Ever wonder what it would be like to reach “the future?” For many Europeans, life in the late nineteenth century felt that way, with massive technological changes leading to the conquest of hunger, violence and disease. Yet as we transcend existing norms and boundaries, the future can also be a scary place. This episode explores the pleasures and perils of modernity, discussing things like cabaret, Einstein and Freud, the ballpoint pen, Picasso and the building of the Eiffel Tower.

Image: Edvard Munch, The Scream (1893); National gallery, Oslo, Norway