About this episode
Talking dolls have been around for over a century, but the fascination with making inanimate objects seem human reaches back into our early history. What is it about creating a companion that can interact with us, especially for a child, that fascinates us so? And what will that look like as our technology continues to advance? Featuring Carlene Stephens, Curator for the Smithsonian National Museum of American History and Claire Gartland of the Electronic Privacy Information Center . Twenty Thousand Hertz is produced by Defacto Sound . Subscribe on YouTube to see our video series. If you know what this week's mystery sound is, tell us at mystery.20k.org . Support the show and get ad-free episodes at 20k.org/plus . Follow Dallas on Instagram , TikTok , Facebook , and LinkedIn . Join our community on Reddit . Episode transcript, music, and credits can be found here: https://www.20k.org/episodes/dolls Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices