The Internet Under the Sea

What powers the global internet? The answer might surprise you: not satellites, but hundreds of thin cables that run along the ocean floor. They’re an absolutely essential technology that’s also incredibly fragile — so fragile that in the beginning, most people thought they couldn't possibly work. Today on the show: the story of a man who <em>did</em> think they could work… and the lengths he went to to try and connect the world.<br /><em><br /></em><strong>Guests:</strong><br /><br /><strong>Bill Burns</strong>, former BBC broadcast engineer and founder of atlantic-cable.com <br /><br /><strong>Cyrus Field IV</strong>, great-great-grandson of Cyrus Field<br /><br /><strong>Allison Marsh</strong>, professor at the University of South Carolina and historian of technology <br /><br /><strong>Ben Roberts</strong>, strategic advisor on Subsea Cable Economics for Connectivity at UNICEF who has been building cable network in Africa for the past two decades<br /><br /><em>To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at <a href="plus.npr.org/throughline" target="_blank">plus.npr.org/throughline</a>.</em><br /><br />See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>