How the World Survives Information Revolutions: Fake news, censorship & what history teaches us about echo chambers
A Short History of Saving The WorldShow Notes
Every generation thinks it’s living through an unprecedented information crisis. But according to historian Ada Palmer, we’ve been here before. In this episode, Angus and Ada explore the first great information revolution - from Machiavelli hiding The Prince and Leonardo da Vinci’s coded notebooks to the printing press, censorship, and Shakespeare’s anxieties about misinformation.
In this episode: · Is fake news really new? · What happens when information suddenly becomes available to everyone? · Why do new technologies amplify both progress and extremism? · Are social media and the internet following a familiar historical pattern? · And… what does fruit have to do with democracy?
From Renaissance Florence to modern algorithms, this conversation reveals how societies adapt to upheaval - and why history may offer clues for navigating today’s information chaos. Because the world doesn’t get saved once. It gets saved - again and again.
Timestamps: 00:50 Why Machiavelli hid The Prince 03:48 Why Leonardo wasn’t really a scientist 06:37 The printing press changes everything 12:48 “Children of gold, parents of iron” 19:36 What social media has in common with the Renaissance 23:09 Why censorship rarely works 30:21 Is change actually accelerating? 35:15 The case for free speech 38:27 The strange reason cantaloupe helped spark revolution 48:51 Democracy, experts & the future Subscribe & follow: If you enjoyed this episode, follow the podcast and leave a review - it helps more people find these stories.
Production credits: Hosted by Angus Hervey and Ada Palmer Produced by Amy Davoren-Rose, Fix The News Audio production: Anthony Badolato, Hear That!
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Every generation thinks it’s living through unprecedented change. A Short History of Saving the World is a new history podcast with Angus Hervey and historian Ada Palmer that explores the turning points, crises, and ideas that shaped world history - and the hidden patterns that connect them. From ancient civilisations to modern global events, this series zooms out to ask a bigger question: what actually happens when the world feels like it’s falling apart?