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50 Things That Made the Modern Economy Episodes

  1.

    Radar

    A high-tech 鈥榙eath ray鈥� capable of zapping sheep led to the invention of radar

  2. Market Research

    Market research marked a shift from a producer-led to consumer-led approach to business

  3. Plastic

    We make so much plastic these days that it takes about eight percent of oil production

  4. Seller Feedback

    Without seller feedback, companies like eBay might not have grown as they have

  5. Paper Money

    Currency derives value from trust in the government which issues it

  6. Limited Liability Company

    How some legal creativity has created vast wealth down the centuries

  7. Dynamo

    The big story behind the way dynamos made electricity useful

  8. Leaded Petrol

    When lead was added to petrol it made cars more powerful 鈥� but it also poisoned people

  9. Department Store

    Harry Selfridge pioneered a whole new retail experience with his London department store

  10. Barbed Wire

    鈥淟ighter than air, stronger than whiskey鈥� 鈥� barbed wire wreaked huge changes in America

  11. Tax Havens

    Gabriel Zucman invented an ingenious way to estimate how much wealth is hidden offshore

  12. Infant Formula

    For many new mothers who want, or need, to get back to work, infant formula is a godsend

  13. Index Fund

    Warren Buffett is one of the world鈥檚 great investors. His advice? Invest in an index fund

  14. Tally Stick

    The tally stick shows us what money really is: a kind of debt that can be traded freely

  15. Passports

    If anyone could work anywhere, some economists think global economic output would double

  16. Intellectual Property

    Intellectual property reflects an economic trade off when it comes to innovation

  17. Video Games

    From Spacewar to Pokemon Go, video games have shaped the modern economy in surprising ways

  18. Cuneiform

    Cuneiform, the earliest known script, was used to create the world鈥檚 first accounts

  19. Air Conditioning

    Invented for the printing industry, air conditioning now influences where and how we live

  20. Elevator

    The safety elevator is a mass transit system that has changed the shape of our cities

  21. Contraceptive Pill

    The pill wasn鈥檛 just socially revolutionary, it also sparked an economic revolution

  22. TV Dinner

    The TV dinner, and other inventions from the same era, made a lasting economic impression

  23. Gramophone

    "Superstar鈥� economics 鈥� the story of how the gramophone led to a winner-take-all market

  24. Battery

    The story of the battery begins inside a dead murderer. It鈥檚 a tale that鈥檚 far from over

  25. Public Key Cryptography

    Geeks versus government 鈥� the story of public key cryptography

  26. Robot

    Robots threaten the human workforce, but they are crucial to the modern economy

  27. Disposable Razor

    King Camp Gillette created the disposable razor. But his influence extends beyond shaving

  28. Clock

    The clock was invented in 1656 and has become an essential part of the modern economy.

  29. Google

    The words 'clever' and 'death' crop up less often than 'Google' in conversation

  30. Insurance

    Insurance is as old as gambling, but it鈥檚 fundamental to the way the modern economy works

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