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The biggest revolution in Benjamin Franklin’s lifetime was made to fit in a fireplace. Assembled from iron plates like a piece of flatpack furniture, the Franklin stove became one of the era's most iconic consumer products, spreading from Pennsylvania to England, Italy, and beyond. It was more than just a material object, however—it was also a hypothesis. Franklin was proposing that, armed with science, he could invent his way out of a climate crisis: a period of global cooling known as the Little Ice Age, when unusually bitter winters sometimes brought life to a standstill. He believed that his stove could provide snug indoor comfort despite another, related crisis: a shortage of wood caused by widespread deforestation. And he conceived of his invention as equal parts appliance and scientific instrument—a device that, by modifying how heat and air moved through indoor spaces, might reveal the workings of the atmosphere outside and explain why it seemed to be changing. Today’s guest is Joyce Chaplin, author of The Franklin Stove: An Unintended American Revolution, the story of this singular invention, and a revelatory new look at the Founding Father we thought we knew. We follow Franklin as he promotes his stove in Britain and France, while corresponding with the various experimenters who discovered the key gases in Earth's atmosphere, invented steam engines, and tried to clean up sooty urban air. During his travels back and forth across the Atlantic, we witness him taking measurements of the gulf stream and observing the cooling effect of volcanic ash from Iceland. And back in Philadelphia, we watch him hawk his invention while sparring with proponents of the popular theory that clearcutting forests would lead to warmer winters by reducing the amount of shade cover on the surface of the Earth.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Harvard History professor Joyce Chaplin's new book, "The Franklin Stove: An Unintended American Revolution," is the story of this singular invention, and a revelatory new look at Benjamin Franklin, the Founding Father we thought we knew.
So what's the most revolutionary invention in the history of the American Republic? The internet, maybe? Or the electric bulb or the motor car? Perhaps. But according to the Harvard historian Joyce Chaplin, it might be the Franklin Stove, Benjamin Franklin's innovation which she claims in an eponymous new book, represents an unintentional American revolution. What's really important about the Franklin Stove, she explains, is that it democratized heating, thereby enabling ordinary Americans to survive the “Little Ice Age” of the late 18th century. In an 21st century America where research into global warming is now under threat, Chaplin's intriguing The Franklin Stove is a convincing argument for the popular benefits of environmental science.Here the 5 Keen On America takeaways in our conversation with Joyce Chaplin* Franklin as a climate scientist: Chaplin reveals how Benjamin Franklin's work with his stove led him to understand atmospheric convection, which he then applied to explain larger climate systems like storm movements and the Gulf Stream. He essentially became an early climate scientist through his practical inventions.* The Little Ice Age context: Franklin invented his stove during the Little Ice Age (1300-1850), particularly in response to the severe winter of 1740-41. Unlike today's climate crisis, there was virtually no "denialism" about climate change during this period - people openly discussed and sought solutions to the cooling climate.* Franklin's environmental legacy: While Franklin initially created his stove to conserve wood and trees in Pennsylvania, his later models burned coal. This shift toward fossil fuels contributed to what Chaplin calls "an unintended industrial revolution" that ultimately led to our current climate warming crisis.* Franklin's political evolution: Though a monarchist for most of his life, Franklin underwent a radical transformation later in life, becoming head of Pennsylvania's abolition society after having previously owned enslaved people. This challenges the notion that historical figures were simply "products of their time."* Franklin's complex character: Chaplin, who has written extensively on Benjamin Franklin, portrays him as a self-cultivating narcissist who carefully crafted his public image and desperately sought fame from a young age. However, she acknowledges his genuine accomplishments and contributions to science and society, creating a more nuanced view of the founding father.Joyce E. Chaplin is the James Duncan Phillips Professor of Early American History at Harvard University, where she also holds affiliations with the Graduate School of Design and Center for the Environment. She is the author of The First Scientific American: Benjamin Franklin and the Pursuit of Genius, among other books, and her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and the London Review of Books. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting the daily KEEN ON show, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy interview series. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe
