The Secret Life of Ordinary Objects - Part 7: From Chessboard Battles to the Disposable Blade: The Ingenuity of Play and Destruction27 April 2019·903 words·5 minsHistory and Critical Analysis Games Warfare Toys Inventions Strategy Technology Innovation History Social Dynamics Technological HistoryThe serious business of play: how toys, games, and tools of conflict define progress.
The Secret Life of Ordinary Objects - Part 6: Knocking on Wood and Crossing the Heart: The Secret Language of Global Gestures26 April 2019·991 words·5 minsHistory and Critical Analysis Gestures Ceremonies Superstition Etiquette Rituals Innovation History Social Dynamics Technological HistoryThe unwritten rules: how ceremonies and symbols define safety, status, and salvation.
The Secret Life of Ordinary Objects - Part 5: The Alchemist's Cabinet: Soap, Aspirin, and the Strange Evolution of Health25 April 2019·927 words·5 minsHistory and Critical Analysis Soap Medicine Hygiene Industrialization Chemical-Innovation Innovation History Social Dynamics Technological HistoryThe pursuit of purity: how industrial ingenuity transformed sickness and sanitation.
The Secret Life of Ordinary Objects - Part 4: From Quill to QWERTY: The Relentless March of Communication Innovation24 April 2019·942 words·5 minsHistory and Critical Analysis QWERTY Telephone Printing-Press Computers Innovation Innovation History Social Dynamics Technological HistoryThe invisible network: how we conquered distance and time with codes, wires, and light.
The Secret Life of Ordinary Objects - Part 3: Denim, Drawstrings, and Diplomacy: The Fabricated Truths Hidden in Your Wardrobe23 April 2019·836 words·4 minsHistory and Critical Analysis Clothing Fashion Social-History Industry Political Economy Innovation History Social Dynamics Technological HistoryThe material mandate: how the clothes we wear codify class, power, and purity.
The Secret Life of Ordinary Objects - Part 2: The Invisible Architects: How Fire Policy Reveals Political Priorities22 April 2019·908 words·5 minsHistory and Critical Analysis Political Economy Fire Urban Planning Disasters Governance Innovation History Social Dynamics Technological HistoryWhy some cities burn and others don't: fire policy as political economy and the architecture of vulnerability.
The Secret Life of Ordinary Objects - Part 1: Salt, Syntax, and Sips: A Global History of What We Eat21 April 2019·1049 words·5 minsHistory and Critical Analysis Food-History Political Economy Industrialization Beverages Consumption Innovation History Social Dynamics Technological HistoryFrom Roman flatbread to TV dinners: the epicurean paradox of why the simplest foods hide the most complicated politics.
The Secret Life of Ordinary Objects20 April 2019·201 words·1 minHistory and Critical Analysis Hidden Histories Forks Container Revolution Light Illumination Suburban Dreams Domestic Revolution Global Gestures Consumer Psychology Innovation History Social Dynamics Technological HistoryHidden Histories That Shaped Our World - Discovering the extraordinary stories behind everyday items
The Secret Life of Ordinary Objects- Intro: Hidden Histories That Shaped Our World20 April 2019·827 words·4 minsHistory and Critical Analysis Disasters Inequality Political Economy Vulnerability Governance Innovation History Social Dynamics Technological HistoryFrom innovation to instinct: unearthing the epic stories behind the everyday and exploring the political economy of who lives and who dies.
Arid Ambition - Part 5: The Mirage of Augmentation and the Looming End19 April 2019·1877 words·9 minsHistory and Critical Analysis Water Scarcity Colorado River Sustainability Climate-Change Water Crisis Disaster Analysis Innovation History Policy and Critique SustainabilityThe unsustainable water allocations and the precarious future of Western civilization.