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Light Bulbs

Charlotte Williams and Amit Katwala trace the sometimes shocking history of the lightbulb, following its evolution from carbon spitting hazard to energy efficient LED.

Charlotte Williams and Amit Katwala trace the sometimes shocking truth behind the history of the light bulb, following its evolution from carbon spitting hazard to energy efficient LED.

We hear from media historian Markus Krajewski about how a cartel of companies conspired to limit the lifespan of light bulbs in the first known example of ‘planned obsolescence’. Nobel prize winning physicist Hiroshi Amano talks to us about how his discovery of the blue LED light has changed the world, and we speak to Tom Bramell whose job is to to look after a lightbulb which has been on for 121 years.

Presented by Charlotte Williams and Amit Katwala
Produced by Emily Finch
A Whistledown production for ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio 4

Available now

24 minutes

Last on

Thu 20 Oct 2022 12:32

Broadcast

  • Thu 20 Oct 2022 12:32

Podcast