In this episode, Mr. Lowe and Mr. Patel began by talking about the person most inspirational in Patel’s life – his father. A graduate of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, he served as a civil structural engineer and oversaw the building of a suspension bridge over the Mississippi River that was built in the 1950s and is still utilized today. And as Patel points out here in discussing his father’s achievement, “We don’t even think about it. And yet, if we didn’t have the bridge or we didn’t have the water system, we would seriously miss it.” Engineering in the service of society is how Mr. Patel views his chosen profession. Mr. Patel goes on to discuss his work at the National Academy of Engineering and their mission of “taking on grand challenges.” He has certainly done that in engaging in engineering research endeavors that benefit and inform our lives and those of generations to come. Mr. Patel again shows the close connection of engineering, history and public policy. Understanding that connection, and growing it, benefits the engineer, the policy maker, and the historian.

In this episode, Mr. Lowe interviews Ms. Johnson about her 2015 book – Lives in Ruins: Archaeologists and the Seductive Lure of Human Rubble. In this fascinating book, Johnson describes her work with archaeologists around the nation and around the world. She learned not just about the tools and practices of their craft, but about their motivations and their passion for learning and preserving our history. Archaeology is an excellent example of the close connection between the humanities and specifically the study of history with science. The archaeologists she got to know in Lives in Ruins advanced their knowledge of recent history by applying the scientific method and utilizing a variety of tools. Archaeologists must have a wide range of scientific knowledge to understand things like the composition of soils, the decomposition of materials over time, the effects of fire and flood on structures, etc. The result of their work, of applying that knowledge and those processes, provides a picture of the past.

In this episode, Mr. Lowe interviews Mr. Augustine. They discuss a variety of fascinating roles that Mr. Augustine has served in over the course of his career. Having grown up in Colorado and appreciating the great outdoors, he initially wanted to steer his career path toward a position that would allow him to immerse himself in nature – such as being a forest ranger. He goes on to explain that he was instead inspired by a teacher to attend college and it was at Princeton that he was advised to consider geological engineering as it is a field of science most like forestry. This advice placed Mr. Augustine in the discipline of engineering. He would go on to change his major to aeronautical engineering as he was advised by a peer “that is where the future was.” From here, Mr. Augustine goes on to share life lessons from the many influential positions he has worked in over the course of his career. The range of topics they discuss include American competitiveness, the challenge of putting people on the moon, international travel, the importance of individual talent and the drive to achieve. Mr. Augustine provides a stellar example of a leader in science and engineering who made history and learned from it. He provides a case for the STEM of History that shows how a knowledge of history can inform the actions of scientists and engineers. Undertaking work in the sciences in the context of historical knowledge gives better perspective and provides access to lessons learned in the past. Those in turn provide leaders like Mr. Augustine not only context for their work in science and engineering, but practical insights for applying the sciences to current public policy and business issues.

In this episode, Mr. Lowe interviews Dr. Marianne Wanamaker regarding her research in the field of economics. She begins by explaining how economics as an academic discipline falls under the umbrella of the social sciences. Dr. Wanamaker goes on to share how she begins and follows through on a research topic with a focus on economic history. The Professor utilizes primary sources like census records, oral histories as well as secondary sources of information written by academic historians. In addition, she discusses how mathematical models and statistics and other new tools in the study of economic history are being utilized to assist researchers in using data to answer questions. Finally, Dr. Wanamaker discusses and provides some insight into an exciting new initiative called The Institute of American Civics that is launching at the Baker Center. The use of data in historical research, and the understanding of historical context when reviewing data, are important examples of the close connections between the social sciences and the discipline of history.

In this episode, Mr. Lowe interviews Dr. Madhavan starting with his family origins from Southern India. Growing up in a very competitive academic culture, Dr. Madhavan jokes his entry into the profession of engineering was almost like an arranged marriage. On a more serious note, he describes how he embraced the discipline of engineering and then came to appreciate the “scientific aspects and the mathematical constructs and even the structural principles behind it.” Dr. Madhavan goes on to explain the importance that the National Academies have served in the pursuit of objective thinking since President Abraham Lincoln signed it into existence in 1863. Mr. Lowe and Dr. Madhavan discuss how to make engineering more broadly relatable for those outside the discipline. Dr. Madhavan stresses the inherent but often overlooked connection of engineering, history, and our day-to-day lives. Better understanding the evolution of engineering, and its uses, helps us better understand the world around us and make more informed personal and societal decisions.

