EPISODE · Feb 20, 2026 · 52 MIN
A short history of the innovations that have shaped human progress
from Conversations · host Australian Broadcasting Corporation
We rarely stop to wonder who invented the wheel, the alphabet or the printing press but so much of what feels fundamental to daily life was once a bold, untested idea, and someone had to think it up first.In The Shortest History of Innovation, Andrew Leigh traces that long thread of human ingenuity from ancient breakthroughs through to the inventions reshaping our world today like the car, social media and artificial intelligence. He also debunks some of the myths about how these things into the word and what happens when they collide with humanity.The Shortest History of Innovation is published by Black Inc Books.The executive producer of Conversations is Nicola HarrisonThis episode of Conversations explores history, ancient civilisation, the industrial revolution, medical breakthrough, human progress, invention, innovation, human psychology, AI, penicillin, the wheel, cutlery, vaccines, nuclear bomb, nuclear energy, medieval historyTo binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.
What this episode covers
We rarely stop to wonder who invented the wheel, the alphabet or the printing press but so much of what feels fundamental to daily life was once a bold, untested idea, and someone had to think it up first. In The Shortest History of Innovation, Andrew Leigh traces that long thread of human ingenuity from ancient breakthroughs through to the inventions reshaping our world today like the car, social media and artificial intelligence. He also debunks some of the myths about how these things into the word and what happens when they collide with humanity. The Shortest History of Innovation is published by Black Inc Books. The executive producer of Conversations is Nicola Harrison This episode of Conversations explores history, ancient civilisation, the industrial revolution, medical breakthrough, human progress, invention, innovation, human psychology, AI, penicillin, the wheel, cutlery, vaccines, nuclear bomb, nuclear energy, medieval history To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.
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A short history of the innovations that have shaped human progress
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