History is littered with promising innovations that failed to live up to their hype. This week on Disrupted, a look at three revolutionary but doomed disruptions and their legacy on our world today. What became of the made-up language Esperanto, the music streaming platform Napster, and the once-popular treatment for mental illness, the lobotomy?
GUESTS:
- Andrew Scull: Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Science Studies at the University of California, San Diego. He is the author of the upcoming book, Desperate Remedies: Psychiatry’s Turbulent Quest to Cure Mental Illness
- Arika Okrent: Linguist and author of the book In the Land of Invented Languages: Adventures in Linguistic Creativity, Madness, and Genius
- Joseph Menn: Technology reporter at the Washington Post and author of All the Rave: The Rise and Fall of Shawn Fanning's Napster
This episode was produced by James Szkobel-Wolff, Zshekinah Collier, and Catie Talarski and originally aired on May 11, 2022.
Disrupted is produced by Kevin Chang Barnum and Emily Charash. Our interns are Taylor Doyle and Jacob Gannon.
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