Category: Retired

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50 Things That Made the Modern Economy - Contraceptive Pill

The contraceptive pill had profound social consequences. Everyone agrees with that. But – as Tim Harford explains – the pill wasn’t just socially revolutionary. It also sparked an economic revolution, perhaps the most significant of the late twentieth century. A careful statistical study by the Harvard economists Claudia Goldin and Lawrence Katz strongly suggests that the pill played a major role in allowing women to delay marriage, delay motherhood and invest in their own careers. The consequences of that are profound. Producer: Ben Crighton Editors: Richard Knight and Richard Vadon (Image: Oral contraceptive pill, Credit: Areeya_ann/Shutterstock)
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Containers - Episode 6: And They Won, They Won Big

It started with a puzzle: why were people in West Oakland dying 12-15

years earlier than their counterparts in the wealthier hills? The

people in the flatlands were dying of the same things as the people in

the hills, just much younger. Meet the doctor who helped make the case

that air pollution from cargo handling was one big part of the answer,

and the smart-dressing, wise-cracking environmental activist who

helped to clean up the air. This is an inside look at the problems

that come with being a major node in the network of global trade—and

the solutions that people have devoted their lives to implementing.

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50 Things That Made the Modern Economy - TV Dinner

The way educated women spend their time in the United States and other rich countries has changed radically over the past half a century. Women in the US now spend around 45 minutes per day in total on cooking and cleaning up; that is still much more than men, who spend just 15 minutes a day. But it is a vast shift from the four hours a day which was common in the 1960s. We know all this from time-use surveys conducted around the world. And we know the reasons for the shift. One of the most important of those is a radical change in the way food is prepared. As Tim Harford explains, the TV dinner – and other convenient innovations which emerged over the same period – have made a lasting economic impression. Producer: Ben Crighton Editors: Richard Knight and Richard Vadon (Image: TV Dinner, Credit: Shutterstock)
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Containers - Episode 5: The America-First Ships

American companies pioneered container shipping, but now the ocean freight business is dominated by foreign firms. Thanks to the Jones Act, a 1920 law, all cargo between American ports must be carried on American-made ships, so we do still have a fleet. But the ships are old and outdated. In episode five, we explore the tragic consequences of this "America-first" trade policy, beginning with the El Faro, which sank in October 2015.

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50 Things That Made the Modern Economy - Gramophone

“Superstar” economics – how the gramophone led to a winner-take-all dynamic in the performing industry. Elizabeth Billington was a British soprano in the 18th century. She was so famous, London’s two leading opera houses scrambled desperately to secure her performances. In 1801 she ended up singing at both venues, alternating between the two, and pulling in at least £10,000. A remarkable sum, much noted at the time. But in today’s terms, it’s a mere £687,000, or about a million dollars; one per cent of a similarly famous solo artist’s annual earnings today. What explains the difference? The gramophone. And, as Tim Harford explains, technological innovations have created “superstar” economics in other sectors too. Producer: Ben Crighton Editors: Richard Knight and Richard Vadon (Image: Thomas Edison Phonograph, Credit: James Steidl/Shutterstock)
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Containers - Episode 4: The Hidden Side of Coffee

The coffee world has changed since Starbucks rose to prominence. Not

only has the sourcing of beans acquired wine-like precision, but now

there are many small, local roasters. How'd this all happen? Episode 4

brings you into the infrastructure underpinning third-wave coffee from

a Kenyan coffee auction to a major coffee importer to a secret coffee

warehouse in San Leandro with beans from every coffee-growing nation

in the world. We’re guided by Aaron Van der Groen, the green coffee

buyer for San Francisco’s legendary roaster Ritual Coffee.

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Crimetown - S1 E13: The Network

A shadowy group of political insiders tries to cover up a crisis. A mobbed-up banker vanishes after embezzling millions of dollars. And one renegade ex-nun saw the whole thing coming.

For a full list of credits, and more information about this episode, visit our website at crimetownshow.com.

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50 Things That Made the Modern Economy - Battery

Murderers in early 19th century London feared surviving their executions. That’s because their bodies were often handed to scientists for strange anatomical experiments. If George Foster, executed in 1803, had woken up on the lab table, it would have been in particularly undignified circumstances. In front of a large London crowd, an Italian scientist with a flair for showmanship was sticking an electrode up Foster’s rectum. This is how the story of the battery begins – a technology which has been truly revolutionary. As Tim Harford explains, it’s a story which is far from over. Producer: Ben Crighton Editors: Richard Knight and Richard Vadon (Image: Used Batteries, Credit: Gerard Julien/Getty Images)