how to: Fifty Things that Made the Modern Economy. With Tim Harford

Who thought up paper money? How did the contraceptive pill change the face of the legal profession? Why was the horse collar as important for human progress as the steam engine? Tim Harford will explain, and will lay bare the hidden connections.

The world economy today defies comprehension. It offers ten billion distinct products and services, doubles in size every fifteen years, and links almost every one of the planet’s seven billion people. Nobody is in charge. Indeed, no individual understands more than a fraction of what’s going on. How can we make sense of this bewildering system on which our lives depend? And what lessons can we learn for a future where the pace of innovation can only accelerate?

Based on his new book, Fifty Things that Made the Modern Economy, Tim Harford will show the economic rationale behind everything we do. Each invention is a story, and each story a piece in the jigsaw. Step by step, we start to understand where we are, how we got here, where we might be going.

As The Times said of his acclaimed radio series: ‘Harford takes a weekly look at something you take utterly for granted – and then shows you why it is fascinating, revolutionary, even world-changing. Utterly compelling and low-key. Just brilliant ideas, simply told. A wonderful, wonderful programme.’