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Podcasts Take Two
Spare Parts: The story of four underprivledged students who beat MIT in a robot showdown
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Jan 16, 2015
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Spare Parts: The story of four underprivledged students who beat MIT in a robot showdown
In 2004, four teenagers took first place in a national underwater robotics championship, with a robot built from scrap metal and trash.
The trailer for the film "Spare Parts."
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In 2004, four teenagers took first place in a national underwater robotics championship, with a robot built from scrap metal and trash.

In 2004, four teenagers took first place in a national underwater robotics championship at the University of California Santa Barbara. To say they were underdogs is more than an understatement. They were high schoolers, competing against students from universities like MIT. They had a meager budget, no experience, some of them weren't even in the country legally. Their journey is chronicled in the book and the new film "Spare Parts: Four Undocumented Teenagers, One Ugly Robot, and the Battle for the American Dream."

In the first interview, Alex Cohen's joined by the book's author, Joshua Davis. While in the second interview, Cristian Arcega, one of the students profiled in "Spare Parts" joins her on the line from Arizona.