Slow Burn – Decoder Ring: "How Books About Things That Changed the World… Changed the World"

Host: Willa Paskin
Date: March 26, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of Decoder Ring delves into the enduring trend of "thing biographies"—those nonfiction books with bold titles like The Fish That Changed the World or How Parking Explains the World. Host Willa Paskin investigates where this trend comes from, its surprising persistence, and whether such grand claims are justified. Featuring interviews with authors, publishers, and cultural critics, the episode asks: Do these books really change the way we see the world, or is “How X Changed the World” just a clever sales trope?

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Birth of the "Thing Biography"

• Simon Garfield's Mauve: Sparked by a two-page spread in his son's chemistry book about William Perkin, inventor of synthetic purple dye. Garfield thought the story deserved more ("It deserved a book of its own." – Garfield, 03:50).
• Subtitles That Sell: Garfield’s Mauve: How One Man Invented a Color that Changed the World exemplifies the trend, but Garfield finds the subtitle “a little embarrassing” due to its ubiquity (04:33).

“There have been so many of those kind of things, all these other books about, you know, something that changed the world.”
— Simon Garfield (04:43)

• Notable Examples Cited: Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World, The Map that Changed the World, 10 Tomatoes that Changed the World, and more (05:03).

The Trend’s Roots: Longitude and Cod

• Longitude (Dava Sobel, 1995): Marked as a template-setting, best-selling "thing biography" about John Harrison’s marine chronometer ("A biography of an inanimate object" – George Gibson, 11:06).
  • Turned a niche subject into a global bestseller and TV miniseries (12:19).
• Cod (Mark Kurlansky, 1997): Kurlansky didn’t set out to write a hit but focused on his fascination with cod’s impact on culture and trade (13:28–15:06).

“Cod really united the Atlantic and brought Europe and the Americas together. Much more so than, you know, Columbus.”
— Mark Kurlansky (14:45)

• Publishing Copycats: The success of these books turned micro-histories into a mainstream trend ("As publishers, to some degree we're all copycats." – George Gibson, 15:56).

Why the 1990s?

• Bronwyn Everill (Princeton): After the Cold War, people sought to understand history beyond traditional political narratives; thing biographies offered a way to explore global interconnectedness through commodities and objects (17:11–18:26).

“They helped to explain the world after the end of the Cold War... needing a new way of thinking about how history is shaped by forces other than states being in a constant tension.”
— Bronwyn Everill (17:22)

• Shift in Tone: While post-Cold War optimism sparked the trend, modern iterations are often darker, focusing on challenges like environmental degradation ("They've just gotten a lot darker." – Everill, 20:09).

The Promise and Peril of Grandiose Claims

• Author’s Dilemma: The bold subtitle is both a sales tool and an intellectual challenge—writers must defend their sweeping claims (21:03).

“At the end of the day, we're trying to sell books here. You know what I mean?”
— Henry Grabar (21:23)

• Title Formula: The goal is to surprise and spark curiosity, which wouldn’t happen with less startling claims (“A book with the subtitle ‘How Cars Explain the World’ is so obvious it wouldn’t do the one thing these titles are supposed to do, which is raise eyebrows.” – Willa Paskin, 21:39).

Making the Case: Authors Defend Their Subjects

• How Refrigeration Changed the World (Nicola Twilley)
  • refrigeration revolutionized food, trade, and even geopolitics ("Britain’s Royal Society named refrigeration the most important invention in the history of food and drink." – Twilley, 23:11)
  • enabled urbanization, shaped diets, contributed to Irish independence, and today impacts global warming (23:19–30:01).
• How Rope Became the Backbone of Civilization (Tim Queenie)
  • Rope enabled everything from building pyramids and ships to modern spaceflight ("The oldest piece of rope ever discovered is 50,000 years old." – Queenie, 32:51)
  • Rope’s ubiquity has made it nearly invisible, but its impact is profound, from Neanderthals to Mars rovers and possible future space elevators (33:15–36:18).
• How One Weird Rodent Made America (Leela Philipp on beavers)
  • Beavers shaped North American environments and economies, sparked international wars ("It’s no exaggeration to say that beavers jump started capitalism in North America." – Philipp, 38:06)
  • The fur trade built fortunes like John Jacob Astor’s, and beaver-driven hydrology is newly vital in climate adaptation (43:01–47:47).

The Real Takeaway: Interconnectedness of Everything

• Willa Paskin reflects on initial skepticism, then concedes that the best books in this genre genuinely illuminate surprising connections in history and society.
• Philosophy of Wonder
  • “It reflects a kind of philosophy of wonder at the complexity of the world.” – Henry Grabar (49:21)

“If that’s your attitude towards life, you never run out of interesting things to look at or think about.”
— Henry Grabar (49:37)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Subtitles:
  “It’s a truism. But there have been so many of those kind of things, all these other books about, you know, something that changed the world.”
  — Simon Garfield (04:43)
• On Cod’s Impact:
  “Cod really united the Atlantic and brought Europe and the Americas together. Much more so than, you know, Columbus.”
  — Mark Kurlansky (14:45)
• On the Sales Imperative:
  “At the end of the day, we’re trying to sell books here. You know what I mean?”
  — Henry Grabar (21:23)
• On Rope’s Importance:
  “The oldest piece of rope ever discovered is actually 50,000 years old... Neanderthals were making rope.”
  — Tim Queenie (32:51)
• On Beavers and Capitalism:
  “It’s just no exaggeration to say that beavers jump started capitalism in North America.”
  — Leela Philipp (38:06)
• On the Point of Microhistories:
  “What they’re about is how intricately and unexpectedly connected the world is.”
  — Willa Paskin (47:47)
• Philosophy of Wonder:
  “If that’s your attitude towards life, you never run out of interesting things to look at or think about.”
  — Henry Grabar (49:37)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:37] – Simon Garfield discovers William Perkin’s story and Mauve.
• [11:00] – George Gibson recounts the inspiration and impact of Longitude.
• [13:28] – Mark Kurlansky realizes cod’s historical importance.
• [17:11] – Bronwyn Everill on the 'thing biography' trend post-Cold War.
• [21:03] – Henry Grabar reflects on the pressures of bold subtitles.
• [22:52] – Author Nicola Twilley defends refrigeration's world-changing impact.
• [31:06] – Tim Queenie on rope’s overlooked historical significance.
• [37:40] – Leela Philipp argues for beavers as environmental and economic trailblazers.
• [47:47] – Willa Paskin’s reflection on skepticism and the power of small stories.
• [49:21] – Henry Grabar on the philosophical value of wonder in micro-history.

The Episode’s Tone & Style

Willa Paskin’s narration blends gentle skepticism with contagious curiosity and humor. The guests—often authors themselves—treat their unusual topics with passion and sometimes self-deprecation, providing both entertaining anecdotes and compelling arguments for the profound influence of everyday objects.

Conclusion

Decoder Ring crafts a nuanced look behind the “thing that changed the world” book trend. Far from merely sales gimmicks, the best of these books spark wonder at the complex, interconnected nature of history, revealing how even the humblest objects are woven into the grand tapestry of our world.

Recommended for:

• Fans of popular nonfiction
• Curious readers seeking new lenses on history
• Anyone skeptical of bold subtitle claims—prepare to have your curiosity piqued