NEW YORK, NY – Inc. Magazine announces the launch of a six-part limited series podcast about the dramatic, untold history of the Internet straight from the mouths of its pioneering inventors.
Computer Freaks is the story of the battles and betrayals between the Internet’s founding fathers. It’s an ode to fathers and daughters. And it’s a tale about the origins of the man-computer symbiosis that’s still profoundly relevant to our society today.
Host Christine Haughney Dare-Bryan’s connection to the story is deeply personal—her father, Joseph Haughney, was one of the internet’s founding fathers. Dare-Bryan spent 10 months traveling the nation interviewing these iconic founders about their work, and how it all led to the economy—and society—we inhabit today. In this six-episode series, she explores the invention, the contention, the bragging, the fighting, and the decisions that have created our digital lives.
Just as the book Hamilton explored the founding fathers of democracy in the United States, this project explores the founding fathers of the internet and how their high-stakes battles over ownership, internet privacy, internet protocols, and internet access mirror what we face today.
And, perhaps most important, this series is a love letter from a daughter to an aging father and the world-changing legacy he will leave behind.
Listen to Inc.’s Computer Freaks podcast by visiting Inc.com/ComputerFreaks or on APPLE or SPOTIFY and wherever you stream podcasts beginning June 15.
Episode 1: “The Dollhouse” explores the foundations of Arpanet, the first workable prototype of the Internet, on the heels of World War 2. It chronicles Major Joseph Haughney’s role in the early days of the Arpanet and the life of JCR Licklider, the MIT professor who envisioned the incredible potential for computers in our everyday lives.
Episode 2: “Lo and Behold” digs into the contentious debate surrounding the birthplace of the Arpanet and who should be given credit for this key moment in Internet history. UCLA professor Len Kleinrock has dedicated his career to preserving this history and his detractors say he has taken too much credit for the Internet’s creation.
About Christine Haughney Dare-Bryan
Christine Haughney Dare-Bryan is an Editor at Large at Inc. An industry veteran with over two decades of experience, Dare-Bryan is a James Beard award-winning journalist who has worked for three of the nation’s largest newspapers and who created the Emmy nominated Netflix series Rotten. She previously worked at NBC News where she was senior editor for the network’s Biz Tech & Innovation Unit, led an award-winning tech investigative team and collaborated with NBC’s sibling networks on theme week coverage. She is a board member of the Anne O’Hare McCormick Scholarship fund, Xana Antunes fellow and awards judge for the Society for the Advancement of Business Editors and Writers.
