W. Patrick McCray
Historian of science and technology and professor (University of California, Santa Barbara) who wrote READ ME, a book tracing the history of computing through nonfiction books; served as the episode's featured author and interviewee.
Top 3 podcasts with W. Patrick McCray
Ranked by the Snipd community
Feb 19, 2026 • 48min
W. Patrick McCray, "README: A Bookish History of Computing from Electronic Brains to Everything Machines" (MIT Press, 2025)
W. Patrick McCray, historian and UCSB professor who wrote README, explores how books shaped public attention to computing. He traces popular works from Giant Brains to 1990s internet guides. Short takes on cybernetics, AI hype, textbooks that changed industries, and how publishing created technological communities.
Feb 19, 2026 • 48min
W. Patrick McCray, "README: A Bookish History of Computing from Electronic Brains to Everything Machines" (MIT Press, 2025)
W. Patrick McCray, historian of science and technology and author of README (MIT Press, 2025). He traces how nonfiction books made computing familiar and lovable. Short takes explore early popularizers like Giant Brains, cybernetics and Wiener, the rise of personal computing communities, tech bestsellers versus niche influencers, and books that taught the internet and shaped AI authorship debates.
Feb 19, 2026 • 48min
W. Patrick McCray, "README: A Bookish History of Computing from Electronic Brains to Everything Machines" (MIT Press, 2025)
W. Patrick McCray, historian of technology and UCSB professor, explores how books made computers familiar and culturally significant. He surveys key nonfiction works from cybernetics and early AI to personal computing and the web. Short, vivid scenes trace publishing, bestselling surprises, and how texts seeded technical communities and shaped public imagination.
