Episodes

In the late 19th Century, the nature of imperialism was evolving. Driven by realist geopolitics, capitalist forces, and racist assumptions, Westerners scrambled for power over the rest of the world…

In the mid-19th Century, two eastern empires were humiliated by industrialized powers. To avoid further humiliation, they both decided to industrialize themselves. In the late 19th Century, Russia and Japan went through rapid modernization. But which of the two succeeded would shock everyone, come 1905.

The Second Industrial Revolution more or less coincided with the lifespan of the German Empire. From 1871 to 1914, the new nation adopted a fairly democratic constitution, saw massive population growth, and experienced extraordinary economic development…

In this bonus episode, Dave interviews Dr. Joseph Sassoon about his book on the Sassoons, a major merchant trading family in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Dave interviews historian Anton Howes on his paper for Nesta, "Lessons from the age of coal", about the energy transition of the First Industrial Revolution and how it relates to our transition away from fossil fuels today.

In this bonus episode, Dave interviews researcher and blogger Ethan Johnson about the history of coin-op devices, which largely came out of the Second Industrial Revolution.

At the end of the 19th Century, workers throughout the world were fighting increasingly bitter, bloody battles against their capitalist bosses and the governments protecting them.

In this supplement to Chapter 65: "The Many Schools of Socialism", Dave reads a 2010 paper he wrote for his History of Economic Thought class in college.

During the late 19th Century, socialism fractured into numerous schools. In this episode, we explore the growing field of socialist thought, as well as its many colorful characters.

Beginning in the 1870s, the Neoclassical School of Economics emerged. Borrowing the idea of marginal analysis from calculus, and applying it to the ethical theory of Utilitarianism, they revolutionized the way economics was discussed.

As industrialization drove economic growth all over the Western World, financial systems had to keep growing in complexity and value. And as they did, they continued to drive industrialization further in turn. And, then as now, they were susceptible to greedy players, bad decisions, and panic.

Dave speaks with technologist and business advisor, Professor J. Scott Christianson, about the Gilded Age and how it compares to our world today.

Americans had long believed their country was a classless society. But by the end of the 19th Century, that myth had been shattered. In the Gilded Age, a super-rich elite emerged.

The live recording of my recent Mill Talk at the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation.

In the mid-19th Century, two new industrial developments were underway. In the UK and US, new discoveries were made for the refining of crude petroleum into numerous useful oils. Meanwhile, in France and Germany, engineers were starting to produce the first commercially viable internal combustion engines. Together, these two breakthroughs would open up a world of possibilities and, in time, put an end to the Steam Age.

To supplement this month's chapter on The Electric Age, Dave talks with Stephen Kotowych from "Tesla: The Life and Times Podcast" to learn more about the legendary inventor and the world he made possible.

Electric power has become a staple of our daily lives. In this episode, we’ll discuss how it was made possible.

It is simply impossible to imagine life today without the mass-production of steel and rubber, made possible during the Technological Revolution…

More so than in the First Industrial Revolution, the Second Industrial Revolution saw big changes in consumer markets. Thanks to mail-order catalogs, dry goods palaces, and new department stores, consumers had more options than ever before…

Since we talked about America’s railroad age in Chapter 57 – and because it’s Black History Month – this is the perfect time to discuss an iconic American folktale: The legend of John Henry…