This robot will shoot you and steal your wife

from If You're Listening · host Australian Broadcasting Corporation

We have always been obsessed with stories about killer robots. But where do stories about malevolent machines with a mind of their own originate? Matt and Kara dig into the archives and discover an English robot called Alpha who; according to newspapers at the time, “became more man than machine” and “fired a gun at its inventor” in front of a packed room of terrified onlookers in Brighton, England in 1932. The terrifying story was covered widely, and audiences flocked from all over to see the killer robot. But it turns out that’s not how the story went at all…Read the Ogden Standard Examiner story from 1932: https://www.scribd.com/document/35924338/1932-Oct-23-Ogden-Standard-Examiner-Ogden-City-UTRead the Time article from 1934: https://time.com/archive/6819850/science-robot/Watch Alpha at Macy's: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fiiq0V9QRJ4Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app.Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq

What this episode covers

We have always been obsessed with stories about killer robots. But where do stories about malevolent machines with a mind of their own originate? Matt and Kara dig into the archives and discover an English robot called Alpha who; according to newspapers at the time, “became more man than machine” and “fired a gun at its inventor” in front of a packed room of terrified onlookers in Brighton, England in 1932. The terrifying story was covered widely, and audiences flocked from all over to see the killer robot. But it turns out that’s not how the story went at all… Read the Ogden Standard Examiner story from 1932: https://www.scribd.com/document/35924338/1932-Oct-23-Ogden-Standard-Examiner-Ogden-City-UT Read the Time article from 1934: https://time.com/archive/6819850/science-robot/ Watch Alpha at Macy's: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fiiq0V9QRJ4 Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app. Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq

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This robot will shoot you and steal your wife

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This episode was published on December 8, 2025.

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