The disruptive effects of the internet and social media on the spread of information are unprecedented. Or are they?
In episode 10 of Clear and Present Danger, we cover the invention, spread, and effects of Gutenberg’s printing press:
- What significance did this new technology have for the dissemination of knowledge and ideas?
- Why was the printing press instrumental in helping a German monk and scholar break the religious unity of Europe?
- What happened when new religious ideas raged through Europe like wildfire?
- And did Martin Luther’s Reformation lead to religious tolerance and freedom, or persecution and censorship?