Oh MrX, you're my hero for mentioning The Secret Life of Machines. That show was excellent and is a great example of how different documentaries where before Discovery channel sold out in the mid 90s to the "Least Common Denominator" model of documentaries. I think the episode called "The Radio Set" is one of the best, and should be especially interesting for hackers.

https://www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/SLOM/0206-The_Radio-big.html

You'll find yourself in good company with Tim and Rex.