The Engines of our Ingenuity was founded by John Lienhard and is hosted by Houston Public Media. He and many others use the series to tell the story of how our culture is formed by human creativity. The program uses the record of history to reveal the way art, technology, and ideas have shaped us. Episode topics range from cable cars to Civil War submarines, from the connection between Romantic poets and Victorian science to the invention of the bar code.
The series is broadcast five days a week by over thirty National Public Radio affiliates nation-wide. It was first aired on NPR member station KUHF-FM Houston on Jan. 4, 1988. It was made available nationally, three months later. As of August 4, 2023, 3290 new episodes will have been aired and posted on the Engines web site.
The producers of the show have been Don Ham during 1988, Ron Russak until October, 1994, Rick Nelson until the Fall of 1995, and Capella Tucker until 2003 when Paul Franklin took up most of the production and Capella Tucker took over executive responsibility for the program. In 2010, Paul Pendergraft became producer with additional production by Ryan Edwards. Following Paul's retirement in 2016, Mark DiClaudio assumed the duties of producer and web editor. Engines airs in Houston on KUHF-FM 88.7 at 5:44 AM, and 12:34 PM, Monday through Friday as well as 8:34 AM Sundays. The theme music for the Radio series was created by Andrew Lienhard.
For information on how your Public Radio station may obtain The Engines of Our Ingenuity from the NPR Satellite feed, and carry it free of charge, CLICK HERE.
For information about the people who helped create the Engines website, CLICK HERE.