HistoryExtra Podcast: “Thomas Edison: Life of the Week”

Release Date: February 24, 2026
Host: Eleanor Evans
Guest: Ewan Morris, Professor of History at Aberystwyth University

Episode Overview

This episode explores the remarkable life, legacy, and mythology surrounding Thomas Edison—the ultimate American inventor and master self-promoter. Host Eleanor Evans interviews historian Ewan Morris to unravel the real Edison behind the legend: how he capitalized on a rapidly changing technological world; the collaborative nature of his inventions; the fierce “current wars” with rivals like Tesla and Westinghouse; and how his persona shaped both contemporary and modern attitudes towards innovation, business, and fame.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Edison’s Early Life and Historical Context

• Setting the Scene (02:51–04:58):
  • Edison was born in 1847 into a world undergoing transformative change, with railways and telegraphs revolutionizing communication and commerce.
  • "This is an age that has... discovered progress. The idea of technology as a progressive force that's going to transform society, that's going to transform history..." (Ewan Morris, 04:25)
  • Edison’s family history spans loyalty in the American Revolution and rebellion in Canada, showing early exposure to upheaval and adaptation.

2. Myth vs Reality: The Self-Made Man (05:15–06:57)

• Edison’s life rapidly accrued legend—often by his own design.
  • He was “very aware of the need to promote himself” and carefully curated his public image.
  • Stories of inventiveness as a precocious child—such as creating a simple telegraph line with a friend—blend reality and self-spun mythology.

3. Education, Apprenticeship, and Tinkering (07:13–09:25)

• Edison had almost no formal education in science, learning instead as a telegraph operator.
• The culture among telegraph workers fostered quick thinking and improvisation.
  • "He started to come up with little improvements, little changes, ideas for different ways of using existing technologies..." (Ewan Morris, 08:13)
• His early innovations focused on efficiency and practical tweaks, including a telegraph that allowed multiple simultaneous messages.

4. Living with Deafness (09:49–11:04)

• As a teenager, Edison suffered near-total hearing loss—possibly from scarlet fever.
  • Edison described his deafness almost as a benefit, allowing him to focus, although Morris notes this is also part of Edison’s self-created myth.
• This trait affected his perspective and sometimes how he engaged with the world and his inventions.

5. From Individual Tinkerer to Entrepreneur (11:17–12:50)

• Edison navigated the world of independent invention, gradually scaling up to have his own workshop.
• “He understood very, very well from pretty early in his career that if you’re going to be an inventor, then it had to be a business.” (Ewan Morris, 12:26)
• Edison strove to systematize and professionalize innovation—foreshadowing his later “invention factory.”

6. Menlo Park and the Patent Factory (15:16–19:00)

• Menlo Park (est. late 1870s) marked a revolution in the process of invention: a collaborative laboratory pumping out patentable innovations.
  • Edison’s name was on the patents, but the “absolutely essential work of invention... is a collective activity.” (Ewan Morris, 18:34)
• The system was expensive, speculative, and highly competitive, with teams working under Edison’s oversight.

7. The Light Bulb—Myth, Collaboration, and Commercialization (19:00–23:30)

• Edison didn't invent the incandescent bulb outright; many others had approached the problem over decades.
  • "What Edison did with the light bulb... epitomizes everything that I've been saying about the collective work of invention. So, yes, Edison invented the light bulb, and no, he didn't." (Ewan Morris, 19:26)
• The breakthrough was identifying an effective filament (carbonized bamboo) and, crucially, “marketing and commercializing these two things at once”—the bulb and the electrical network.
• Edison’s brilliance lay in selling the system, not just the gadget, paralleling Joseph Swan’s work in Britain.

8. Fame and Public Persona (23:30–25:43)

• "He'd made himself famous a couple of years earlier in 1877 with the invention of the phonograph... You sell it through sheer showmanship." (Ewan Morris, 23:43)
• Media images like “the wizard of Menlo Park” perpetuated the individual genius myth.
• Edison became a pop-culture archetype: “He's Mr. Invention.”

