The Californian Century: A Twist of Fate
Seriously...
BBC
4.1 • 885 Ratings
🗓️ 1 April 2020
⏱️ 15 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Stanley Tucci continues his history of California with the story of Silicon Valley's troubled founder, William Shockley.
Shockley was the man who first brought silicon to Silicon Valley in the 1950s. He was an undoubted genius. But he was also a hideous boss and an irredeemable racist.
California wants to dazzle you with its endless sunshine and visions of the future – but that’s just a mirage. Stanley Tucci plays a hard-boiled screenwriter uncovering the full, sordid truth. He knows exactly where all the bodies are buried.
Academic consultant: Dr Ian Scott, University of Manchester
Written and produced by Laurence Grissell
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This was an impregnable fortress. The only way you get out was in a wooden box. |
| 0:05.0 | The controversial maximum security prison impossible to escape from. |
| 0:09.0 | And one of the duties of a political prisoner is the escape. |
| 0:12.0 | The IRA inmates who found a way. of a political prisoner is the escape. |
| 0:12.5 | The IRA inmates who found a way. |
| 0:14.5 | I'm Carlo Gableer and I'll be navigating a path |
| 0:19.5 | through the disturbing inside story of the biggest jailbreak in British and Irish history. |
| 0:25.0 | The narrative that they want is that this is a big achievement by them. |
| 0:28.5 | Escape from the maze, listen first on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:35.0 | BBC Sounds. BBC Sounds, Music Radio Podcasts. |
| 0:39.0 | Hello and welcome to this bonus edition of the Seriously podcast. |
| 0:44.4 | I'm here to tell you about the Californian Century from BBC Radio 4. |
| 0:49.4 | Stanley Tucci is the reader exploring how California changed the world |
| 0:54.6 | through the destiny of 10 people. |
| 0:57.0 | From Hollywood to Silicon Valley, |
| 0:59.7 | the land of the new beginning, the place you go to live the dream, can just as easily be the land of the disastrous finale. |
| 1:08.0 | You can listen to all 10 episodes on BBC Sounds, but for now here is the true story of William Shockley, the man who brought |
| 1:15.6 | silicon to Silicon Valley, the Nobel Prize winner turned white supremacist. |
| 1:22.3 | Screenplay. Based a true story. Working title. A twist of fate. Okay, this should make for a strong opening scene. |
| 1:35.0 | Fade in. Exterior, night. |
| 1:39.0 | A Suburban Street, Madison, Upstate New York, |
| 1:42.0 | 1943. |
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