The Strange Business of Ice

brainsLogo of podcast "Brains On!" produced by American Public Media-on

For the kids’ podcast Brains On (American Public Media), I made a piece about the history of harvesting ice in 19th century New England – an industry that spanned the globe and made a few people very, very rich. To report the story, I visited the Thompson Ice House in South Bristol, Maine, where they still harvest ice off the pond every year using the same human-powered tools that were in use nearly 200 years ago. You can listen to the whole episode here (my piece starts at 13:35).