Robert Friedel
Professor Emeritus in the Department of History at the University of Maryland, offering historical perspective on technological change and the societal impacts of innovation.
Best podcasts with Robert Friedel
Ranked by the Snipd community
Mar 13, 2026 • 29min
Innovation — from the spinning jenny to AI
Robert Friedel, historian of technology, and Andrew Lee, author on innovation history, trace six great waves from the spinning jenny to AI. They unpack Britain’s early edge, industrialization’s social shifts, rail and mass production, Cold War R&D, the internet boom, and today’s move toward renewables and AI. The conversation also covers China’s scaling strategies and Shenzhen’s rapid prototyping culture.
