Charlotte Williams and Amit Katwala trace the sometimes shocking truth behind the history of the light bulb, following its evolution from carbon spitting hazard to energy efficient LED.

We hear from media historian Markus Krajewski about how a cartel of companies conspired to limit the lifespan of light bulbs in the first known example of ‘planned obsolescence’. Nobel prize winning physicist Hiroshi Amano talks to us about how his discovery of the blue LED light has changed the world, and we speak to Tom Bramell whose job is to to look after a lightbulb which has been on for 121 years.

Presented by Charlotte Williams and Amit Katwala
Produced by Emily Finch
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4 Show less