Land

How do you make economics funny? How do you put the comedy in commodity?

Simon Evans has the answer in this series which asks us to get involved in investment.

Uncowed by an apparently complicated and overwhelming system, Simon focuses on four commodities so intrinsic to our lives they have an almost elemental significance - land, gold, oil and grain.

Yet, despite us encountering them everywhere we look, very few people have been able to build a fortune on them. But that's set to change as, Simon enlists help from the experts - Tim Harford, Merryn Somerset Webb and a guest specialist as they examine the chequered social and economic histories of these commodities.

By looking at four such fundamental products, Simon brings us to a closer understanding of how global economic forces have a far-reaching and often surprising impact on our lives.

In this first episode, Simon looks at Land.

How did it come to be traded, why we think bricks and mortar are a safe investment and who really owns the land we buy?

Simon is joined by regular guests:

* Tim Harford
* Merryn Somerset-Webb
* Land expert - Kevin Cahill

Written by Simon Evans with Benjamin Partridge, Guy Venables and Andy Wolton.

Producer: Tilusha Ghelani

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2014.