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Things That Made the Modern Economy

Tim Harford introduces inventions, ideas and innovations that have helped to create the modern economic world

Radio 4,85 episodes

Episodes

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Series 2
Fundraising Appeal
Charity has become big business – but what’s the best way to elicit donations?
03 Apr 2020,14 mins
Series 2
SWIFT
How a system for sending sensitive financial data securely may have created a new problem.
02 Apr 2020,14 mins
Series 2
Wedgwood
Josiah Wedgwood’s pottery was a precursor to the “trickle-down” theory of fashion.
01 Apr 2020,14 mins
Series 2
Glasses
How many people on earth need glasses and don’t have them? An eye-popping 2.5 billion.
31 Mar 2020,14 mins
Series 2
Vickrey Turnstile
The electromechanical Vickrey Turnstile worked well in theory, but was never built.
30 Mar 2020,14 mins
Series 2
GPS
GPS is sometimes called the “invisible utility”. What would happen if it stopped working?
29 Nov 2019,14 mins
Series 2
Bonsack Machine
One historian of the cigarette industry reckons it invented much of modern marketing.
28 Nov 2019,14 mins
Series 2
Prohibition
The idea of the “rational criminal” helps explain why Prohibition was so widely flouted.
27 Nov 2019,14 mins
Series 2
Interface Message Processor
The Interface Message Processor: the most important hunk of silicon you’ve never heard of.
26 Nov 2019,14 mins
Series 2
Canned Food
What does canned food have in common with Silicon Valley? More than you might think.
25 Nov 2019,14 mins
Series 2
Interchangeable Parts
Interchangeable parts revolutionised the world of engineering.
22 Nov 2019,14 mins
Series 2
Oil
The price of oil is arguably the most important price in the world economy.
21 Nov 2019,14 mins
Series 2
Chatbot
Have computers finally passed the Turing test, convincing us they themselves are human?
20 Nov 2019,14 mins
Series 2
Solar Photovoltaics
Solar power: an old technology now more advanced and disruptive to the oil energy order.
19 Nov 2019,14 mins
Series 2
Cassava
What does cassava teach us about the hidden social forces that support a modern economy?
18 Nov 2019,14 mins
Series 2
Fire
Has fire created not only the economy, but also modern humans?
20 Sep 2019,14 mins
Series 2
RFID
Is RFID introducing an 'internet of things'? Or are its glory days behind it?
19 Sep 2019,14 mins
Series 2
Postage Stamp
Rowland Hill went from disgruntled user to radical reformer of Britain’s postal system.
18 Sep 2019,14 mins
Series 2
Rubber
Natural rubber still goes mostly into tyres, and its production still causes controversy.
17 Sep 2019,14 mins
Series 2
Cubesat
Satellites were once the length of a bus. Now they’re roughly the size of a Beanie Baby.
16 Sep 2019,14 mins
Series 2
Factory
Have factories been a force for improving the conditions of ordinary workers?
13 Sep 2019,14 mins
Series 2
Blockchain
Blockchain: a digital technology that some say could become as disruptive as the internet.
12 Sep 2019,14 mins
Series 2
Like button
Facebook’s ubiquitous 'like' button can reveal a treasure trove of potential insights.
11 Sep 2019,14 mins
Series 2
Dwarf Wheat
Norman Borlaug averted famine predictions by tinkering with the genetic design of wheat.
10 Sep 2019,14 mins
Series 2
Bicycle
Has the bicycle had its day? Or is it a technology whose best years lie ahead?
09 Sep 2019,14 mins
Series 2
Pencil
The pencil claims to be a miracle product of the free market, but is that true?
31 May 2019,14 mins
Series 2
Recycling
The idea recycling is a moral obligation, as well as an economic one, is relatively new.
30 May 2019,14 mins
Series 2
Spreadsheet
The digital spreadsheet: a technology which took the world of accountancy by storm.
29 May 2019,14 mins
Series 2
Bricks
Bricks: used for tens of thousands of years and still such a vital building technology.
28 May 2019,14 mins
Series 2
Mail Order Catalogue
Montgomery Ward’s catalogue: once ranked among the most influential books in US history.
27 May 2019,14 mins