They quietly whir and ping away in our kitchens, heating up food and the odd cold cup of tea - but behind these unassuming boxes of plastic and metal lies a remarkable story.

In this episode, host Nihal Arthanayake is joined by food stylist and recipe writer Mima Sinclair to explore the rise of the mug cake, and curator Liz Bruton who reveals how the origins of the microwave are not so innocent…

This episode was inspired by microwave ovens in the Science Museum Group Collection. Our incredible collection contains more than 7 million items which illustrate the impact of science, technology, engineering and medicine on all our lives. 

A Brief History of Stuff is a Storythings and Science Museum Group production. Find out more about this episode on our website. You can discover more stories about the everyday objects around you, including the history of kitchen appliances on our website. This episode features an Amana Radarange Touchmatic microwave oven and Randall and Boot’s original cavity magnetron valve.

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