EPISODE 1860: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks Darrin M. McMahon, author of EQUALITY, about the history of a most elusive idealDarrin M. McMahon is a cultural and intellectual historian and a leading proponent of a new and revitalized history in ideas. His work encompasses the sweep of Western history from the ancient world to the present day, and spans both sides of the Atlantic, but the fulcrum of his research and writing is Western Europe in the long 18th century, the age of Enlightenment. McMahon is particularly interested in seminal concepts that emerged in the 18th century and have continued to exercise an important influence on modern culture. McMahon is currently the Mary Brinsmead Wheelock Professor of History at Dartmouth College. From 1994–2014 he taught history at history at Florida State University, where he was the Ben Weider Professor and Distinguished Research Professor. Born in Carmel, California, and educated at the University of California, Berkeley and Yale, where he received his PhD in 1998, McMahon is the author of Enemies of the Enlightenment: The French Counter-Enlightenment and the Making of Modernity (Oxford University Press, 2001) and Happiness: A History (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2006), which has been translated into twelve languages, and was awarded Best Books of the Year honors for 2006 by the New York Times, The Washington Post, the Library Journal, and Slate Magazine. In 2013, McMahon completed a history of the idea of genius and the genius figure, Divine Fury: A History of Genius, published with Basic Books. It has recently appeared in French translation as La Fureur Divine: Une Histoire du Génie (Fayard, 2016). McMahon is also the editor, with Ryan Hanley, of The Enlightenment: Critical Concepts in Historical Studies, 5 vols. (Routledge, 2009); with Samuel Moyn, of Rethinking Modern European Intellectual History (Oxford University Press, 2014); and with Joyce Chaplin of Genealogies of Genius (Palgrave, 2015). His latest book is EQUALITY: The History of an Elusive Idea (2023).Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.
When French author Jules Verne wrote Around the World in 80 Days in the late 1800s, scheduled global travel was practically science fiction, and 80 days seemed impossibly fast. But his techno-futurist novel inspired everyday adventurers to traverse the globe by boat, train, bike, and foot—and beat his protagonist's record. Harvard professor Joyce Chaplin discusses what we can learn from Jules Verne's classic novel. Joyce Chaplin is the James Duncan Phillips Professor of Early American History at Harvard University. She is the author of Round About The Earth: Circumnavigation from Magellan to Orbit. See more information on our website, WritLarge.fm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
When French author Jules Verne wrote Around the World in 80 Days in the late 1800s, scheduled global travel was practically science fiction, and 80 days seemed impossibly fast. But his techno-futurist novel inspired everyday adventurers to traverse the globe by boat, train, bike, and foot—and beat his protagonist's record. Harvard professor Joyce Chaplin discusses what we can learn from Jules Verne's classic novel. Joyce Chaplin is the James Duncan Phillips Professor of Early American History at Harvard University. She is the author of Round About The Earth: Circumnavigation from Magellan to Orbit. See more information on our website, WritLarge.fm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies
When French author Jules Verne wrote Around the World in 80 Days in the late 1800s, scheduled global travel was practically science fiction, and 80 days seemed impossibly fast. But his techno-futurist novel inspired everyday adventurers to traverse the globe by boat, train, bike, and foot—and beat his protagonist's record. Harvard professor Joyce Chaplin discusses what we can learn from Jules Verne's classic novel. Joyce Chaplin is the James Duncan Phillips Professor of Early American History at Harvard University. She is the author of Round About The Earth: Circumnavigation from Magellan to Orbit. See more information on our website, WritLarge.fm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/european-studies
When French author Jules Verne wrote Around the World in 80 Days in the late 1800s, scheduled global travel was practically science fiction, and 80 days seemed impossibly fast. But his techno-futurist novel inspired everyday adventurers to traverse the globe by boat, train, bike, and foot—and beat his protagonist's record. Harvard professor Joyce Chaplin discusses what we can learn from Jules Verne's classic novel. Joyce Chaplin is the James Duncan Phillips Professor of Early American History at Harvard University. She is the author of Round About The Earth: Circumnavigation from Magellan to Orbit. See more information on our website, WritLarge.fm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/french-studies
Author of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, The First Scientific American: Benjamin Franklin and the Pursuit of Genius (2006), Joyce E. Chaplin has written three other nonfiction books and finds herself at Harvard University as the James Duncan Phillips Professor of History.
