Category: Retired

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50 Things That Made the Modern Economy - The Plough

The plough was a simple yet transformative technology. It was the plough that kick-started civilisation in the first place – that, ultimately, made our modern economy possible. But the plough did more than create the underpinning of civilisation – with all its benefits and inequities. Different types of plough led to different types of civilisation. Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Ben Crighton (Photo: Farmer ploughing field, Credit: Shutterstock)
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50 Things That Made the Modern Economy - Cold Chain

The global supply chain that keeps perishable goods at controlled temperatures has revolutionised the food industry. It widened our choice of food and improved our nutrition. It enabled the rise of the supermarket. And that, in turn, transformed the labour market: less need for frequent shopping frees up women to work. As low-income countries get wealthier, fridges are among the first things people buy: in China, it took just a decade to get from a quarter of households having fridges to nearly nine in ten. Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Ben Crighton Editors: Richard Knight and Richard Vadon (Image: Fully loaded shelves, Credit: Shutterstock)
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The Nod - Gimlet Presents: Uncivil

The Nod is off this week, but Brittany and Eric are still here to present Uncivil, Gimlet Media's newest show. Uncivil is a history podcast that goes back to the moment when the divisions in this country turned into a war. The show ransacks the official version of the Civil War—with untold stories about covert operations, corruption, resistance and mutiny. Uncivil is hosted by Jack Hitt and Chenjerai Kumanyika (who you may remember from our episode on Purple Stuff). Jack and Chenjerai take on what you think you know about the Civil War, and connect what happened then to the political battlefield we’re living on right now.

Listen to Uncivil on Apple Podcasts | Overcast | Stitcher | Pocketcasts

The Nod will be back next week with an all new episode!

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50 Things That Made the Modern Economy - Welfare State

The same basic idea links every welfare state: that the ultimate responsibility for ensuring people don’t starve on the street should lie not with family, or charity, or private insurers, but with government. This idea is not without its enemies. It is possible, after all, to mother too much. Every parent instinctively knows that there’s a balance: protect, but don’t mollycoddle; nurture resilience, not dependence. And if overprotective parenting stunts personal growth, might too-generous welfare states stunt economic growth? Producer: Ben Crighton Editors: Richard Knight and Richard Vadon (Image: Frances Perkins, Credit: Getty Images)