In this episode, Dr. Vivian and Mr. Lowe talk about the tangible elements of history, the artifacts and documents left behind that inform the historical record and our understanding of it. And notably, this field involves the study and preservation of historic sites such as homes, monuments, memorials, fields of battle, and national parks as well as other significant places. The preservation of cultural and historic landscapes, structures and artifacts provide both intrinsic and informational value. They inform the current generation and help us find meaning and perspective. That interpretation evolves from one generation to the next. Ultimately, they conclude the episode by linking the application of scientific advances to preserving and maintaining the relics of the past. The preservation of historic materials and structures is a tangible connection between science and the humanities. In addition, the development and use of the principles and tools of historic preservation are important stories to add to our histories, showing this and future generations the reason for that vital work, and the methods used to accomplish it.

In this episode, Mr. Lowe interviews Professor Freeberg about his 2013 book, The Age of Edison: Electric Light and the Invention of Modern America, a technological invention that many take for granted today. In the 1880s, driven by a demand for replacing the limitations of gas lighting, the illumination of America began. As Professor Freeberg notes, The Wizard of Menlo Park, as some would come to describe Edison, built upon the work of others before him and perfected the science of electric light to a degree that made it accessible and useable for communities, factories and residential homes. His work changed how people lived. And the electrification of America is the story of modern America. Understanding some of the science behind the production of electric light, and the enormous engineering accomplishment of electrifying a nation, helps us better understand a fundamental part of our history and of our lives today.

In this episode, Mr. Lowe interviews Mr. Kean about his 2010 book, The Disappearing Spoon: and Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements. The periodic table and its 118 known elements can read like a foreign language to those without a background in science. Mr. Kean begins by deciphering the complex origins of the table in the 1860s and early 1870s and perfected by Russian chemist Dimitri Mendeleev. He then goes on to discuss the relationship of two elements – Germanium [Ge] and Silicon [Si] and their role in early and modern communications technology. The discussion then turns to the 20^th Century and the role of the chemical element Molybdenum [Mo] in strengthening steel in German guns during WWI; and of course, Uranium [U] and Plutonium [Pu] in developing the first atomic bombs during WWII. Mr. Lowe and Mr. Kean go on to discuss additional fascinating elements and their role in shaping human history. Since its development and evolution over the past 150 years, the Periodic Table of the Elements continues to be one of the most important achievements to science.  This conversation helps illustrate the usefulness of understanding the basic science of the Periodic Table, and characteristics of its elements, when researching and studying history.

In this episode, Mr. Lowe and Professor Olsson talk about how human history was vastly transformed as people moved from dispersed groups of nomadic hunter-gathers to societies based on agriculture. Over the course of thousands of years, humanity organized and settled into cities and developed many of the societal structures we are familiar with today as they became dependent on a grain-based diet fueled by organized farming. As the Professor notes in the interview, this transformation initiated biological changes in human anatomy as “hunters and gatherers tended to be much healthier” as well as physically taller in stature. As humanity shifted from a nomadic hunter-gatherer life it also altered gender roles, social stratification as people were doing different jobs, and systems of class and inequality. Their discussion moves into the 20th Century as they discuss the continuing impacts of the agrarian era – including land reform, food scarcity and the political and economic impacts behind the science of industrial farming. This fascinating interview demonstrates the utility of understanding the science of agriculture when studying the development and advance of civilization, when researching and writing about our history.

In this episode, Dr. Drumheller-Horton discusses her work as a vertebrate paleontologist with a specialization in crocodilians. She studies the fossil remains of alligators, crocodiles, and other animals from the deep past. Utilizing traditional and some of the most advanced scientific tools and procedures available today, examination of these ancient creatures gives us a better understanding of the environment they inhabited, their evolutionary track, and the changes our planet has undergone.

The Professor also notes how this field is very much a collaborative process among scientists and academics working with expertise in sub-fields of the discipline. Their individual research adds to and informs the findings of their colleagues. Research endeavors take them to a variety of field locations, as well as to museums and collections of fossil discoveries preserved in archives across the world.

This conversation with Dr. Drumheller-Horton gives an excellent example of the use of the tools of science to tell the history of our planet, and it illustrates how a knowledge of the deep past helps us understand our world today.

In this episode Mr. Lowe and Mr. Olson focus their discussion on Olson’s book, Mapping Human History, Genes, Race, and Our Common Origins. Their conversation ranges broadly over the intersection of genetics and the story of human history. Olson’s work shows how historians can benefit from marshalling the tools of genetics, and how in turn geneticists can at times better analyze their findings with a sound knowledge of history. We begin to understand how the complexity of human history and human biology can literally be mapped to common origins.