The Breakfast Club - IDKMYDE: Your Phone Knows Who's Calling Because of Her

Episode Date: February 13, 2026

B Daht introduces Shirley Ann Jackson—the woman whose research led to caller ID,call waiting, fiber optics, and the technology that powers modern communication.YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakfastClubPower1051FMSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Over the last couple years, didn't we learn that the folding chair was invented by black people? Because of what happened in Alabama? This Black History Month, the podcast, Selective Ignorance with Mandy B, unpacked black history and culture with comedy, clarity, and conversations that shake the status quo. The Crown Act in New York was signed in July of 2019, and that is a bill that was passed to prohibit discrimination based on hairstyles associated with race. To hear this and more.

Listen to Selective Ignorance with Mandy B from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Bowen-Yen. And I'm Matt Rogers. During this season of the Two Guys' Five Rings podcast, in the lead-up to the Milan-Cortina

2026 Winter Olympic Games, we've been joined by some of our friends. Hi, Brian, how Matt. Hey, Elmo. Hey, Matt, hey, Bowen. Hi, Cookie. Hi. Now, the Winter Olympic Games are underway,

and we are in Italy to give you experience. from our hearts to your ears. Listen to Two Guys, Five Rings on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 1969, Malcolm and Martin are gone. America is in crisis. At a Morehouse College, the students make their move.

These students, including a young Samuel L. Jackson, locked up the members of the Board of Trustees, including Martin Luther King's Senior. It's the true story of protests and rebellion in black American history that you'll never forget. I'm Hans Charles. I'm Minnick Lamouba. Listen to the A-building on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What is something you've had to unlearn about love? That it's earned.

That I was unworthy of love. That it needs to be forever for it to count. February is the month of love. Whether you're in a relationship, casually dating, or proudly single, it's a great time to reflect on yourself and what you want. I'm Hope Woodard, host of the Boy Sober podcast, and each week we're looking at love from every angle. Listen to Boy Sober. That's B-O-Y-S-O-B-E-R. On the I-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Your phone knows who's calling because of her. Welcome back, Nord-A-D-A-Ls to another episode of the most anticipated podcast on the Black

affect podcast network, especially in February. Entitled? I didn't know. Maybe you didn't either. And I'm your host, BDOT. And please make sure you're following us on Instagram. IDK, MY, D,E with an underscore before it, and at the end. And make sure you're subscribed on YouTube to check out visual content.

Just put IDK, MY, D,E in your search bar. And you know, you can do all of that right there from the privacy and the comfort of your phone. And to kick off today's episode, I'd like to give you three of the most useless facts you'll never need not a day in life. Up first. Call her ID, call waiting, and fiber optics, all technology we take for granted. We're all built on research by a black woman. Your second useless facts. Her name was Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson, and she earned her PhD in theoretical physics in 1973. She's the first black woman to do so at MIT.

And your third useless fact, the very first commercial telephone service began in 1877, and for decades after, most calls was connected manually by a human operator. Those have been your three useless facts. Caller ID, call waiting,

and fiber optics were all technology built on research by a black woman. Your second useless fact, her name was Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson. and she was the first black woman to earn a Ph.D. at MIT in 73. And your third useless fact, the very first commercial telephone service began in 1877, and your calls were connected manually. I mean, a stranger was sitting there listening while they was connecting your calls.

But for today's episode, were you familiar with Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson? Because I wasn't. You got that boy number saved and your phone is broken. And that will pop up on the screen every time he called. Brokey. But you ain't never thought about who made that possible, have you? Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson, a theoretical physicist. She broke barriers in the 70s that we still use today.

Her work on semiconductors and fiber optic technology and other stuff that I have no clue what the hell I'm talking about, help create caller ID, call waiting, the fiber optic communication system we use. Basically, the fact that you know that that's Brokey calling and you can connect the phone instantly or decline. exists because of the research of Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson. Seriously, think about that for a second. Every Zoom call that you don't want to be on for work,

every text that you leave on red, every FaceTime you ignore, remember when every person in your phone had a different ringtone? Her work laid the groundwork for all of that. And yet, how many tech histories give her front page credit? Very few. Again, hidden in plain sight. Just like the Marching 100, just like Alfred Crowley.

just like Marie van Britton Brown. If you've missed the previous four episodes, you have no clue what that meant. But systems get built. They get used. Then most people forget who made them work. Dr. Jackson didn't invent these technologies to be famous. She solved critical problems. Then the world caught up.

And she didn't stop there. Dr. Jackson went on to chair the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. She became the president of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. and she received the National Medal of Science, a lifetime of excellence built on foundational breakthroughs. So this Valentine's Day, you think about who's calling, babe. But also remember the black woman whose science makes that notification possible. Your connections ain't just digital.

They're historical. 100 years after Carter G. Woodson carved a space to honor black achievement, Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson's research powers the way the world communicates. excellence that history often overlooked. And I didn't know. Maybe you didn't either. I didn't know. Over the last couple years, didn't we learn that the folding chair was invented by black

people because of what happened in Alabama? To Montgomery Brawl. This Black History Month, the podcast, Selective Ignorance with Mandy B, unpacked black history and culture with comedy, clarity, and conversations that shake the status quo. The Crown Act in New York was signed in July of 2019, and that is a bill that was passed to prohibit discrimination based on hairstyles associated with race.

To hear this and more, listen to Selective Ignorance with Mandy B from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Bowen-Yin. And I'm Matt Rogers. During this season of the Two Guys Five Rings podcast, in the lead-up to the Milan

Cortina-26 winner Olympic Games, we've been joined by some of our friends. Hi, Bob, hi-N-N-Haw! Hey, Elmo. Hey, Matt, hey Bowen. Hi, Cookie. Hi. Now, the winner of the winner Olympic Games are underway, and we are in Italy to give you experiences from our hearts to your ears.

Listen to two guys, five rings on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 1969, Malcolm and Martin are gone. America is in crisis. At a Morehouse college, the students make their move. These students, including a young Samuel L. Jackson, locked up the members of the board of trustees, including Martin Luther King's senior. It's the true story of protests and rebellion in black American history that you'll never forget. I'm Hans Charles. I'm in a lick Lamouba. Listen to the A building on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What is something you've had to unlearn about love?

That it's earned. That I was unworthy of love. That it needs to be forever for it to count. February is the month of love. Whether you're in a relationship, casually dating, or proudly speaking. single, it's a great time to reflect on yourself and what you want. I'm Hope Woodard, host of the Boy Sober podcast, and each week we're looking at love from every angle. Listen to Boy Sober. That's B-O-Y-S-O-B-E-R. On the I-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is an I-Hart podcast. Guaranteed Human.