9. The Current Wars: DC vs. AC (26:24–31:12)

• Edison’s direct current (DC) systems dominated initially, but struggled with long-distance transmission.
• Alternating current (AC), championed by George Westinghouse and enabled by Nikola Tesla’s inventions, eventually proved superior for scaling.
  • Edison resorted to fear campaigns: “He goes low, shall we say... He's trying to portray AC as the current that kills.” (Ewan Morris, 28:21)
  • The infamous animal electrocutions and attempts to brand executions as being "Westinghoused" underscored the bitterness—and Edison's desperation.
  • Ultimately, the market and logic won out: “By the early 1890s, Edison's own companies were switching to AC.”

10. Legacy: Competition, Commerce, and Cultural Myth (31:48–34:33)

• Edison adapted pragmatically to changing technologies, moving into early cinema and other fields.
• His posthumous reputation became entwined with ideas about the “purity” of invention (Tesla) versus “grubby” commerce (Edison).
  • "It tells, I think, of a kind of discomfort in modern culture about... the money side... of technological innovation..." (Ewan Morris, 32:40)
• Edison stands as the archetypal American innovator—the “man who electrified America,” even as the realities of his teams and methods are more nuanced.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Edison’s Technique and Self-Image:
  • “He was very aware of the need to promote himself and establish himself. He’s a particular kind of self-made, rugged, individualist inventor. I mean, that’s the Edisonian model, so to speak.” (Ewan Morris, 05:15)
• On Invention as Enterprise:
  • “You had to almost put yourself in a position where you were... mass producing invention. That’s increasingly during the 1870s, what Edison tries to do.” (12:37)
• On the Reality of Collective Invention:
  • “The myth... is of this... rugged individualist, the man of invention. He's the one who's doing all this. The reality behind that is very different.” (18:25)
• On the Light Bulb Story:
  • “So, yes, Edison invented the light bulb, and no, he didn’t.” (19:27)
• On the Current Wars Dirty Tactics:
  • "Edison goes low, shall we say... He’s trying to portray AC as the current that kills... Just to show you how dangerous it is, I’m going to electrocute this elephant for you, for example.” (28:22)
• On Modern Mythology:
  • “Tesla was the guy who's doing it all for his own sake. Edison is their corporate guy who was just in it for the money and essentially wanted to steal everybody else's ideas. Neither of which characterization is true, so to speak, historically. But that the characterization exists now, I think is really fascinating.” (32:08)

Key Timestamps

• 02:51 — Edison’s origins, family history & the technological revolution of his era.
• 05:15 — Edison's myth-making and early technical curiosity.
• 07:13 — His lack of formal education, practical learning, and first inventions.
• 09:49 — His hearing loss and personal adaptation.
• 11:17 — Independent invention and transition to entrepreneur.
• 15:16 — Menlo Park: the world’s first “invention factory” and the collaborative patent system.
• 19:00 — The incandescent light bulb: myth vs reality, and the importance of systems.
• 23:41 — Edison's public fame, media image, and the “wizard of Menlo Park.”
• 26:24 — The “current wars” and the shift from DC to AC.
• 28:21 — Edison’s smear campaign against AC and its aftermath.
• 31:48 — Edison's late career, cultural legacy, and his rivalry with Tesla.
• 34:09 — Reflection on Edison’s enduring place in history.

Episode Tone and Takeaways

The conversation is insightful, wry, and myth-deconstructing, blending admiration for Edison’s ingenuity with skepticism toward his self-promotion and the romantic narratives that followed. The episode clarifies that Edison succeeded not purely through genius or lone heroism, but by systematically harnessing talent, business acumen, and media attention to build enduring structures of innovation.

Guest:
Ewan Morris, Professor of History at Aberystwyth University, author of How the Victorians Took Us to the Moon: The Story of the 19th Century Innovators who Forged Our Future

For more on Nikola Tesla and the “other side” of the current wars, see the HistoryExtra episode featuring Ewan Morris from last year.