How We Got To Now
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''How We Got to Now'' is a British-American factual television series that was broadcast on
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
in 2014 and BBC Two in 2015. The series was commissioned by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in the United Kingdom and made by
Nutopia Nutopia is a conceptual country, sometimes referred to as a micronation, founded by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. One of the reasons that the country was founded was to address Lennon's then-ongoing immigration problems (the previous week he receive ...
, a British-American production company in the United States. The six-part series, presented by Steven Johnson, explores the legacy of great ideas.


Production

The factual series is a co-production between
Nutopia Nutopia is a conceptual country, sometimes referred to as a micronation, founded by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. One of the reasons that the country was founded was to address Lennon's then-ongoing immigration problems (the previous week he receive ...
, a British-American production company, and PBS. The producer is Diene Petterle, a Brazilian-born British film, television and theatrical producer, and the executive producers are
Jane Root Jane Fairbairn Root (born 18 May 1957) is a creative executive in the media industry, who has run major television networks on both sides of the Atlantic. As Controller of BBC Two (1999 to 2004), she was the first woman to be a channel controller f ...
, Peter Lovering, and
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
. A companion book was published by Riverhead Books and a companion website has been created to explore present day innovations. The show was distributed by BBC Worldwide and received funding from the CPB/PBS Program Challenge Fund.


Episodes

# Clean - from sewers to
clean rooms A cleanroom or clean room is an engineered space, which maintains a very low concentration of airborne particulates. It is well isolated, well-controlled from contamination, and actively cleansed. Such rooms are commonly needed for scientif ...
# Time - from pendulum clocks to
radiometric dating Radiometric dating, radioactive dating or radioisotope dating is a technique which is used to date materials such as rocks or carbon, in which trace radioactive impurities were selectively incorporated when they were formed. The method compares ...
# Glass - from
cristallo Cristallo is a glass which is totally clear (like rock crystal), without the slight yellow or greenish color originating from iron oxide impurities. This effect is achieved through small additions of manganese oxide.R. W. Douglas: ''A history of ...
to
smart phones A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, which ...
# Light - from spermaceti oil to
fusion reactors Fusion power is a proposed form of power generation that would generate electricity by using heat from nuclear fusion reactions. In a fusion process, two lighter atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, while releasing energy. Devices de ...
# Cold - from
ice harvesting Ice cutting is a winter task of collecting surface ice from lakes and rivers for storage in ice houses and use or sale as a cooling method. Rare today, it was common (see ice trade) before the era of widespread mechanical refrigeration and air ...
to
air conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...
# Sound - from
phonautograph The phonautograph is the earliest known device for recording sound. Previously, tracings had been obtained of the sound-producing vibratory motions of tuning forks and other objects by physical contact with them, but not of actual sound waves ...
to
ultrasound imaging Medical ultrasound includes diagnostic techniques (mainly imaging techniques) using ultrasound, as well as therapeutic applications of ultrasound. In diagnosis, it is used to create an image of internal body structures such as tendons, muscl ...
The historical characters who appear include
Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventi ...
,
Clarence Birdseye Clarence Birdseye (December 9, 1886 – October 7, 1956) was an American inventor, entrepreneur, and naturalist, considered the founder of the modern frozen food industry. He founded the frozen food company Birds Eye. Among his inventions during ...
,
Frederick McKinley Jones Frederick McKinley Jones (May 17, 1893 – February 21, 1961) was an American inventor, entrepreneur, engineer, winner of the National Medal of Technology, and an inductee of the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Jones innovated mobile refr ...
,
Willis Carrier Willis Haviland Carrier (November 26, 1876 – October 7, 1950) was an American engineer, best known for inventing modern air conditioning. Carrier invented the first electrical air conditioning unit in 1902. In 1915, he founded Carrier Cor ...
, Tim Berners-Lee,
Hedy Lamarr Hedy Lamarr (; born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler; November 9, 1914 January 19, 2000) was an Austrian-born American film actress and inventor. A film star during Hollywood's golden age, Lamarr has been described as one of the greatest movie actress ...
, and Mark Zuckerberg.


Broadcast

The series premiered in the US in the fall of 2014 on PBS. The series also premiered in Australia on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
from 26 February 2015.


Reception

Robert Lloyd of ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' wrote, "Though-provoking and fun to watch."


Awards

Peepshow Collective won Outstanding Motion Design at the 67th Emmy Awards in 2015 for their work on the series.


See also

* ''Connections'' (British documentary)


References


External links

* * {{Steven Berlin Johnson 2014 British television series debuts BBC television documentaries English-language television shows