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Pumps, plumbing, and weird water One of the earliest things humanity automated was the moving of liquids—irrigation, draining mines, and removal of waste. From five-thousand years ago to today, we take a look at pumps, plumbing, and some of the weirdness of water.

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of metals and mines From prehistory to the industrial revolution, we take a look at metal working and mining.

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Wires, springs, and mechanical marvels Along with the beginnings of springs and wire, we take a look at some more automatons. Included is the 18th century chess playing mechanical Turk.

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Ancient robots Starting more than 2000 years ago, people have been creating machines that resemble animals and humans. Powered by water, compressed air, springs or falling weights, these automatons thrilled and amazed spectators.

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Why are we turning? To build your bot, you’ll need some bits. Today we talk about wheels pulleys and gears—where and when they happen, and how and why to use them.

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That’s not a machine! We finish up “building brain bits for bots based on big beasties,” and move on to some things that have to do with actual robots. Searching for the beginnings of the technology, we do make a short visit to the stone age.

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Building brain bits for bots based on big beasties We begin a series on robotics and automation with a look at your host’s on going project on how to build a brain for a bot. After years of research, it turns out that bigger is better. special thanks to @EliaMagrinelli and @mattparlmer.

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Dreams and schemes in space For our last episode on space and space travel, we take a look at the private business based space programs.

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The Columbia’s last flight 17 years after the space shuttle Challenger broke up during launch, the space shuttle Columbia broke up during reentry. We take a look at what happened and why.

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The Challenger’s last flight In January of 1986, the space shuttle Challenger came apart 73 seconds after launch. We take a look at what happened and why.