Pencil

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“I, Pencil, simple though I appear to be, merit your wonder and awe, a claim I shall attempt to prove.” So declares the slim, graphite-spined narrator of one of the most famous essays in economic history, “I, Pencil”. The pencil claims to be a miracle product of the free market – but is that true? Why, asks Tim Harford, do engineers, as well as economists like himself, think the pencil is so underrated? And how on earth do pencil-makers get the lead inside the wood? Producer: Ben Crighton Editor: Richard Vadon