HistoryExtra podcast Thomas Edison: life of the week
16 snips
Feb 24, 2026 
Iwan Morus, historian of Victorian science and technology, unpacks Thomas Edison’s rise as a commercial inventor and celebrity. He explores Menlo Park’s workshop culture, Edison's use of patents and teams, the AC versus DC battles with Tesla and Westinghouse, and how press and publicity shaped Edison’s lasting myth.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
How 19th Century Networks Shaped Edison's Opportunity
- Edison emerged into a technological age defined by railways and the electromagnetic telegraph driving rapid communication and commerce.
- Iwan Morus links Edison's opportunity to these networks, which shaped his early telegraph work and inventive focus on speed and efficiency.
Edison's Early Telegraph Tinkering
- Young Edison learnt by tinkering: he built a makeshift telegraph between houses and worked as a telegraph operator experimenting with chemical and electrical apparatus.
- Iwan Morus recounts these early hands-on episodes and how they taught Edison practical tricks, speed, and shortcuts used in telegraphy.
Invention As An Industrial Process
- Edison turned invention into a business by systematising innovation and treating it like a factory process.
- Iwan Morus describes Menlo Park as a place to 'mass-produce' invention, hiring teams and churning out patents rather than lone genius work.