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50 Things That Made the Modern Economy
Tim Harford tells the fascinating stories of 50 inventions, ideas and innovations which have helped create the economic world.
50 Things That Made the Modern Economy Podcast Guide
Listen to 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy, a Business podcast by BBC. Stream 110 episodes in English, follow new audio stories, and play episodes online on Radio and Podcast.
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Browse this show under Business podcasts.
Episodes
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Episodes
20 of 110 episodesIntroducing 13 Minutes to the Moon Season 2
Jump on-board a doomed mission to the Moon. Apollo 13: the extraordinary story, told by the people who flew it and saved it. Search for 13 M...
Gutenberg press
Johannes Gutenberg's printing press changed the course of human history. It created a new way of doing business, drastically reduced the cos...
Slot machines
First developed by a toy company in the 1890s, slot machines have become one of the most profitable tools of the gambling trade - but many w...
Chess algorithms
In 1997, Garry Kasparov, widely regarded as the world's greatest chess player, was defeated by Deep Blue, a computer. But how much did that...
Auctions
Are things only worth what people are willing to pay for them? Tim Harford explains why a method of buying and selling that originated in an...
Dams
From reliable water supplies to large-scale electricity generation, the benefits brought by dams can be huge. But so can the problems. Tim H...
Tulips
In the 1630s, the Netherlands experienced 'tulip mania' - a surge in demand for tulips from wealthy buyers, with some individual bulbs costi...
Sanitary towel
In the early 20th Century, makers of sanitary towels had to find a way to sell an item that some people found too embarrassing to mention. I...
Wardian case
Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward's miniature greenhouses made it far easier to successfully transport plants, spreading them far beyond their native l...
Fast food franchise
There are more than 36,000 McDonald's restaurants around the world - but if the McDonald brothers had had their way, that might never have h...
CCTV
Surveillance cameras were invented so Nazi scientists could observe rocket launches from a safe distance. They've come a long way since then...
Retirement
As populations age, pension systems around the world are coming under strain. Governments, employers and economists are searching for ways t...
Santa
Why does Father Christmas wear red and white? It's not for the reason you may think. In an updated version of an episode from 2018, Tim Harf...
Sewing machine
Women's lives were transformed by sewing machines, which made a "never-ending, ever-beginning task" far less arduous and time-consuming. But...
Hollerith punch card
Data is a hugely profitable commodity - if you know how to process it. Tim Harford tells the story of Herman Hollerith, and how his 19th-cen...
Stock option
In theory, stock options should motivate executives to perform better by tying their pay to their company's performance. So why do some argu...
Fundraising appeal
Tim Harford goes back to the 1900s to tell the story of how charity fundraising became big business. But in the social media age, what's the...
SWIFT
The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication - SWIFT - solved some big problems with international financial transfers, m...
Wedgwood
Josiah Wedgwood is arguably the best-known name in the history of pottery - but it's not just his pots that made their mark on history. Tim...
Questions About 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy
Where can I listen to 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy episodes?
You can listen to 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy episodes online on Radio and Podcast. Open an episode and the site player will stream the available audio.
What is 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy about?
50 Things That Made the Modern Economy is listed as a Business show. The show language is listed as English.
How many 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy episodes are listed?
This page lists 110 episodes for 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy. More episodes are available from the View more button when the list continues.
Quick Answers About 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy
Where can I listen to 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy?
You can listen to 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy episodes on this page by opening an episode and using the site player.
What type of podcast is 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy?
50 Things That Made the Modern Economy is listed as a Business show by BBC.
How many episodes are available?
This page lists 110 episodes for 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy where feed data is available.