meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Our American Stories

The Surprising History of Air Conditioning and the Man Behind It

Our American Stories

iHeartPodcasts

Documentary, Society & Culture

4.6817 Ratings

🗓️ 30 July 2025

⏱️ 13 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On this episode of Our American Stories, before air conditioning, summer shaped how people worked, where they lived, and which cities could survive the heat. That all began to change in 1902, when Willis Carrier designed a machine to solve humidity problems in a printing plant. His invention cooled the air around us and quietly reshaped modern life. From factories and theaters to homes and highways, air conditioning took hold—one building at a time. Jesse Edwards, a frequent Our American Stories contributor, explores how this once-overlooked breakthrough became one of the most influential innovations in American history.

Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) 

Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This is an IHeart podcast.

0:04.0

From tips for healthy living to the latest medical breakthroughs, WebMD's Health

0:09.0

Discovered podcast keeps you up to date on today's most important health issues.

0:13.8

Through in-depth conversations with experts from across the health care community,

0:17.9

WebMD reveals how today's health news will impact your life tomorrow.

0:22.4

It's not that people don't know that exercise is healthy. It's just that people don't know why it's

0:26.5

healthy, and we're struggling to try to help people help themselves and each other.

0:30.4

Listen to WebMD Health Discovered on the IHeart Radio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

0:35.1

If you're looking for another heavy podcast about trauma, the saying it.

0:40.1

This is for the ones who had to survive and still show up as brilliant, loud, soft, and whole.

0:45.8

The unwanted sorority is where black women, femmes, and gender expansive survivors of sexual

0:50.2

violence rewrite the rules on healing, support, and what happens after.

0:55.5

And I'm your host and co-president of this organization, Dr. Leah Tretate. Listen to the unwanted sorority, new episodes every Thursday

1:01.9

on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

1:07.3

Summer's here, and with the kids home and off to camp, it's easy for moms to get lost in the shuffle.

1:11.8

On good mom's bad choices, we're making space to center ourselves with joy, rest, and pleasure.

1:16.9

Take the kids to camp.

1:18.3

You know what? It was expensive.

1:20.5

But I was also thinking, you have my kid.

1:22.8

This is kind of priceless.

1:24.4

Take her, feed her, make core memories.

1:27.4

I don't have to do anything. Main memories. I don't have to do anything.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from iHeartPodcasts, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of iHeartPodcasts and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.