By the eighteenth century, the Atlantic Ocean had become a busy highway of ships crisscrossing its waters. What do we know about the ships that made these transatlantic voyages and connected the eighteenth-century British Atlantic world through trade, people, and information? Phillip Reid, a historian of the Atlantic World and maritime technology and author of The Merchant Ship in the British Atlantic, joins us to explore the eighteenth-century British merchant ship and the business of transatlantic shipping. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/309 Join Ben Franklin's World! Subscribe and help us bring history right to your ears! Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute The Ben Franklin's World Shop Complementary Episodes Episode 008: Gregory O'Malley, Final Passages: The Intercolonial Slave Trade of British America, 1619-1807 Episode 012: Dane Morrison, The South Seas & the Discovery of American Identity Episode 015: Joyce Chaplin, Circumnavigation from Magellan to Orbit Episode 099: Mark Hanna, Pirates & Pirate Nests in the British Atlantic World Episode 140: Tamara Thornton, Nathaniel Bowditch: 19th-Century Man of Business, Science, and the Sea Listen! Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Amazon Music Ben Franklin's World iOS App Ben Franklin's World Android App Helpful Links Join the Ben Franklin's World Facebook Group Ben Franklin's World Twitter: @BFWorldPodcast Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter
With Prof. Paul Freeman Professor Freedman specializes in medieval social history, the history of Catalonia, comparative studies of the peasantry, trade in luxury products, and the history of cuisine. His latest book is American Cuisine and How It Got This Way (Liveright/Norton, 2020). Freedman earned his BA at the University of California at Santa Cruz and an MLS from the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of California at Berkeley. He received a Ph.D. in History at Berkeley in 1978. His doctoral work focused on medieval Catalonia and how the bishop and canons interacted with the powerful and weak elements of lay society in Vic, north of Barcelona. This resulted in the publication of The Diocese of Vic: Tradition and Regeneration in Medieval Catalonia (1983). Freedman taught for eighteen years at Vanderbilt University before joining the Yale faculty in 1997. At Vanderbilt, he focused on the history of Catalan peasantry, papal correspondence with Catalonia and a comparative history of European seigneurial regimes. He was awarded Vanderbilt's Nordhaus Teaching Prize in 1989 and was the Robert Penn Warren Humanities Center Fellow there in 1991-1992. During that time, he published his second book, Origins of Peasant Servitude in Medieval Catalonia (1991). Since coming to Yale, Professor Freedman has served as Director of Undergraduate Studies in History, Director of the Medieval Studies Program, Chair of the History Department, and Chair of the Program in the History of Science and Medicine He has offered graduate seminars on the social history of the Middle Ages, church, society and politics, and agrarian studies (as part of a team-taught course). Freedman was a visiting fellow at the Max-Planck-Institut für Geschichte in Göttingen in 2000 and Directeur d'Études Associé at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris in 1995. His third book was Images of the Medieval Peasant (1999) and there are two collections of his essays: Church, Law and Society in Catalonia, 900-1500 and Assaigs d'historia de la pagesia catalana ( “Essays on the History of the Catalan Peasantry,” translated into Catalan). Freedman edited Food: The History of Taste, an illustrated collection of essays about food from prehistoric to contemporary times published by Thames & Hudson (London) and in the US by the University of California Press (2007). His book on the demand for spices in medieval Europe was published in 2008 by Yale University Press. It is entitled Out of the East: Spices and the Medieval Imagination. In the field of culinary history, he published Ten Restaurants That Changed America in 2016 (Liveright/Norton). A book for Yale University Press entitled Why Food Matters will appear in 2021. Freedman also co-edited three other collections: with Caroline Walker Bynum, Last Things: Death and the Apocalypse in the Middle Ages (1999) with Monique Bourin, Forms of Servitude in Northern and Central Europe (2005), and with Ken Albala and Joyce Chaplin, Food in Time and Place (2014). A Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America, Freedman is also a corresponding fellow of the Real Academia de Buenas Letras de Barcelona and of the Institut d'Estudis Catalans. He is a member of the American Philosophical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His honors include a 2008 cookbook award (reference and technical) from the International Association of Culinary Professionals (for Food: The History of Taste) and three awards for Images of the Medieval Peasant: the Haskins Medal of the Medieval Academy (2002), the 2001 Otto Gründler prize given by the Medieval Institute at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, and the Eugene Kayden Award in the Humanities given by the University of Colorado. He won the American Historical Association's Premio del Rey Prize in 1992 (for The Origins of Peasant Servitude in Medieval Catalonia) and shared the Medieval Academy's Van Courtlandt Elliott prize for the best
Welcome to HMSC Connects! where Jennifer Berglund goes behind the scenes of four Harvard museums to explore the connections between us, our big, beautiful world, and even what lies beyond. Today, she is speaking with Joyce Chaplin, a Historian of Early America and Early European Colonialism at Harvard.
