The Information Age is a historical period, beginning in the mid-20th century, that is characterized by an accelerated shift from analog technologies to digital ones. On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, the boys are joined by Juniper, a friend of the pod who designed an app called Atopia that coordinates hangouts between like-minded individuals. Together, the three begin by detailing the contributions of two figures that sparked the Information Age: Claude Shannon and Margaret Hamilton. They then survey the history of early computing, eschewing the “Silicon Valley mythology” that jumps from mainframes to personal computers by focusing on time-sharing and the Whole Earth Catalog. After that, they examine the physical infrastructure of the internet and the evolving nature of the web. The episode concludes with a discussion about how culture is shaped by information in the modern era, and how “social computing” can still be found on Discord.
Links:
A People’s History of Computing in the United States by Joy Lisi Rankin
From Counterculture to Cyberculture by Fred Turner
A Mathematical Theory of Communication By Claude Shannon
How Claude Shannon Invented the Future by David Tse
The Bit Player (2018)
Shannon’s Diagram of a General Communication System
Evenings at Home: Then and Now - political cartoon (1938)
Whole Earth Catalog, Fall 1968
The Verge - Version History Episode
A Prehistory of the Cloud by Tung Hui Hu
Undersea Cables by Trevor Paglen
Photos of the Submarine Internet Cables the NSA Probably Tapped by Laura Mallonee
Revolt of the Elites by Christopher Lasch
Silent Generation Podcast Listener Submission Form
Artwork:
The Univac 1 Computer by George Michael
Recorded on 5/11/2026
