The lightbulb conspiracy is both real and everywhere

2026-07-30 · 32 min · 10 entities

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mentioned Society & Culture concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Society & Culture
mentioned Documentary concept

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discusses Society & Culture concept

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evidence rules-v5
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discusses Documentary concept

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mentioned Great Lightbulb Conspiracy book

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author of The Great Lightbulb Conspiracy
mentioned Made to Break: Technology and Obsolescence in America book

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author of Made to Break: Technology and Obsolescence in America

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hosted by NPR company

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mentioned History website

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discusses History website

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evidence rules-v5
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Episode description as stored

Over the next few episodes, we present Hidden Histories : stories that will make you rethink how the world works. First up, the conspiracy behind the lightbulb—and how it came to shape the entire consumer economy. If you ever wondered why your tech outdates so quickly or just plain fails, you can thank the lightbulb. (This episode originally aired in 2019.) Guests: Sally Helm, former NPR Planet Money correspondent Markus Krajewski, author of The Great Lightbulb Conspiracy Giles Slade, author of Made to Break: Technology and Obsolescence in America Support shows like Throughline with NPR+. Sign up today at plus.npr.org . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy