RSS • Apple PodcastsDescription (podcaster-provided):
Hear the untold stories of mind-blowing achievements in science and tech. “CBS Sunday Morning” correspondent and six-time Emmy winner David Pogue takes you behind the scenes into the creation stories of the world’s greatest advances and the people behind them. From transportation, food, space, internet, and health, creators reveal their inspirations and roadblocks they encountered in bringing their breakthroughs to the public. Hear all-new episodes of the award-winning Unsung Science podcast every other Friday.Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ behind-the-scenes invention stories • transportation and space tech • internet tools and standards • AI, deepfakes, digital trust • health, genetics, vaccines, wearables • climate, biodiversity, conservation solutions • design of everyday innovationsThis podcast explores the behind-the-scenes origin stories of scientific and technological breakthroughs, emphasizing how ideas move from early insight and experimentation to real-world impact. Hosted by David Pogue, it blends narrative storytelling with interviews from inventors, engineers, scientists, and industry leaders who describe the inspirations, setbacks, and practical problem-solving that shaped widely used tools and landmark projects.
Across the episodes, a major focus is modern engineering and infrastructure: innovations in aviation and transportation, global shipping logistics, and standardized connectors and systems that quietly power everyday devices. Another recurring theme is how large-scale digital platforms and standards are built and maintained, including mapping services, online security tools, and the governance decisions that shape common interfaces and symbols people use daily.
Space and exploration stories also figure prominently, covering ambitious robotic missions, advanced telescopes, and the technical challenges of operating in extreme environments—sometimes paired with the human and managerial realities that accompany high-stakes projects. In parallel, the show frequently turns to health and biology, examining genetic influences on behavior, medical breakthroughs, consumer wearables as health monitors, the science of placebos, and novel techniques that apply DNA analysis in fields like criminal investigation.
Environmental and climate-related problem-solving is another consistent throughline, with attention to decarbonization, biodiversity restoration, conservation technology, water security, mosquito control, plastics and recycling, and practical preparation for climate-driven risks. The podcast also branches into the technology of culture and media, looking at tools and craft behind creative production, accessibility features for audiences with disabilities, and constructed languages for film and television.
A final, timely thread is trust in the information ecosystem: the rise of AI-generated content and deepfakes, the risks they pose, and technical efforts to authenticate media. Overall, this podcast presents a wide survey of “how it was made” stories, linking technical detail to human decisions and societal consequences.
| Episodes: |
Grand Finale: A Pop Song is Born2023-Dec-08 52 minutes |
Electric Planes Take Off2023-Nov-24 40 minutes |
Genetics, Votes, and Colin Firth2023-Nov-10 41 minutes |
How Does Google Maps Do It?2023-Oct-26 32 minutes |
How Cool Tech is Saving the Whales2023-Oct-13 40 minutes |
How the Webb Telescope Sees Back in Time2023-Sep-29 43 minutes |
Inside Elon Musk's Brain2023-Sep-16 39 minutes |
Screaming Babies, Noise Canceling, and You2023-Sep-01 41 minutes |
The Pulse-Pounding Origin Story of USB-C2023-Aug-18 44 minutes |
CeCe Moore Cracks Cold Cases with Genealogy2023-Aug-04 43 minutes |
What if Placebos ARE the Medicine?2023-Jul-21 34 minutes |
The Man Who Invented QR Codes2023-Jul-07 37 minutes |
Inside the Lost Titanic Sub: An Update2023-Jun-23 46 minutes |
How Doug Lindsay Invented His Own Surgery2023-Jun-09 41 minutes |
The Power of an Empty Metal Box2023-May-26 39 minutes |
From Klingon to Dothraki: Constructed Languages for Hollywood2023-May-12 39 minutes |
The Million-Dollar Toothpaste Tube2023-Apr-28 41 minutes |
The Rewilded Farm2023-Mar-31 37 minutes |
NASA Redirects an Asteroid2023-Mar-17 35 minutes |
How They Found the Shipwreck Endurance2023-Mar-03 43 minutes |
Deepfakes: Big Tech Fights Back2023-Feb-17 31 minutes |
The Mars Helicopter That Would Not Die2023-Feb-03 50 minutes |
ChatGPT and the End of Writing2023-Jan-20 35 minutes |
Introducing: Season 2 of Unsung Science with David Pogue2023-Jan-13 4 minutes |
Back to Titanic Part 22022-Dec-19 38 minutes |
Back to Titanic Part 12022-Nov-27 40 minutes |
The Secret of Baby Carrots2022-Nov-20 30 minutes |
How Impossible Meats Might Save the Earth2022-Feb-11 40 minutes |
The Man Who Stopped the Spammers2022-Feb-04 32 minutes |
Where Emoji Come From2022-Jan-28 36 minutes |
How the Fitbit Knows You're Dreaming2022-Jan-21 36 minutes |
Subtitles for the Blind2022-Jan-14 52 minutes |
Chainsaws, Women, and the Cape Town Drought2022-Jan-07 40 minutes |
How to Prepare for Wildfires2021-Dec-31 59 minutes |
Where to Live in the Climate-Change Era2021-Dec-24 60 minutes |
Leap Seconds, Smear Seconds, and the Slowing of the Earth2021-Dec-17 39 minutes |
How the Cellphone was Born: Three Months of Craziness2021-Dec-10 37 minutes |
How Apple and Microsoft Built the Seeing-Eye Phone2021-Dec-03 49 minutes |
How to Prepare for Climate Change: Intro2021-Nov-26 7 minutes |
Who Makes the Fake Languages for Hollywood?2021-Nov-19 39 minutes |
How NASA's $2 Billion Rover Landed Itself on Mars: "Seven Minutes of Terror"2021-Nov-12 43 minutes |
Tornado Alley is Shifting Eastward—and We're Not Ready2021-Nov-05 34 minutes |
Audio Deepfakes and the End of Trust2021-Oct-29 45 minutes |
How We Almost Blew the Vaccine2021-Oct-22 41 minutes |
What Happened to the Mosquitoes in Fresno?2021-Oct-15 38 minutes |
Introducing: Unsung Science with David Pogue2021-Sep-27 3 minutes |