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 right person can read it? We explore the world of cryptology. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 1s. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 not).  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.