Perhaps you’ve marveled at the engineering feats of the Golden Gate Bridge or the Hoover Dam. Maybe you’ve thought about how many train tracks run in and out of Grand Central Station.
But it’s sometimes easy to forget just how important well-functioning infrastructure is in our day-to-day lives. Flip a light switch, and the light comes on. Wash a load of laundry and your clothes come out clean and fresh. Order pretty much anything on Amazon and it arrives two days later.
It can be kind of boring. And that’s the good news. We like our infrastructure to be boring—that means it’s running well.
Ira talks with Dr. Deb Chachra, author of the new book How Infrastructure Works: Inside the Systems that Shape Our World and professor of engineering at the Olin College of Engineering, about the role of infrastructure in our lives.
To stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters. Transcripts for each segment will be available the week after the show airs on sciencefriday.com.
Pfizer Vaccine Approval, Making Solar Power For Everyone. August 27, 2021, Part 1
Third Thumb, Nostalgia, Orcas. Aug 20, 2021, Part 2
Delta Variant in Kids, Myers-Briggs Personality Test, Suicide in Communities of Color. Aug 20, 2021, Part 1
Elephantquakes and Margaret Atwood. August 13, 2021, Part 2
Electric Fish Communication, Science Crimes, Lighting Cave Art. August 13, 2021, Part 1
Bad Data, CRISPR Therapies, Wildfire Impact, Oilbirds. August 6, 2021, Part 2
Infrastructure Package, Covid News, Line3 Pipeline. August 6, 2021, Part 1
Gut Fungi, Olympic Challenges, Planetary Seismology. July 30, 2021, Part 2
New CDC Mask Rules, Viral Persistence, Disaster Preparedness. July 30, 2021, Part 1
Shellfish Deaths, Chemical Safety, Humpback Songs. July 23, 2021, Part 2
Surgeon General, Blockchain. July 23, 2021, Part 1
Songbird Mystery, Sweat, Betelgeuse. July 16, 2021, Part 2
New Battery Technology, COVID Rise From Unvaccinated Populations. July 16, 2021, Part 1
John McPhee’s Annals Of The Former World. July 9, 2021, Part 2
African Wild Dogs, Spotted Lanternfly, Seashells. July 9, 2021, Part 1
Garden Hotline, Benjamin Franklin. July 2, 2021, Part 2
Extreme Heat, COVID Delta Variant, Poe’s Science. July 2, 2021, Part 1
Cephalopod Week Wrap Up, California Carbon Credits Error. June 25, 2021, Part 1
UFO Report, Animal Play, Alzheimers and Music. June 25, 2021, Part 2
Immunocompromised and Covid, Summer SciFi Reading. June 18, 2021, Part 2
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Greece Travel Secrets Podcast
That Park Life: a Disney World Podcast
Ghostlore of Hawaii: Paranormal Paradise
Stuff You Should Know
Timcast IRL