Headphones • 2023 • episode "S2E5" • The Secret Genius of Modern Life

Category: Technology | Subtitle:

Headphones: these marvels of miniaturisation are worn by 30 million people in the UK. Hannah Fry visits Bose to find out how the teeny earbud tech works and meets the human testers with ‘golden ears’.

Make a donation

Buy a brother a hot coffee? Or a cold beer?

Hope you're finding these documentaries fascinating and eye-opening. It's just me, working hard behind the scenes to bring you this enriching content.

Running and maintaining a website like this takes time and resources. That's why I'm reaching out to you. If you appreciate what I do and would like to support my efforts, would you consider "buying me a coffee"?

Donation addresses

BTC: bc1q8ldskxh4x9qnddhcrgcun8rtvddeldm2a07r2v

ETH: 0x5CCAAA1afc5c5D814129d99277dDb5A979672116

With your donation through , you can show your appreciation and help me keep this project going. Every contribution, no matter how small, makes a significant impact. It goes directly towards covering server costs.

The Secret Genius of Modern Life • 2022 - 2025 • 17 episodes •

Bank Card

Hannah Fry takes a look at the bank card, the digital key to accessing cash, and finds out how its extraordinary innovations have some surprising and sinister origins.

2022 • Technology

Food Delivery App

Food Delivery App

Hannah Fry tucks into the tech behind food delivery apps, which are now used by 24 million people in the UK. Hannah finds out how pizza made us fall in love with the internet.

2022 • Technology

Virtual Assistant

Virtual Assistant

Hannah Fry delves into the inner workings of virtual assistants, such as Amazon’s Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri, which are now found in almost half of all UK homes.

2022 • Technology

Electric Car

Hannah Fry discovers why innovations in meat packing almost derailed the electric car revolution and how a breakthrough in camcorder batteries led to Elon Musk’s electric empire, as well as demonstrating how not to drive a multimillion dollar prototype car of the future.

2022 • Technology

Fitness Tracker

Fitness Tracker

Hannah Fry finds out how 1970s car crashes helped us to count our steps, why WWII dogfights led to a crucial health monitor and how fitness trackers are even being used to catch killers.

2022 • Technology

Trainer

Hannah Fry visits eBay’s authentication centre, where they are waging war against fake high-value trainers. She discovers how American breakfast waffles transformed our trainer soles and how an 18th-century tea set led to the use of celebrity endorsement.

2022 • Technology

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.

2023 • Technology

Vacuum Cleaner

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.

2023 • Technology

Smartphone

With rare access to electronics giant Samsung, Hannah uncovers the technological game changers that have made the smartphone a reality.

2023 • Technology

Microwave

Hannah Fry discovers the hidden WWII 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!

2023 • Technology

Headphones

Headphones: these marvels of miniaturisation are worn by 30 million people in the UK. Hannah Fry visits Bose to find out how the teeny earbud tech works and meets the human testers with ‘golden ears’.

2023 • Technology

Lift

Hannah goes behind the scenes to look at the technology behind the lift, entering a 246m high lift shaft to test everything from the brakes to her own fear of heights.

2023 • Technology

Aif Fryer

Hannah takes a look at the air fryer – a device that is rapidly taking over people's kitchens, cooking up everything from bread rolls to baked Alaska and almost making ovens obsolete.

2025 • Technology

Fridge

Hannah hits the production line with appliance giants Bosch to find the lifeblood at the heart of every fridge and gets a lesson in carrot droop.

2025 • Technology

Rollercoaster

Hannah uncovers the wild origins of the modern-day rollercoaster and gets the inside story on the UK’s newest, tallest and fastest coaster – Thorpe Park's Hyperia.

2025 • Technology

Doorbell

The rise of the smart doorbell is one of the great tech success stories of the 21st century. Hannah heads to Los Angeles to take a deep dive into doorbell history and talk to market leaders Ring.

2025 • Technology

Motorway

Hannah takes a drive to the National Highways control centre for the UK’s busiest motorway to meet the team that keep the motorways running 24/7.

2025 • Technology

You might also like

Fireworks

Now a billion-dollar industry, Jeff learns the fireworks business is booming. From a dazzling drone display to spectacular stargazing, Jeff discovers how the feeling of awe affects us and the weird and wonderful ways we seek it out.

S2E4 • The World According to Jeff Goldblum • 2021 • Technology

School

We all dream of having the best school possible for our children – one that nourishes their curiosity, makes them eager to learn and provides them with the technological, intellectual and human tools that better prepare them for the future in store.

S2E8 • Dream the Future • 2018 • Technology

Cities on the Edge

Cities on the Edge

Safety and security are two of the biggest challenges faced by each and every metropolis. Whether earthquake, terrorism, flood or just crime, it's the geology, politics and social makeup of the megacities that make them some of the most profitable and dangerous places to live. Andrew starts in Mexico City, the kidnap capital of the world. The compactness of the megacity often means that the super rich must live closely beside the super poor. Andrew finds out how evasive driving and bulletproof vests are protecting Mexico's super rich and middle classes. In London, he joins a Metropolitan Police riot unit on a practice routine, and hangs out with boy racers in Tokyo. And he meets the canine helpers responsible for saving lives in the event of terrorist attack. Tokyo, Mexico City, Dhaka - the megacities are victims of their shifting geologies. Andrew explores how sea levels, earthquakes and floods are putting some of our most promising cities at risk.

S1E2 • Andrew Marr's Megacities • 2011 • Technology

Take Off, The Beginning of Flight

Take Off, The Beginning of Flight

This program looks at the beginnings of flight, with innovators such as Benjamin Franklin and Leonardo DaVinci coming up with new ways to give man wings, and chronicles the invention of hot air balloons, Zeppelins, box kites, and of course the story of the most influential aviation inventors of all - Wilbur and Orville Wright.

1/13 • The Amazing World Of Aviation • 2009 • Technology

Petra

More than 2,000 years ago, the thriving city of Petra rose up in the bone-dry desert of what is now Jordan. An oasis of culture and abundance, the city was built by wealthy merchants whose camel caravans transported incense and spices from the Arabian Gulf. They carved spectacular temple-tombs into its soaring cliffs, raised a monumental Great Temple at its heart, and devised an ingenious system that channeled water to vineyards, bathhouses, fountains, and pools.

S1E2 • Building Wonders • 2020 • Technology

Heritage

Our cultural heritage is one of humanity’s most precious assets: how can we pass it on to the future? It’s a crucial challenge: sharing it with the greatest number but also help it stand up against threats of destruction. New technologies and virtual reality open up unprecedented perspectives.

S2E6 • Dream the Future • 2018 • Technology