{"generated_at": "2026-05-30T22:10:49.619930Z", "slug": "found_in_the_machine_forgotten_tech_history", "source_id": "src_found_in_the_machine_forgotten_tech_history", "name": "Found in the Machine: Forgotten Tech History", "episode_count": 2, "avg_signal": 68.8, "median_signal": 68.8, "top_signal": 84.8, "latest_episode_at": "2026-05-26T09:00:00Z", "earliest_episode_at": "2026-05-12T09:00:00Z", "category_mode": "ai", "cover_image_url": "https://storage.buzzsprout.com/x33ehm8sj6dnfexwyz2p7f68rma9?.jpg", "rank_score": 71.715, "episodes": [{"episode_id": "ep_found_in_the_machine_forgotten_tech_history_bd0a536bdced", "episode_title": "America on Hold: How the Internet Arrived", "podcast_name": "Found in the Machine: Forgotten Tech History", "podcast_slug": "found_in_the_machine_forgotten_tech_history", "source_id": "src_found_in_the_machine_forgotten_tech_history", "category": "ai", "publish_date": "2026-05-26T09:00:00Z", "overall_score": 52.8, "score_breakdown": {"clarity": 0.0, "originality": 94.0, "hype_penalty": 0.0, "actionability": 0.0, "technical_depth": 65.0, "information_density": 85.0}, "podcast_cover_url": "https://storage.buzzsprout.com/x33ehm8sj6dnfexwyz2p7f68rma9?.jpg", "source_link": "https://foundinthemachine.com/episodes/10-america-on-hold-how-the-internet-arrived/", "audio_url": "https://www.buzzsprout.com/2597910/episodes/19225667-america-on-hold-how-the-internet-arrived.mp3", "listen_url": "https://foundinthemachine.com/episodes/10-america-on-hold-how-the-internet-arrived/", "verdict": "must_listen", "why_listen": "It reveals how a physical marketing strategy made the abstract idea of the internet tangible and inevitable\u2014while exposing the enduring gap between digital promise and reality.", "summary": "Jan Brandt's 'carpet bombing' strategy at AOL distributed over a billion free trial discs, making the internet feel inevitable by turning connection into a physical, frictionless act. The campaign grew AOL from 200,000 to 22 million users but overwhelmed infrastructure, earning the nickname 'America on Hold.' Despite its success, the discs became cultural waste, and broadband access remains unequal\u20147.9 million U.S. households were offline as of 2024."}, {"episode_id": "ep_found_in_the_machine_forgotten_tech_history_33fad1f1a659", "episode_title": "The Weavers: Memory and the Moon", "podcast_name": "Found in the Machine: Forgotten Tech History", "podcast_slug": "found_in_the_machine_forgotten_tech_history", "source_id": "src_found_in_the_machine_forgotten_tech_history", "category": "ai", "publish_date": "2026-05-12T09:00:00Z", "overall_score": 84.8, "score_breakdown": {"clarity": 95.0, "originality": 96.0, "hype_penalty": 1.0, "actionability": 55.0, "technical_depth": 78.0, "information_density": 85.0}, "podcast_cover_url": "https://storage.buzzsprout.com/x33ehm8sj6dnfexwyz2p7f68rma9?.jpg", "source_link": "https://foundinthemachine.com/episodes/9-the-weavers-memory-and-the-moon/", "audio_url": "https://www.buzzsprout.com/2597910/episodes/19161502-the-weavers-memory-and-the-moon.mp3", "listen_url": "https://foundinthemachine.com/episodes/9-the-weavers-memory-and-the-moon/", "verdict": "must_listen", "why_listen": "You\u2019ll understand how the most critical software in human history was literally woven by hand\u2014and how the people who made it were written out of the story.", "summary": "The Apollo moon missions relied on core rope memory, a form of software storage physically woven by hand, primarily by women from textile and watchmaking backgrounds. These weavers, many of them Navajo women assembling microchips in Shiprock, were erased from official histories despite their critical role in ensuring the software's flawless performance. The episode reveals how 'innate skill' was a myth used to obscure generations of transmitted knowledge and disciplined labor."}], "category_breakdown": [{"category": "ai", "count": 2}]}