This is an iHeart Podcast. This Labor Day, say goodbye to spills, stains, and overpriced furniture with washable sofas.com, featuring Anibay, the only machine washable sofa inside and out, where designer quality meets budget-friendly pricing.
Sofas start at just $6.99, making it the perfect time to upgrade your space. Anibay's pet-friendly, stain-resistant, and interchangeable slip covers are made with high-performance fabric built for real life. You'll love the cloud-like comfort of hypoallergenic, high-resilience foam that never needs fluffing and a durable steel frame that stands the test of time. With modular pieces, you can rearrange anytime. It's a sofa that adapts to your life.
Now through Labor Day, get up to 60% off-site-wide at washablefas.com. Every order comes with a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. If you're not in love, send it back for a full refund. No return shipping, no restocking fees, every penny back. Shop now at washable sofas.com.
Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions. may apply. Take a deep dive into the stories making the news headlines across the world. The News Agents. We're not just here to tell you what's happening, but why.
From me, Emily Maitlis. And me, John Sopol. With Global's award-winning podcast, the news agents dropping daily, covering everything you need to know about politics and current affairs. And the NewsAgents USA. Listening to the news agents on America's number one podcast network, iHeart.
Open your free iHeart app and search the news agents to start listening. Lowe's knows that no matter your paint project, saving is at the top of your list. That's why when you shop today, you can buy one, get one free, select Valspar and HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams One Coat Coverage Interior Paints via rebate. Shop these deals in store or online today at Lowe's. We help you save.
Selection varies by location. While supplies last. Discount taken at time of purchase. See Sales Associate for details. Offer valid 821 through 93.
Homes.com has collaboration tools to help home shoppers search, share, and discuss home shopping with family, friends, and their agent directly through the site. Though it was fun to get that email from your husband about that three-bedroom in the hills, to which you replied via text that you would never live in the hills and you'd like to find a three-bedroom closer to the beach. To which he replied, Why are you so uncompromising? A fun way to spend an afternoon, but we think it's just a tad bit easier our way. Homes.com.
We've done your homework. Good morning. Welcome to Today. From back to school to tackling your to-do list, the Today Show is your best start to the day. It's a new season, and every morning, we're here to help you take it all along.
as the forecast calls for football all across the country. Blockbuster stars, live concerts, and so much more. Wake up to where it's all happening. We're getting back to all of it, and the best way to start is together. Watch the Today Show, weekday mornings at 7 a.m.
on NBC. This is Lee Habib, and this is our American Stories, the show where America is the star. and the American people. And to search for the Our American Stories podcast, Go to the iHeartRadio app. Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Our next storyteller is Tim Harford, an economist and best-selling author of 50 Things That Shape the Modern Economy. Here he is to tell the story about a few of those. The iPhone has a very interesting lesson for us, I think. I mean, I don't need to tell you. how it changed the economy, but I think where they came from is a very interesting lesson.
So this argument is made by an economist called Mariana Mazzucato and she says, look, What is in an iPhone? You've got a touch screen, you've got the solid-state hard drive, you've got the computer chips, you've got algorithms, particularly. Algorithms that convert digital to analog and analog to digital. You've got GPS, you've got access to the internet. You've got the cell phone structure.
You've got all of that going on.
Okay. These are the building blocks that Steve Jobs put together to make this amazing invention.
So who invented the building blocks? And when you look at the history of it, very often They came from governments, very often the American military, although not always. For example, a touchscreen is um. British Government. invention.
It was invented at the Royal Radar Establishment.
So you look at all these different inventions and they all have these government or military origins which is very striking because A lot of people, myself included, like to sing the praises of private sector. innovation the power of the entrepreneur, the creativity of the free market. I'm all for that. I believe in that. But we also have to look at the facts.
And in this particular fact, A lot of these Building blocks. came from governments. They were put together by brilliant entrepreneur Steve Jobs. but he would not have had the raw material to work with. He would just have been making a clever toy.
If he hadn't had these different inventions, even Siri was designed originally for fighter pilots and eventually became repurposed for smartphones.
So it's a lesson about. How sometimes the origins of these amazing inventions that shape the world around us are not always the origins we expect. They weren't always produced by the people. who get most of the credit. Radar originally The idea was A couple of British scientists during the Second World War were going to create a death ray.
We're going to use electromagnetic radiation to create this beam that will heat. Eight pints of Liquid, i.e. blood. Above whatever 105 degrees Fahrenheit, enough to make a pilot of a plane pass out, and we're going to knock planes out of the sky using our death rate. And the two scientists discussing this idea very quickly realized there's no way we don't have the power, we don't have the range, it can't be done.
But we could use electromagnetic waves to bounce off. planes. and we could interrogate the signals that come back. And we could use that to track incoming planes. And this is a hugely important development in the Second World War because it meant for Britain.
As these German bombers came over, high and fast attacking British cities. We could see them coming. and we could scramble a response and we could actually intercept them. changed the course of the Second World War and then various developments that made radars more powerful, more compact. You could put them in submarines, you could put them in aeroplanes, you could use them all over the battlefield.
But on top of that, once you've got that military technology, you've got a technology that makes civilian airspace a lot safer. And initially Those early civilian flights. It was just a case of, well, you plot your course on the map and you fly from one airport to another and keep away from clouds and hopefully you won't crash into another plane. And there was a tragic crash over the Grand Canyon. Two planes both trying to give their passengers a view over the Grand Canyon.
