All Episodes
Dive deep into the stories behind the technologies that shaped our digital world. Each episode explores the people, ideas, and moments that created the internet as we know it.
Season 2
3 episodes
Jacquard's Web
In this episode of Internet Origins, we explore Jacquard's Web by James Essinger. Long before computers processed data or the internet connected the world, a French silk weaver invented a loom controlled by punched cards, creating the first programmable machine and the foundational logic of modern computing.
Hard Drive
In this episode of Internet Origins, we explore Hard Drive by James Wallace and Jim Erickson. A teenage coding prodigy drops out of Harvard, bets everything on software, and builds an empire through sheer obsession. This is the story of Bill Gates—the brilliant, ruthless visionary who turned Microsoft into the most powerful company in computing history.
The Everything Store
In this episode of Internet Origins, we explore The Everything Store by Brad Stone. Long before same-day delivery, cloud computing, and voice assistants, a garage startup called Amazon transformed the world by turning the internet into a universal marketplace and reimagining the very nature of retail.
Season 1
9 episodes
Makers of the Microchip
In this episode of Internet Origins, we explore Makers of the Microchip by Christophe Lécuyer and David Brock—the story of eight rebellious engineers who walked out on a Nobel laureate and, in doing so, founded an industry. From a rented warehouse in Palo Alto, the “Traitorous Eight” built Fairchild Semiconductor, invented the integrated circuit, and turned California’s orchards into Silicon Valley.
The Paypal Wars
In this episode of Internet Origins, we explore The PayPal Wars by Eric Jackson. The inside story of how a scrappy startup survived the dot-com crash, outmaneuvered eBay, and helped launch a generation of entrepreneurs who would redefine technology itself. From online auctions to boardroom coups, this is the origin story of the PayPal Mafia and the digital revolution they sparked.
Uncharted
In this episode of Internet Origins, we explore Uncharted by Erez Aiden and Jean-Baptiste Michel—the story of how two Harvard researchers transformed Google's digitized books into a cultural telescope, making it possible to track the evolution of language and ideas across five centuries.
The Search
In this episode of Internet Origins, we explore The Search by John Battelle—the story of how Google transformed the chaos of the early web into order. From Stanford dorm rooms to Silicon Valley boardrooms, Larry Page and Sergey Brin reimagined how information could be found and ranked.
Weaving The Web
In this episode of Internet Origins, we explore Weaving the Web by Tim Berners-Lee. From the chaos of CERN’s research labs to the dawn of the digital age, Berners-Lee imagined a way for computers to share information as effortlessly as the human mind connects ideas. His invention—the World Wide Web—transformed the Internet from a tool for scientists into a living network of people, knowledge, and culture. This is the story of how a few lines of code, shared freely, reshaped the modern world.
Where Wizards Stay Up Late
In this episode of Internet Origins, we explore Where Wizards Stay Up Late by Katie Hafner and Matthew Lyon. From Cold War labs to university basements, a small group of researchers built the ARPANET—the network that became the Internet. Guided by visionary figures like J.C.R. Licklider and fueled by ARPA’s daring experiments, they turned a dream of connected computers into the foundation of the digital age.
The Idea Factory
In this episode of Internet Origins, we explore The Idea Factory by Jon Gertner. Decades before Silicon Valley, Bell Labs—the legendary research arm of AT&T—pioneered the technologies that built the modern world. From the invention of the transistor and Claude Shannon’s Information Theory to the creation of satellites, lasers, and digital switching, Bell Labs was the birthplace of the Information Age.
iWoz
In this episode of Internet Origins, we explore iWoz by Steve Wozniak. Long before the iPhone and iPad, Wozniak’s love of electronics and partnership with Steve Jobs led to the Apple I and Apple II, pioneering the era of personal computing.
The Victorian Internet
In this first episode of Internet Origins, we explore The Victorian Internet by Tom Standage. Long before email, instant messaging, and social networks, the telegraph transformed the world by shrinking distance and speeding up communication.