AIR-CONDITIONING: An American Innovation That Changed Everything

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Listen to more episodes of Breaking History with Eli Lake

The Free Press's Eli Lake: For Breaking History this week, I went down a rabbit hole. It’s August. I live in the swamp of D.C., known not just for its mucky politics but also for its disgustingly humid summers.

As I sit indoors all day, I’ve seen some interesting internet discourse about my beloved air-conditioning. I read a thread on X about the way German elites reject air-conditioning as American wastefulness, to the chagrin of the masses that want to stop sweating. In these very pages, Tyler Cowen sang the praises of American AC, declaring it the mark of civilization versus the European model of allowing vulnerable people to die during heat waves.

This all got me thinking about the history of air-conditioning. How was this technology invented? How did it become ubiquitous in America, revolutionizing our health, productivity, and especially our movie culture, which relies on cool theaters during the blockbuster summer months?

Salvatore Basile is the author of "Cool: How Air Conditioning Changed Everything," a deeply researched book on air-conditioning—not just as a machine, but as a force that completely changed how we live. Salvatore has deep insights into how AC has affected our architecture, urban development, and work habits.

Check out our conversation to learn something new about this magical technology.