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The Secret Genius of Modern Life Season 2 Episodes
Season 2 Episode Guide
6 Episodes 2023 - 0
Episode 1
Passport
Wed, Nov 8, 2023 60 mins
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
Wed, Nov 15, 2023 60 mins
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.She finds out why a wheezy janitor in the 1900s took inspiration from a sewing machine to create the first popular, portable vacuum. And she comes face to face with a colony of creepy crawlies whose job is to help us fight the filth.
Episode 3
Smartphone
Wed, Nov 29, 2023 60 mins
With over six billion of them across the planet, smartphones have changed the modern world. With rare access to electronics giant Samsung, Hannah uncovers the technological game-changers that have made the smartphone a reality.
Episode 4
Microwave
Wed, Dec 6, 2023 60 mins
Hannah Fry discovers the hidden WW2 radar technology that heats up baked beans, learns the legend of the melted candy bar in an engineer's pocket that kick-started a kitchen revolution, and puts her life on the line to demonstrate why microwaves zap food but not people!
Episode 5
Headphones
Thu, Dec 7, 2023 60 mins
Hannah Fry visits legendary headphone honchos Bose to find out how today's teeny earbud tech works and meets the human testers with 'golden ears.'
Episode 6
Lift
Thu, Dec 14, 2023 60 mins
Hannah goes behind-the-scenes to look at the technology behind the lift. 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.