How We Got to Now is a British-American factual television series that was broadcast on PBS in 2014 and BBC Two in 2015. The series was commissioned by the BBC in the United Kingdom and made by Nutopia, a British-American production company in the United States. The six-part series, presented by Steven Johnson, explores the legacy of great ideas.
Production The factual series is a co-production between Nutopia, a British-American production company, and PBS. The producer is Diene Petterle, a Brazilian-born British film, television and theatrical producer, and the executive producers are Jane Root, Peter Lovering, and Michael Jackson. A companion book was published by Riverhead Books and a companion website has been created to explore present day innovations. The show was distributed by BBC Worldwide and received funding from the CPB/PBS Program Challenge Fund.
Episodes Clean - from sewers to clean rooms Time - from pendulum clocks to radiometric dating Glass - from cristallo to smart phones Light - from spermaceti oil to fusion reactors Cold - from ice harvesting to air conditioning Sound - from phonautograph to ultrasound imaging
The historical characters who appear include Thomas Edison, Clarence Birdseye, Frederick McKinley Jones, Willis Carrier, Tim Berners-Lee, Hedy Lamarr, and Mark Zuckerberg.PBS.org: How We Got to Now
Broadcast The series premiered in the US in the fall of 2014 on PBS. The series also premiered in Australia on ABC from 26 February 2015.
Reception Robert Lloyd of Los Angeles Times wrote, "Thought-provoking and fun to watch."
Awards Peepshow Collective won Outstanding Motion Design at the 67th Emmy Awards in 2015 for their work on the series.
See also Connections (British documentary)
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