Electric Cars: The story of L.A. smog, a homemade scooter and the ultimate redemption

In an age where gas-powered vehicles account for nearly half of greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector, electric vehicles are a way to help slow global warming. Over the last decade, the EV industry grew by leaps and bounds and Tesla has arguably done more for the industry than any other company. But the next big thing for EVs… might be making them smaller. In this episode, Wally Rippel remembers gazing out his classroom window at the air pollution hanging over LA one smoggy day and how that led to building what would become GM’s infamous EV1. Then Wim Ouboter recalls how his homemade push scooter started a chain of events that inspired him to build a miniature electric bubble car named the Microlino.

Om Podcasten

The inventor of facial recognition software was years ahead of the competition but never got credit for his work because it was kept secret by the CIA. The first VR glove was a groundbreaking piece of tech that would eventually become one of the gaming industry's biggest flops. And when Kodak execs were shown an early prototype of the first digital camera, they flat out rejected the idea. In each episode of Ahead of Its Time, you'll explore the forgotten origins of today’s most transformative technology, hear from the people who first imagined it, delve into their past and relive their eureka moments. Join host, podcast producer and queen of tech storytelling Julia Furlan to discover why these inventors struggled to get their ideas off the ground. Then meet the next generation of innovators who are building on the work of the tech underdogs who came before them.