Broad Band by Claire L. Evans Summary
Overview of Broad Band
Discover the erased heroines who built our digital world. "Broad Band" reveals how women like Ada Lovelace and Grace Hopper shaped computing across two centuries, challenging tech's male-dominated narrative. What groundbreaking online communities did women create while men got all the credit?
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Key takeaways
The Hidden History Written in Code
Your first computer probably wasn't remarkable-maybe a beige box with a screeching modem that transformed your bedroom into something magical. Mine certainly wasn't special by today's standards, yet it opened portals to worlds I'd never imagined. Those machines are gone now, recycled or rusting in distant landfills, but what they enabled remains: human connection across impossible distances. Here's what most technology histories won't tell you-the internet wasn't built by lone geniuses in garages. It was constructed, programmed, and imagined into existence by women whose names you've likely never heard. From the first algorithm to the social architecture of online communities, women have been there at every technological revolution, often doing work nobody valued until suddenly everyone did. For nearly two centuries, "computer" wasn't a machine-it was a job title. Classified ads sought human computers to perform complex calculations, charting stars and solving equations in intellectual factories. By the mid-twentieth century, this work became so associated with women that mathematicians measured machine power in "girl-years" and "kilogirls." The connection between textiles and computing runs deeper than metaphor. Joseph-Marie Jacquard's revolutionary loom used punched cards to weave intricate patterns, separating design from execution for the first time. Charles Babbage, inspired by a silk portrait of Jacquard woven using 24,000 punched cards, adopted textile language for his computing machines-"store" and "mill" became memory and processor.
Pioneers Who Programmed the Future
The Women Who Made ENIAC Think and Built the Industry
Technology for the People and Building Community Infrastructure
Building the Internet's Architecture and Making It Scale
Creating Digital Communities That Connected Real Lives
Reclaiming Our Digital Future
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"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
From Columbia University alumni built in San Francisco
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
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