DIY invention, ‘maker’ culture & building a toaster from scratch
Listen
Hour 2
THOMAS THWAITES was a graduate art student in London when he hatched upon a slightly crazy idea: He decided he wanted to see if it was possible to build, from scratch, an everyday household object. He settled on the apparently humble toaster, but looks can be deceiving. Thwaites’ new book, “The Toaster Project: Or a Heroic Attempt to Build a Simple Electric Appliance from Scratch,” details his nine-month ordeal building a simple kitchen appliance from “scratch,” including pulling the raw materials out of the ground. Then, we’ll discuss the culture of people like Thwaites who make things by hand, modern-day inventors – makers. We’ll talk to MARK FRAUENFELDER, editor-in-chief of Make magazine, and author of “Made by Hand: My Adventures in the World of Do-It-Yourself.” We’ll also talk to EVAN MALONE, founder of Philadelphia’s NextFab Studio, a West Philly high-tech workshop for artists, designers, inventors and “makers” that bills itself as a “gym for innovators.”
Listen:
[audio: 121511_110630.mp3]
WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.
Brought to you by Radio Times
Radio Times
WHYY's Radio Times is an engaging and timely call-in program that tackles wide-ranging issues of concern to listeners in the Delaware Valley.
Subscribe for free
Ghost riding: Dorney Park’s new roller coaster is a supernatural menace
Iron Menace, the Northeast region’s only zero-gravity drop coaster, tells the spooky story of the Lehigh Valley’s steel industry.
2 days ago
Listen 1:15
Philly police want to jump on high-tech policing bandwagon
The goal is to streamline the paperwork process and add high-tech criminology and even drones to help those on patrol.
6 days ago
Teams from Drexel and the University of Delaware traveled to the path of totality as part of a nationwide NASA project.
1 week ago
Listen 1:14