They hit each other. Terrible loss of life. And at that point, people started saying, you know what? We've got this technology, we could use it. to track where all the planes are.
to run a kind of air traffic control. system. And to keep everyone safe. And ever since then, air travel has been getting safer and safer and safer, famously safe, no matter how dangerous it may seem. when you're up there in one of those thin tubes.
And it is partly because of radar. Lots of people said You have to do the washing machine because the washing machine liberated housewives, women who could be going out To work for money, getting economic independence, getting experience of the workplace, fully contributing to society, and there they are, they're stuck at home. doing the laundry. I wanted to write that story, I thought it was a great story, but when I looked at the actual data, I found washing machines did not save women any time. What happened was instead of doing one wash a month.
You do one wash a day. And we all looked a lot cleaner and smelt a lot cleaner, but it didn't actually save. the housewives, the ones having to take responsibility for this, didn't save them any time. The TV dinner, on the other hand, did. And by TV dinner, I mean not just the thing in a tray that you would warm up and sit there with it in your lap but all of the other technology is.
by which food was industrialized.
So the idea that rather than plucking your own chicken, The chicken's pre-plucked and indeed maybe it's pre-seasoned and pre-stuffed. And actually, if you go to a deli, maybe it's also pre-cooked, the whole thing's ready to eat. You think about potato chips. To prepare fresh potato chips, to finely slice all the potatoes, to heat up the hot oil and all the mess and the risk that that involves and to fry them, a huge amount of time and effort. But you can buy.
Potato chips in a bag take seconds. You can eat them anywhere. Pre-chopped salads. You don't need to chop your own salad. You don't need to wash your own lettuce.
The salad's there in a bag. All of these different technologies, frozen meals. takeaway pizza, a whole lot. All of this save women an enormous amount of time.
So with all of these inventions, what we should be asking ourselves What can we do to enjoy the benefits without the costs? Technologies never just solve problems. They always create some problems as well, and so there's always an opportunity for us to do better. And a terrific job on the production, editing and storytelling by our own Greg Hengler. and a special thanks to Tim Harford.
He's the author of 50 Things That Shaped the Modern Economy. And the stories today were on the iPhone radar. and T V dinners. and reminded of course of that 1956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision which I'd seen pictures of as a kid. and just did not know that this was the this was the beginning.
catalyst that prompted modern radar. The story of the iPhone, radar, and TV dinners. Tim Harford Here. on our American stories. Lee Habib here, and I'm inviting you to help Our American Stories celebrate this country's 250th birthday, only a short time away.
If you want to help inspire countless others to love America like we do, and want to help us bring the inspiring and important stories told here to millions for years to come, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to Our American Stories. Go to OwlAmericanStories.com and click the donate button. Give a little, give a lot. Any amount helps, go to alamericanstories.com and give. This Labor Day, say goodbye to spills, stains, and overpriced furniture with washable sofas.com, featuring Anibay, the only machine washable sofa inside and out, where designer quality meets budget-friendly pricing.
Sofas start at just $6.99, making it the perfect time to upgrade your space. Anibay's pet-friendly, stain-resistant, and interchangeable slip covers are made with high-performance fabric built for real life. You'll love the cloud-like comfort of hypoallergenic, high-resilience foam that never needs fluffing and a durable steel frame that stands the test of time. With modular pieces, you can rearrange anytime. It's a sofa that adapts to your life.
Now through Labor Day, get up to 60% off-site-wide at washablesofas.com. Every order comes with a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. If you're not in love, send it back for a full refund. No return shipping, no restocking fees, every penny back. Shop now at washable sofas.com.
Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply. The day begins at the Chase Sapphire Lounge by the club at Boston Logan Airport. You get the clam chowder. In San Diego, it's Tostadas. New York, Espresso Martini.
It's 10 a.m. Why not? It's the quiet before your next flight, the shower that resets your day, the menu that lets you know where you are. This is access to over 1,300 airport lounges and every sapphire lounge by the club. And one card that gets you in.
Chase Sapphire Reserve, the most rewarding card. Learn more at chase.com/slash Sapphire Reserve. Cards issued by JPMorgan Chase Bank, any member FDIC, subject to credit approval. Take a deep dive into the stories making the news headlines across the world. The news agents.
We're not just here to tell you what's happening, but why. From me, Emily Maitless. And me, John Sopol. With Global's award-winning podcast, the news agents dropping daily, covering everything you need to know about politics and current affairs. And the News Agents USA.
Listening to the news agents on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Open your free iHeart app and search the news agents to start listening. Fox One is now live. It's the new way to stream all your Fox favorites all in one place. That means NFL Sundays and college football games, breaking news with the Fox voices you trust, and your favorite shows streamed as they happen so nothing gets spoiled.
With Fox One, you get it all live: edge of your seat plays, jaw-dropping moments, and that feeling like you're right there in the action. Start your seven-day trial today. Offers are subject to change. Go to Fox One for complete terms and conditions. Fox One, we live for life.
Streaming now. This is Danielle Fischel from Pod Meets World. Parents, quick question. When is the last time you won snack time? The other day, I handed my son a perfectly portioned Pinterest-level snack and He traded it for a Mott's applesauce pouch.
I'm not mad, just impressed. And that's why Mott's no-sugar-added applesauce pouches are perfect to keep on hand. They're made with real apples, packed in a super easy pouch, perfect for tossing in a lunchbox, keeping in the car, or grabbing as you're running out the door. Plus, they're a good source of vitamin C, and kids love them. Win-win!
Make sure your kid wins snack time with Motts. Real apples make real good applesauce. Learn more at Motts.com. This is an iHeart podcast.
