After leaving television production, he worked as a consultant for the Internet Archive, helping to preserve and provide public access to cultural and technological media, including Computer Chronicles and other technology programs.
The full archive of Computer Chronicles is online because Stewart put in the work to make that happen. He talks a bit about it (and Computer Chronicles in general!) in a 2013 interview with Leo Laporte on TWiT: https://youtu.be/WdtHS_X1ibg
Computer Chronicles and MotorWeek were fixtures of my Saturday afternoons as a young kid in the 80s. 35+ years later both shows became fascinating and priceless time capsules of the era.
I used to watch archived episodes of Computer Chronicles on YouTube almost every night before going to bed back in 2016~2018. It was my bedtime entertainment, watching those recordings from another era of computing and observing the hosts' enthusiasm for things we take for granted today. As a late millennial, it helped me experience a bit of what the 80s and 90s were like in computing.
RIP. Was a faithful CC viewer. Anyone aware of something like this show today that regularly reviews general software/apps/hardware/tech for a more mainstream audience - on PBS, cable, network, or even podcasts? With the role tech plays in the lives of all ages these days, one would think there would be more tech info offerings for the general public today than what was available back in the 80's - Computer Chronicles, MSNBC shows, magazine/newspapers (including the NY Times!) - but nothing comes to mind.
There's almost too much volume these days. There's dedicated websites/apps/podcasts for Apple, Android, PC gaming, Xbox gaming, PS4 gaming, Switch gaming, etc. Product Hunt was a hot thing for a while and is still running. In terms of more general coverage, The Verge, Engadget, Lifehacker, Wired, and NYT Wirecutter are still good among many many others.
There was a good run of Computer Chronicles, TechTV, and G4 for a while there. These days, This Week in Tech still exists in podcast form. G4 had a short revival as G4TV a few years back. There's nothing nearly as popular these days, but there's still lots of good ones like Waveform, SomeGadgetGuy, and AwesomeCast.
Computer Chronicles, Byte, Compute!'s Gazette, 80 Micro and PC Magazine were windows into the larger world of computers as a kid in the 1980s. The Computer Chronicles episodes on computer networks and services sparked an interest in networking which turned into the focus of the 1st half of my professional career. I owe a debt of gratitude to Stewart Cheifet.
Stewart Douglas Cheifet, age 87, of Philadelphia, PA, passed away on December 28, 2025.
Stewart was born on September 24, 1938, to Paul and Anne Cheifet in Philadelphia, where he spent his childhood and attended Central High School. He later moved to California to attend college, graduating from the University of Southern California in 1960 with degrees in Mathematics and Psychology. He went on to earn his law degree from Harvard Law School.
In 1967, Stewart met his future wife, Peta Kennedy, while the two were working at CBS News in Paris. They returned to the United States and married later that year. Stewart's career in television production took them around the world, and they lived together in the Samoan Islands, Hawaii, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, before eventually settling back in Philadelphia.
Stewart and Peta had two children, Stephanie and Jonathan.
Stewart is best known for producing and hosting the nationally broadcast PBS television programs Computer Chronicles and Net Cafe. Computer Chronicles aired from 1984 to 2002, producing more than 400 episodes that documented the rise of the personal computer from its earliest days. Net Cafe, which aired from 1996 to 2002, explored the emergence of the internet. Both programs were widely regarded as visionary, capturing the evolution of personal computing and the early development of the digital age.
Stewart's professional interests and talents were wide-ranging. After leaving television production, he worked as a consultant for the Internet Archive, helping to preserve and provide public access to cultural and technological media, including Computer Chronicles and other technology programs. He also shared his knowledge as an educator, teaching broadcast journalism at the Donald W. Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno. After retirement, he spent his remaining years enjoying time with Peta, his children, his grandchildren, and his brothers.
Stewart is survived by his brothers Lanny and Bruce, his children Stephanie and Jonathan, and his grandchildren Gussy, Josephine, Benjamin, Freya, and Penny.
Watching him on PBS as a kid made me realize that my fascination with computers was OK. Because he looked like a reasonable adult and he showed enthusiasm. 1980's.
So that helped to engender my enthusiasm, and encouraged me to essentially build my successful work-life around computing.
I suppose he was an influencer in today's parlance?
Stewart Cheifet and Gary Kildall were a dynamic duo. Really appreciated the awareness they gave to the general public about computing and the wave of the future.
Very much agree. Being in the UK I never saw the original broadcasts, but I've enjoyed them on YouTube. (the ability to "time-travel" with YouTube never ceases to amaze me.)
We had a similar pair over here in .uk -- Chris Serle and Ian McNaught-Davis. They had a down-to-earth way of presenting the like of which we will not see again, mainly because of their characters, but also of the context in which they were presenting: as you say seeking to make the public aware about the wave of the future. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Computer_Programme (the theme music of which was Kraftwerk's "Computer World", no less!))
