Liar, Bigamist, Brute: How Isaac Singer Liberated Women

from Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford · host Pushkin Industries

The sewing machine was once thought to be an impossible invention. It was such a complicated contraption that it would take more than one inventor, with more than one good idea, to make it work. Each of these inventors, including the notorious Isaac Singer, wanted the credit (and the fortune that came with it) for themselves. And so began the sewing machine war: a mire of backstabbing, stealing and misogyny. See the show notes at timharford.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jan 9, 2026

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Liar, Bigamist, Brute: How Isaac Singer Liberated Women

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