# The Secret Life of Machines

8 Hacker News commenters recommended The Secret Life of Machines and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 5 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend this TV series for its quirky, illustrated demonstrations of how everyday machines work, with a relaxed pace that suits children. No critical quotes were found.

## Why people recommend it

- Fun demos of how machines work (2 comments): "has an episode demonstrating how sewing machines work, in a delightfully quirky way" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49254747)) "has a fun demo of how the speakers in old telephones produce sound" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49521622))
- Quirky, relaxed, kid-friendly explanations (2 comments): "has an episode demonstrating how sewing machines work, in a delightfully quirky way" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49254747)) "Nice relaxed pace and great for kids." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46115070))
- Long-lasting inspiration and childhood favourite (2 comments): "these have been a great inspiration for me for many years" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48436991)) "the most glorious show of my childhood" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48434795))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Connections by James Burke](https://hackerapproved.com/p/connections.md): 33 recommend
- [Triumph of the Nerds](https://hackerapproved.com/p/triumph-of-the-nerds.md): 31 recommend
- [All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace by Adam Curtis](https://hackerapproved.com/p/all-watched-over.md): 10 recommend
- [The Century of Self by Adam Curtis](https://hackerapproved.com/p/century-of-self.md): 10 recommend
- [Texico](https://hackerapproved.com/p/texico.md): 8 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The Secret Life of Machines", https://hackerapproved.com/p/secret-life-of-machines/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).