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The Secret Genius of Modern Life Season 2 Episodes
Season 2 Episode Guide
6 Episodes 2023 - 2023
Episode 1
Passport
Hannah gains access to a top-secret site where anonymous staff and the latest tech work to make the British passport one of the most secure documents on the planet. She reveals the World War I spy craft hidden in the pages of every passport and takes a look into how modern ID checks were shaped by the hunt for a 19th-century French serial killer and 1970s psychedelic art.
Episode 2
Vacuum Cleaner
Hannah Fry reveals the incredible tales behind the development of the contemporary world's marvelous technology and unearths their mysteries. Hannah takes a look at the vacuum cleaner, going behind the scenes with Dyson and discovering how the motor in their latest vacuum spins nine times faster than that of a Formula One race car.
Episode 3
Smartphone
With over six billion of them across the planet, smartphones have changed the modern world. With rare access to electronics giant Samsung, Professor Hannah uncovers the technological game changers that have made the smartphone a reality.
Episode 4
Microwave
Hannah Fry discovers the hidden WWII radar technology that heats up baked beans, and learns the legend of the melted candy bar in an engineer's pocket that kick-started a kitchen revolution.
Episode 5
Headphones
Headphones are worn by over 30 million people in the UK. Hannah Fry visits legendary headphone honchos Bose to find out how today's modern teeny earbud tech works and meets the human testers with 'golden ears'.
Episode 6
Lift
Hannah goes behind the scenes and into a 246m high lift shaft to look at the tech behind the lift and test everything from the brakes to her own fear of heights. Along the way, she finds out how coal mines made lifts safer, gets to grips with a piece of medieval siege technology, and discovers how a PR stunt changed the modern skyline.