What did it feel like to build the future when no one knew what the future would look like? In this episode, Jeff Burgess looks back at Halt and Catch Fire and explains why the series captures the raw risk, ambition, and excitement of 1980s computing better than almost anything else on screen.

Jeff connects scenes from the show to real moments from his own early career — from COMDEX and the debut of the IBM PC, to the rise of MS-DOS, portable computers with actual carrying handles, and the race to define industry standards. He reflects on a time when innovation meant betting everything on an idea, curiosity drove progress, and technology felt like pure “what-if” magic.

A nostalgic and insightful conversation about the era that shaped modern tech — and why that fearless spirit of experimentation still matters today.

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