{"podcast":{"title":"Instant Genius","slug":"instant-genius-226559","podcast_index_feed_id":226559,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/GLT7732401960","website_url":"http://www.sciencefocus.com/","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/f7c186ec-ab83-11ed-876d-531b385da704/image/1e3aeeafe7dbc619978cf0eccb54d269.jpeg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Our Media","episode_count":680,"summary":"Whether you’re curious about getting healthy, the Big Bang or the science of cooking, find out everything you need to know with Instant Genius. The team behind BBC Science Focus Magazine talk to world-leading experts to bring you two bite-sized masterclasses on a new subject each week. New episodes are released every Monday and Friday and you can subscribe to Instant Genius on Apple Podcasts to access all new episodes ad-free and all old episodes of Instant Genius Extra. Watch full episodes of Instant Genius on BBC Science Focus Magazine's YouTube channel. Follow us on X: @SFIGPod","last_synced_at":"2026-09-25T10:21:43.242983+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/instant-genius-226559"},"episode":{"title":"The birth, evolution and future of microchips","slug":"the-birth-evolution-and-future-of-microchips","published_at":"2026-07-12T23:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/instant-genius-226559/the-birth-evolution-and-future-of-microchips","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/instant-genius-226559","url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/NSR2240806909.mp3","audio_url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/NSR2240806909.mp3","summary":"It’s a good bet that if most of us were to glance around our living rooms or offices, we’d quickly spot all manner of electronic devices that are powered by microchips. Since their introduction in the 1950s, chips have become one of the fundamental building blocks of the various digital technologies we rely on in our daily lives. What impact has this had on the development of technology, economics and global politics over the last several decades, and what roles will chips continue to play in our global future? In today’s episode, we’re joined by Prof Rakesh Kumar, John Bardeen Faculty Scholar in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Illinois, to talk about his latest book, The Chip Age – How Chips Shaped Our Past and Will Define Our Future. He tells us about the key role the space race played in the rapid development of microchips, explains how the production of chips involves collaboration between countries in almost every part of the world and talks us through some of the various economic, political and environmental issues that may influence the future of this vital technology. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices","meta_description":"It’s a good bet that if most of us were to glance around our living rooms or offices, we’d quickly spot all manner of electronic devices that are powered…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1770,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/instant-genius-226559/episodes/the-birth-evolution-and-future-of-microchips/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/instant-genius-226559/the-birth-evolution-and-future-of-microchips.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}