![]() Antheil brushes shoulders with artistic luminaries such as Igor Stravinsky and James Joyce, while Hedy and her first husband, an oppressive munitions maker who basically imprisons her in their mansion, entertain Benito Mussolini and German weapons engineers at the dinner table. Rhodes proves adept at elucidating the science behind this invention and the subsequent development of spread-spectrum systems (which today enable the use of cell phones and Wi-Fi), but his particular genius lies in placing the invention within a tumultuous historical moment. ![]() ![]() As the plot unfolds, the pair invents a frequency-hopping radio device to help American torpedoes evade enemy guidance-jamming systems in World War II. The bulk of Hedy’s Folly centers on an unlikely invention team - Hedy Lamarr, a golden age Hollywood starlet, and George Antheil, a firebrand American composer. ![]() His new book is called 'Hedy's Folly.' Our number: 1-80. In Rhodes’ newest book, the prolific Pulitzer Prize–winning author ( The Making of the Atomic Bomb) once again interweaves moving biographical portraits with dramatic depictions of scientific discovery. We're talking this hour about the life of movie star and inventor Hedy Lamarr with my guest Richard Rhodes. ![]()
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