There are a lot of gamechanging inventions that shifted the trajectory of the Middle Ages, but one machine managed to hit at just the right time and place to create a massive enterprise in medieval Europe, with consequences that touched the entire globe: Gutenberg’s printing press. This week, Danièle speaks with Eric White about Johannes Gutenberg’s life, his early entrepreneurship, and the invention that changed the world.

Eric Marshall White is a  librarian focusing on special collections, rare books, and manuscripts at Princeton University. His new book is Johannes Gutenberg: A Biography in Books, published by Reaktion Books.

The creator and host of The Medieval Podcast is Danièle Cybulskie. Click here to visit her website or follow her on BlueSky @5minmedievalist.bsky.social

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