When French author Jules Verne wrote Around the World in 80 Days in the late 1800s, scheduled global travel was practically science fiction, and 80 days seemed impossibly fast. But his techno-futurist novel inspired everyday adventurers to traverse the globe by boat, train, bike, and foot—and beat his protagonist’s record. Harvard professor Joyce Chaplin discusses what we can learn from Jules Verne’s classic novel. Joyce Chaplin is the James Duncan Phillips Professor of Early American History at Harvard University. She is the author of Round About The Earth: Circumnavigation from Magellan to Orbit. See more information on our website, WritLarge.fm Follow us on Twitter @WritLargePod Join the conversation on the Lyceum app
Joyce Chaplin, James Duncan Phillips Professor of Early American History at Harvard University, revisits "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin," which was one of Henry Huntington's most prized manuscript acquisitions. Franklin tells a tantalizingly open-ended story about his life because the manuscript was left unfinished.
Joyce Chaplin, James Duncan Phillips Professor of Early American History at Harvard University, revisits "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin," which was one of Henry Huntington's most prized manuscript acquisitions. Franklin tells a tantalizingly open-ended story about his life because the manuscript was left unfinished.
Spain became the first European power to use the peoples, resources, and lands of the Americas and Caribbean as the basis for its Atlantic Empire. How did this empire function and what wealth was Spain able to extract from these peoples and lands? Molly Warsh, an Associate Professor of History at the University of Pittsburgh and author of American Baroque: Pearls and the Nature of Empire, 1492-1700, helps us investigate answers to these questions by showing us how Spain attempted to increase its wealth and govern its empire through its American and Caribbean pearl operations. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/241 Meet Ups Pittsburgh Meet Up, June 15, 2:30pm Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute The Ben Franklin's World Shop Save 40 percent on American Baroque (Use Promo Code 01BFW) Complementary Episodes Episode 015: Joyce Chaplin, Round About the Earth Episode 082: Alejandra Dubcovsky, Information & Communication in the Early American South Episode 139: Andrés Reséndez, The Other Slavery: Indian Enslavement in the Americas Episode 167: Eberhard Faber, The Early History of New Orleans Episode 178: Karoline Cook, Muslims & Moriscos in Colonial Spanish America Episode 224: Kevin Dawson, Aquatic Culture in Early America Listen! Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Ben Franklin's World iOS App Ben Franklin's World Android App Helpful Links Join the Ben Franklin's World Facebook Group Ben Franklin’s World Twitter: @BFWorldPodcast Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter *Books purchased through the links on this post will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World.
This month, Sarah Dunant looks to the past to help us think about the most pressing issue facing the world today - climate change. Although the problem is a relatively modern one, humans have been grappling with the damage that they inflict on the environment throughout history. Scientists and campaigners are calling for urgent measures to halt the climate and ecological crises. While history might not be able to solve those problems directly it can tell us something about why governments and leaders do take action. Alice Bell was a historian of science and now works for the climate charity 10:10. She tells the story of Greta Thunberg’s ancestor Svante Arhennius, the Swedish scientist whose work first discovered the impact that carbon dioxide emissions could have on global temperature. Bathsheba Demuth of Brown University tells the extraordinary story of how cold war national security concerns on the Arctic Soviet and US border led two superpowers to recognise the importance of the walrus, halting their drastic overhunting. The University of Stirling’s Phil Slavin shows how environmental legislation and concern about clean air predates the industrial revolution by seven centuries, in the form of Edward I’s pioneering clean air legislation banning the burning of sea-coal, a concern that was only deepened by the impact of the Black Death. And the foresight of the Venetian Empire is explained by Joyce Chaplin of Harvard University, who details the meticulous planning and conservation of wood necessary to preserve its naval power and status for future generations. Readers: Ruby Richardson and Peter Marinker Presenter: Sarah Dunant Producers: Natalie Steed and Nathan Gower Executive Producer: David Prest A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
Empowering Appetites: The Political Economy and Culture of Food
Joyce Chaplin, James Duncan Phillips Professor of Early American History at Harvard University, presents on how the recommendation of clean water in the dietetic community has evolved.
