360 of a Mad Genius

And now for something completely different… I am a Public Radio junkie. Here in DC WAMU 88.5 is my absolute favorite station – especially on Saturdays. If I’m not at home listening, or in my car going somewhere, I podcast almost the entire line-up of shows that air on Saturdays – starting with Car Talk and Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me through This American Life, Studio 360, Marketplace, Splendid Table, and ending with Prairie Home Companion. I also LOVE Ed Walker’s The Big Broadcast on Sunday nights.

I hear so many great things on NPR and every once in a while there is a program that has me riveted. This happened a few months ago with an episode of Studio 360 where the host, Kurt Anderson, books the room where Nikolai Tesla spent his later years in NYC. The program delved into the fascinating life and remarkable, but nearly forgotten, career of Nikolai Tesla. I found out today that this episode of Studio 360 is repeating this week. You can also get the podcast anytime on the Studio 360 web site. This is something that may sound boring but I promise you that it doesn’t even come close.

The best parts of this fantastic episode include an account of Tesla’s rivalry with contemporary superstar and nemesis Thomas Edison, a monologue about AC/DC (not the rock band), and an investigation of Hollywood’s portrayal of the “mad scientist” based on how people perceived Tesla’s frenzied genius. There is also a lesson about how radio works – delivered from the top of the Empire State Building

I remember hearing about Nikolai Tesla in grade school but I remember learning about Thomas Edison. Edison was nothing compared to Tesla – he just had a better marketing team and the charisma to go with it. Tesla was the real genius, the real inventor, and the real deal.