Clever Confidential Ep. 4: Olivetti and the Race to Create the First Personal Computer [encore]

Clever Confidential is Clever’s offshoot series, where we dig into the darker side of design - the shadowy, sometimes sordid tales hiding under a glossy topcoat of respectable legacy.

Before Silicon Valley, there was Olivetti—an Italian design powerhouse on the brink of changing the world. But just as their revolutionary computer neared completion, tragedy struck.

Visionary leader Adriano Olivetti and brilliant engineer Mario Tchou both died suddenly, their deaths cloaked in secrecy and Cold War paranoia. What really happened to them—and who stood to gain?

Host Amy Devers and writer Andrew Wagner follow the trail of innovation, betrayal, and buried history to uncover how a company destined to shape the digital age was silenced... and why its story was nearly erased.

Images, links, and more about Olivetti!

Many thanks to our guest expert Barry Katz. 

Audio clips courtesy of Luca Cottini - Italian Innovators youtube video - CAMILLO & ADRIANO OLIVETTI. At the Origins of the Computer Age. Linkedin and instagram @italianinnovators

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Writing and research: Amy Devers, Andrew Wagner, Ilana Nevins

Editing and Sound Design: Camille Stennis and Mark Zurawinski

Theme Music: “Astronomy” by Thin White Rope courtesy of Frontier Records

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