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
10 snips
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 UCSB professor, explores computing’s rise by tracing nonfiction books that shaped public understanding. He covers early popular works like Giant Brains, cybernetics and AI hype, the rise of personal computing and chip-design textbooks, and how books seeded communities that made computers ubiquitous.
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.