We’re living in a period of climate change. Our Earth has been getting warmer since the mid-19th century. So how will humans adapt to and endure this period of global warming? Will they adapt to it and endure? It turns out the people of early America also lived through a period of climate change and their experiences may hold some answers for us. Sam White, an Associate Professor at The Ohio State University and author of A Cold Welcome: The Little Ice Age and Europe’s Encounter, joins us to explore the Little Ice Age and how it impacted initial European exploration and colonization of North America. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/189 Meet Ups Boston History Camp Boston Meet Up: July 8, 10am Meet at the corner of Park Street and Tremont Street on Boston Common Cleveland Meet Up: Saturday July 21 Episode 200 Tell Liz what would you like to know about early American history? Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute The Great Courses Plus (Free Trial) Complementary Episodes Episode 015: Joyce Chaplin, Round About the Earth Episode 049: Malcolm Gaskill, How the English Became America Episode 079: James Horn, What Are Historical Sources (Colonial Jamestown) Episode 116: Erica Charters, Disease & the Seven Years’ War Episode 127: Caroline Winterer, American Enlightenments Helpful Show Links Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page Join the Ben Franklin's World Community Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter Ben Franklin's World iOS App Ben Franklin's World Android App *Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World.
Did you know that maps have social lives? Maps facilitate a lot of different social and political relationships between people and nations. And they did a lot of this work for Americans throughout the early American past. Martin Brückner, a Professor of English at the University of Delaware, joins us to discuss early American maps and early American mapmaking with details from his book The Social Life of Maps in America. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/177 Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute The Georgian Papers Programme Citizen Transcriber Sign Up OI Reader App Complementary Episodes Episode 015: Joyce Chaplin, Round About The Earth Episode 050: Marla Miller, Betsy Ross Episode 136: Jennifer Van Horn, Material Culture and the Making of America Episode 138: Patrick Spero, Frontier Politics in Early America Episode 167: Eberhard Faber, The Early History of New Orleans Episode 169: Thomas Kidd, The Religious Life of Benjamin Franklin Helpful Show Links Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page Join the Ben Franklin's World Community Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter Ben Franklin's World iOS App Ben Franklin's World Android App *Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World.
With Stig Abell and Lucy Dallas. We are joined by Maren Meinhardt to discuss the unrequited love, and painful experiments on frogs, of Prussian polymath Alexander von Humboldt; Ruth Scurr assesses the literary legacy of Julian Barnes; and Joyce Chaplin reveals the seething malevolence beneath American "niceness". See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Neither colonial North America nor the United States developed apart from the rest of the world. Since their founding, both the colonies and the United States have participated in the politics, economics, and cultures of the Atlantic World. And every so often, the politics, economics, and cultures of lands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans intersected with and influenced those of the Atlantic World. That’s why today, we’re going to explore the origins of the English trade with India and how that trade connected and intersected with the English North American colonies. Our guide for this investigation is Jonathan Eacott, an Associate Professor of History at the University of California, Riverside and author of Selling Empire: India in the Making of Britain and America, 1700-1830. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/111 Helpful Show Links Help Support Ben Franklin's World Crowdfunding Campaign Episode Sponsor Cornell University Press Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page Join the Ben Franklin's World Community Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter Ben Franklin's World iOS App Ben Franklin's World Android App Complementary Episodes Episode 012: Dane Morrison, True Yankees Episode 015: Joyce Chaplin, Voyage Round the Earth Episode 049: Malcolm Gaskill, Between Two Worlds Episode 079: James Horn, What is a Historical Source? (Jamestown) Episode 095: Rose Doherty, A Tale of Two Bostons *Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World.
In this Fourth of July episode, historian Joyce Chaplin discusses Benjamin Franklin the scientist, and how his science paved the way for his future career as a diplomat and elder statesman of the Revolution. She is the author of the book "The First Scientific American: Benjamin Franklin and the Pursuit of Genius." Plus we'll test your knowledge of some recent science in the news.
In this episode, physicist William Zajc talks about how the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at the Brookhaven National Laboratory is giving scientists a glimpse into what the universe was like in its first microseconds of existence; historian Joyce Chaplin discusses Benjamin Franklin the scientist and her book The First Scientific American: Benjamin Franklin and the Pursuit of Genius; and Steve Mirsky talks about the recent "Teaching Evolution and the Nature of Science" conference in New York City, where he interviewed Jennifer Miller, biology teacher involved in the Dover intelligent design trial. Plus, test your knowledge about some recent science in the news.