What a wonderful resource The Computer Chronicles has been. One of the core pieces of entertainment I use to fall asleep to when I am on the road and trying to sleep in hotels.
Rest in peace, Stewart.
I heard that the YouTube channel isn't official and that watching them on Archive.Org is preferred. But they're not especially well organized on the Archive. Here's a link to a torrent with all the episodes, which might be a bit of overkill if you're just trying to find a single episode.
Born in Central Europe, I've never had a chance to watch The Computer Chronicles in my childhood. I've discovered them via twitch a few years ago and I adore the series.
I'm sad to read that. CC is one of my favorite shows of all time, and he was the perfect host: engaging, curious, knowledgeable, respectful, friendly, charming. Like a tech Bob Ross, Fred Rogers, and Carl Sagan.
He and the rest of the team captivated generations of people interested in the booming personal computer industry, throughout all of its early phases. The show often had on some of the great industry pioneers, and reported on many trends and new innovations. It's still fascinating to revisit these old episodes and relive the sense of wonder and excitement around novel hardware and software. I highly recommend watching and making a copy of all seasons from the Internet Archive.
Oh. Have you talked to a grey-beard about users groups? Computer Chronicles was sort of like having a users group presentation in your living room every week. I learned about computers by users groups, computer chronicles, hanging out in computer stores and a few long distance phone calls to the bay area.
I honestly never paid that much attention to Computer Chronicles back in the day. But when I clicked on the link to the obit, I instantly recognized him from the photo.
RIP Stewart – you’ve taught me a lot!
I’m involved in a project to digitize “lost” episodes of Computer Chronicles that were missed in the first pass at the Internet Archive.
You can watch newly digitized episodes here. More are coming in the new year.
https://archive.org/details/@davidga/lists/2/computer-chroni...
We’re also building a comprehensive metadata database of every episode. Notably the TVDB metadata is not accurate or complete.
You can see that here, noting that it is still a work in progress.
https://computerchronicles.karpour.net/
How do you find the missing episodes?
We were granted access to the collection of Stewart Cheifet's tapes.
Thank you for your team’s work to preserve this collection.
Computer Chronicles and MotorWeek were fixtures of my Saturday afternoons as a young kid in the 80s. 35+ years later both shows became fascinating and priceless time capsules of the era.
I used to watch archived episodes of Computer Chronicles on YouTube almost every night before going to bed back in 2016~2018. It was my bedtime entertainment, watching those recordings from another era of computing and observing the hosts' enthusiasm for things we take for granted today. As a late millennial, it helped me experience a bit of what the 80s and 90s were like in computing.
RIP Stewart.
RIP. Was a faithful CC viewer. Anyone aware of something like this show today that regularly reviews general software/apps/hardware/tech for a more mainstream audience - on PBS, cable, network, or even podcasts? With the role tech plays in the lives of all ages these days, one would think there would be more tech info offerings for the general public today than what was available back in the 80's - Computer Chronicles, MSNBC shows, magazine/newspapers (including the NY Times!) - but nothing comes to mind.
There's almost too much volume these days. There's dedicated websites/apps/podcasts for Apple, Android, PC gaming, Xbox gaming, PS4 gaming, Switch gaming, etc. Product Hunt was a hot thing for a while and is still running. In terms of more general coverage, The Verge, Engadget, Lifehacker, Wired, and NYT Wirecutter are still good among many many others.
There was a good run of Computer Chronicles, TechTV, and G4 for a while there. These days, This Week in Tech still exists in podcast form. G4 had a short revival as G4TV a few years back. There's nothing nearly as popular these days, but there's still lots of good ones like Waveform, SomeGadgetGuy, and AwesomeCast.
It's strange to think nowadays that the "MS" in MSNBC meant Microsoft. How the times have changed.
(audio only) interview with Stewart that I enjoyed - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQSWeJUjy-k
skip to 2:30ish to bypass the podcast's nonsense
i had the pleasure of meeting him a couple times, truly a nice guy with a passion for sharing computing with everyone
Computer Chronicles, Byte, Compute!'s Gazette, 80 Micro and PC Magazine were windows into the larger world of computers as a kid in the 1980s. The Computer Chronicles episodes on computer networks and services sparked an interest in networking which turned into the focus of the 1st half of my professional career. I owe a debt of gratitude to Stewart Cheifet.
From the obituary:
Stewart Douglas Cheifet, age 87, of Philadelphia, PA, passed away on December 28, 2025.
Stewart was born on September 24, 1938, to Paul and Anne Cheifet in Philadelphia, where he spent his childhood and attended Central High School. He later moved to California to attend college, graduating from the University of Southern California in 1960 with degrees in Mathematics and Psychology. He went on to earn his law degree from Harvard Law School.
