Pessimists Archive Podcaster Jason Feifer Debunks Past Panics About Elevators, Novels, and Bicycles.

• Author: Gillespie, Nick

Are you old enough to remember Louise Brown? In 1978, she became the first person born through in vitro fertilization (IVF). She was called a "test-tube baby," and the technology that allowed her to exist scared the bejeezus out of everyone. Now, IVF is a routine method of reproduction.

Or maybe you recall when the Walkman was introduced in 1979 as the first truly portable, immersive, individualized sound system. Its success led to a spate of panicked stories about how it would destroy communal music. Some towns even passed laws banning people from using the device while walking.

If you're interested in past panics about new developments, you'll be interested in the podcast Pessimists Archive, which is dedicated to exploring "why we resist new things." Host Jason Feifer delves into historical moments of panic over everything from novels to elevators to chain stores to that once unforgivably dirty dance, the waltz. He is also the editor in chief of Entrepreneur magazine, host of a business-oriented podcast called Problem Solvers, and a novelist.

In July, Feifer spoke with Reason's Nick Gillespie about why new things reliably freak us out.

Q: You write about the elevator and the work its creators did to encourage people to use it. Can we only adapt to new technology when there's an intentional effort to assuage our fears?

A: I think oftentimes the developers of technology forget to do that. They are so bought in on the value of the thing they have produced that they forget other people are not going to see it and immediately say, "I love this a lot more than the thing I'm already comfortable with." With new technology, there's a moment when the creators will step back and realize there's a psychological element missing. With elevators, they decided to install a female voice that would say, "Going up, going down."

Q: The elevator also had a transformative effect on class. It took a bunch of different people with different backgrounds and stuck them in a tiny box.

A: There was a fundamental question of: Is the elevator transportation or is it a room? We're talking about the 1930s and 1940s, and the entire nation debated that question for literal decades. If a man walks into an elevator and there's a woman inside it, does he take his hat off? If it's a room, he does, but if it's transportation--like a train--that would be impractical.

How is the elevator supposed to be decorated and arranged? Early elevators had couches and chandeliers. You were...