Jerry Lawson | Video Game Inventor and Engineer

An epic quest to uncover an early video game pioneer! As a teen, Jerry Lawson was a self-taught electronics wiz—building ham radios, making walkie-talkies from scratch, and repairing his neighbor’s TVs. His love of new technologies brought him to California where he became one of the only Black engineers in Silicon Valley. While there, he changed the course of the video game industry with his revolutionary invention—the Channel F game console with interchangeable cartridges. Today, his legacy is paving the way for a new generation of inventive engineers!

Episode webpage: https://jonincharacter.com/jerry-lawson

Visit the Dorktales Storytime Podcast website:

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Learn even more about Jerry Lawson from these great resources:

Raising the Game by Anthony Frasier on Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/Raising-the-Game-Podcast/B09CRFNH6C Past and the Curious Podcast Episode 73 on Ralph Baer and Jerry Lawson: https://thepastandthecurious.com/episodes/episode-73-video-games/PODFRIENDS: We want to introduce you to another storytelling podcast we think you’ll enjoy: African Folktales with Miss JoJo! It’s a Webby Award-winning children’s podcast of diverse short stories originating in Africa. Find more on their website: https://www.abfc.co/shows/african-folktales/

CREDITS: This episode has been a Jonincharacter production. Today’s story was written by Molly Murphy and performed by Jonathan Cormur. Sound recording and production by Jermaine Hamilton at Hamilton Studio Recordings.

SF BAY AREA KIDS PODCAST FESTIVAL! Jonathan will be storytelling live on August 30 at The Reading Bug Bookstore in downtown San Carlos, CA: https://thereadingbug.com/event/2026-08-30/kids-podcast-festival

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GROWNUPS: Dorktales Storytime is more than a stories for kids podcast. Every visit to our Once Upon a Time world invites kids to discover reimagined fairy tales, fables, Greek myths, mysteries, fantasy adventures, pirate adventures, bedtime stories, Halloween stories, dinosaur stories, and inspiring stories about historical figures and STEAM pioneers. We believe a well-told story brings families together, opens the door to meaningful conversations, and helps every child know they belong and their imagination can change the world.

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