In 1967, Stewart met his future wife, Peta Kennedy, while the two were working at CBS News in Paris. They returned to the United States and married later that year. Stewart's career in television production took them around the world, and they lived together in the Samoan Islands, Hawaii, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, before eventually settling back in Philadelphia.
Stewart and Peta had two children, Stephanie and Jonathan.
Stewart is best known for producing and hosting the nationally broadcast PBS television programs Computer Chronicles and Net Cafe. Computer Chronicles aired from 1984 to 2002, producing more than 400 episodes that documented the rise of the personal computer from its earliest days. Net Cafe, which aired from 1996 to 2002, explored the emergence of the internet. Both programs were widely regarded as visionary, capturing the evolution of personal computing and the early development of the digital age.
Stewart's professional interests and talents were wide-ranging. After leaving television production, he worked as a consultant for the Internet Archive, helping to preserve and provide public access to cultural and technological media, including Computer Chronicles and other technology programs. He also shared his knowledge as an educator, teaching broadcast journalism at the Donald W. Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno. After retirement, he spent his remaining years enjoying time with Peta, his children, his grandchildren, and his brothers.
Stewart is survived by his brothers Lanny and Bruce, his children Stephanie and Jonathan, and his grandchildren Gussy, Josephine, Benjamin, Freya, and Penny.
Services will be held for immediate family only.
Watching him on PBS as a kid made me realize that my fascination with computers was OK. Because he looked like a reasonable adult and he showed enthusiasm. 1980's.
So that helped to engender my enthusiasm, and encouraged me to essentially build my successful work-life around computing.
I suppose he was an influencer in today's parlance?
Stewart Cheifet and Gary Kildall were a dynamic duo. Really appreciated the awareness they gave to the general public about computing and the wave of the future.
Very much agree. Being in the UK I never saw the original broadcasts, but I've enjoyed them on YouTube. (the ability to "time-travel" with YouTube never ceases to amaze me.)
We had a similar pair over here in .uk -- Chris Serle and Ian McNaught-Davis. They had a down-to-earth way of presenting the like of which we will not see again, mainly because of their characters, but also of the context in which they were presenting: as you say seeking to make the public aware about the wave of the future. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Computer_Programme (the theme music of which was Kraftwerk's "Computer World", no less!))
What a wonderful resource The Computer Chronicles has been. One of the core pieces of entertainment I use to fall asleep to when I am on the road and trying to sleep in hotels. Rest in peace, Stewart.
Stewart was a peak human.
If you watch Computer Chronicles, you will notice that little to nothing has actually changed in computing in 40 years.
You can watch these on YouTube if you want. They are quite fascinating.
https://youtube.com/@computerchroniclesyt?si=1eQ8yROJ-191yHX...
I heard that the YouTube channel isn't official and that watching them on Archive.Org is preferred. But they're not especially well organized on the Archive. Here's a link to a torrent with all the episodes, which might be a bit of overkill if you're just trying to find a single episode.
https://archive.org/details/computer-chronicles-full-epidose...
I remember watching Computer Chronicles back in the 90's! I still watch it on YouTube occasionally.
What a tremendous loss for our industry. Stewart's genuine curiosity was infectious.
Born in Central Europe, I've never had a chance to watch The Computer Chronicles in my childhood. I've discovered them via twitch a few years ago and I adore the series.
RIP Stewart!
Loved loved loved that show, a definite must-watch for a young nerd back in the late 80s. Thanks Stewart.
Such a shame. He was a great presenter: always enthusiastic but never over the top.
I'm sad to read that. CC is one of my favorite shows of all time, and he was the perfect host: engaging, curious, knowledgeable, respectful, friendly, charming. Like a tech Bob Ross, Fred Rogers, and Carl Sagan.
He and the rest of the team captivated generations of people interested in the booming personal computer industry, throughout all of its early phases. The show often had on some of the great industry pioneers, and reported on many trends and new innovations. It's still fascinating to revisit these old episodes and relive the sense of wonder and excitement around novel hardware and software. I highly recommend watching and making a copy of all seasons from the Internet Archive.
So long, Stewart.
This news is worthy of a black banner on HN.
I think I would have enjoyed the chronicles back then. Alas too young.
Oh. Have you talked to a grey-beard about users groups? Computer Chronicles was sort of like having a users group presentation in your living room every week. I learned about computers by users groups, computer chronicles, hanging out in computer stores and a few long distance phone calls to the bay area.
I honestly never paid that much attention to Computer Chronicles back in the day. But when I clicked on the link to the obit, I instantly recognized him from the photo.
Loved that show. RIP.
Legend
List of episodes, with direct links to Archive.org streams: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Computer_Chronicles_ep...