Posts

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Articles

• Draining the swamp » January 28, 2020
• 2019 in review » December 31, 2019
• More on polio and randomized clinical trials » December 27, 2019
• Polio and the controversy over randomized clinical trials » December 20, 2019
• Our weapons against infectious disease: a survey » December 12, 2019
• Were vaccines relevant to 20th century US mortality improvements? » December 9, 2019
• A letter on optimism » December 3, 2019
• Slaying the speckled monster » November 21, 2019
• In which I answer your questions about cement » October 31, 2019
• Reframing “sustainability” » October 27, 2019
• A dialogue on growth, progress, and “sustainability” » October 24, 2019
• Iron: From mythical to mundane » October 22, 2019
• Progress studies as a civic duty » October 14, 2019
• Video: The History of Steel & the Roots of Progress » October 10, 2019
• Progress studies as a moral imperative » September 7, 2019
• Does invention come from deprivation or plenty? » August 18, 2019
• Why did we wait so long for the bicycle? » July 13, 2019
• Science and the Industrial Revolution » June 29, 2019
• Science and steel » June 22, 2019
• What's wrong with books on industrial history » May 12, 2019
• One man's junk » April 28, 2019
• The Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum » April 21, 2019
• The significance of electricity » March 31, 2019
• Continental axes and the roots of progress » March 24, 2019
• Why AC won the Electricity Wars » March 9, 2019
• When innovation hits “snooze” » January 1, 2019
• 2018 in review » December 31, 2018
• Navigating the high seas » November 24, 2018
• Early cars: gas, electric & steam » November 17, 2018
• Science and steam » October 27, 2018
• The 13th labor of Hercules » September 3, 2018
• Problem-solution history » August 11, 2018
• Unsustainable » August 5, 2018
• Learning the loom » May 27, 2018
• The time machine » May 20, 2018
• Out of whole cloth » April 21, 2018
• Going for a spin » April 16, 2018
• Learning with my hands » April 1, 2018
• Enlightenment Now: A summary » March 11, 2018
• Primitive thought » February 4, 2018
• The first and true inventor » January 20, 2018
• Instant stone (just add water!) » January 6, 2018
• Twelve books from 2017 » December 31, 2017
• And they shall walk » December 24, 2017
• Why did we wait so long for the cotton gin? » November 25, 2017
• Pesticides and old lace » November 4, 2017
• What was the relationship of the Scientific Revolution to the Industrial? » October 29, 2017
• That Senator really took a beating » October 17, 2017
• The most peaceful time in history » September 21, 2017
• The shadow of the moon » September 18, 2017
• The story of materials » September 3, 2017
• Turning air into bread » August 12, 2017
• Vaclav Smil on “Making the Modern World” » July 15, 2017
• Charting progress » July 11, 2017
• Smart, rich & free » July 8, 2017
• Nomad life » July 2, 2017
• The beginning » June 25, 2017
• Categorizing technologies » June 3, 2017
• Trains and steamboats » May 25, 2017
• The Malthusian Trap, analyzed » May 23, 2017
• The Malthusian Trap? » May 21, 2017
• Better living through chemistry » May 20, 2017
• There are no natural resources » April 15, 2017
• What is smelting? » April 15, 2017
• What is steel? And how is it related to iron? » April 9, 2017
• What is charcoal? And how is it different from coal? » April 9, 2017
• What is an “engine”? » April 8, 2017
• The significance of the steam engine » April 8, 2017
• James Watt's steam engine » April 8, 2017
• The Newcomen steam engine » April 2, 2017
• Religious freedom and the Enlightenment » April 1, 2017
• The virtuousness of technology » March 31, 2017
• The Baconian program » March 30, 2017
• The idea of progress » March 23, 2017
• Don't read this blog » March 17, 2017
• Motivation » March 17, 2017

Interviews

• Two more interviews: Idea Machines, Only Everything » February 17, 2020
• Interviews: Agora Politics, The Troubadour Magazine » February 15, 2020
• Podcast interview: Palladium with Ash Milton » January 27, 2020
• Podcast interview: Market Power with Craig Palsson » January 23, 2020
• Podcast interview with Jordan Myers on “That's BS” » October 27, 2019
• Podcast interview on Venture Stories with Erik Torenberg and Rob Tracinski » October 17, 2019
• Podcast interview on “Self in Society” with Ari Armstrong » September 22, 2019

See also the list of all interviews.

Announcements

• SF event this Friday: Co-hosting Long Now happy hour at The Interval » January 22, 2020
• What podcasts should I go on? » January 16, 2020
• Going full-time » October 28, 2019
• Reddit community (subreddit) for Roots of Progress » October 26, 2019
• Support this project on Patreon » September 8, 2019
• Subscribe by email » January 12, 2019
• Added a bibliography » April 9, 2018