Originally published on December 19, 2022 (Episode 298)
Introduction
The Victorians never set foot on the Moon—but they were the first to believe that it was really possible. Nineteenth-century thinkers saw in their science the tools—or soon-to-be-discovered tools—that could make space travel real. This faith grew out of cascades of new technologies, new ways of generating knowledge, and bold visions of the future that together created a profoundly different world.
In How the Victorians Took Us to the Moon: The Story of the Nineteenth-Century Innovators Who Forged the Future (Icon Books, 2022), Iwan Morus explores this culture of confidence and imagination, showing how the Victorians envisioned futures that continue to direct our own visions.
About the Guest
Iwan Rhys Morus is Professor of History at Aberystwyth University in Wales. He specializes in the cultural history of science and technology. Among his recent books are Michael Faraday and the Electrical Century (2017) and Nikola Tesla and the Electrical Future (2019).
For Further Investigation
Iwan Rhys Morus, How the Victorians Took Us to the Moon: The Story of the Nineteenth-Century Innovators Who Forged the Future (Icon Books, 2022)
Related conversations:
The History of Technology, from Leonardo to the Internet, with Tom Misa
The Pursuit of Perfection, with Simon Heffer on early Victorian Britain
The Public Domain Review, “Lost Futures: A 19th Century Vision of the Year 2000”
“On Verticality”: a blog exploring the human urge to leave the Earth’s surface
A site dedicated to the Wright brothers and their breakthrough in flight
💬 Listen & Discuss
Do you think the Victorians’ confidence in science feels familiar to us today—or are we more skeptical about bold technological promises? Share your reflections in the comments.
