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Context with Brad Harris

by Brad Harris

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Latest episodes

The Fire That Hasn't Gone Out

October 20, 2026 · 25 min

Why did the Industrial Revolution ignite an era of sustained economic growth when the great civilizations of the past had repeatedly risen, flourished, and declined? The answer may have less to do with coal and steam engines than with a…
Why History Never Felt Like History

July 20, 2026 · 32 min

Why doesn't history feel like history while we're living through it? The French Revolution. The outbreak of World War I. The Roaring Twenties. Looking back, these moments seem obvious, dramatic, and inevitable. But for most of the people…
Who Wrote the Laws of Nature?

July 6, 2026 · 24 min

Why do we say a stone "obeys the law" of gravity? What is a "law" of nature, anyway? The idea that nature has laws — universal, mathematical, binding — was born in the seventeenth century, when Descartes and Newton assumed a divine…
Take Nobody's Word For It: How Science Lost Its Founding Virtue

May 13, 2026 · 32 min

"Trust the science" is a phrase Robert Boyle would have found horrifying. The Royal Society he co-founded in 1660 inscribed exactly the opposite principle on its coat of arms: Nullius in verba — take nobody's word for it. Modern science…
The Last Generation To Die?

May 5, 2026 · 40 min

Human civilization has been trying to defeat death forever. For the first time, we may be beginning to succeed. In labs from California to Cambridge, the biology of aging is being treated as an engineering problem, and the pace of…

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Why Modern Civilization Runs on Trust — And Why It's Breaking

April 9, 2026 · 38 min

What makes it possible for billions of strangers to cooperate every day? Trust. Not the kind you have with friends and family. But an elaborate, invisible scaffolding of norms, institutions, laws, and technologies that took thousands of…
The Invention of Uncertainty: How Probability Led to Artificial Intelligence

March 12, 2026 · 30 min

Where did probability come from? In this episode, Brad Harris explores how the invention of probability reshaped humanity's relationship with uncertainty—and why artificial intelligence (AI) ultimately runs on the same mathematics of…
When Greatness Becomes Bad

February 24, 2026 · 41 min

Why do civilizations turn against their own greatness, and what happens when they do? In this episode of Context with Brad Harris, we trace the psychology of civilizational decline, from the Great Wall of China and the Apollo program to…
Layers of Meaning in Human History

January 27, 2026 · 37 min

Once survival is secured, a different question emerges: what is life for? In this episode of Context, we trace three enduring sources of human purpose—endurance, exploration, and understanding—through three excellent books: The Wager…
Which Humanity Survives?

January 13, 2026 · 33 min

Human history is not a smooth story of progress. It is a story of bottlenecks—moments when pressure narrows the field, and when only certain ways of living can carry themselves forward. In this episode of Context, we explore the idea that…
The Great Silence

December 22, 2025 · 25 min

In this episode of Context, we explore the historical, philosophical, and ethical implications of artificial intelligence, drawing on examples from world history, literature, and modern AI research. We examine pivotal moments in the…
Back from the Brink: How Societies Recover

September 30, 2025 · 30 min

Can fractured societies pull themselves back from the brink? Is America doomed to slide into another civil war? Or, are we already engaged in a kind of Cold Civil War? In this episode of Context, we examine three powerful case studies of…

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About the show

Context is a podcast that explores the historical forces shaping our modern world. Hosted by Brad Harris, who earned his PhD from Stanford in the History of Science & Technology, each episode delves into pivotal ideas, events, and figures that have influenced civilization's trajectory. From the rise of scientific thought to the challenges of globalization, Brad provides insightful analysis that connects the past to our present. Whether you're a history enthusiast or seeking deeper understanding of contemporary issues, Context with Brad Harris offers a thoughtful journey through the narratives that define us.