BBC World Service

Tim Harford tells the fascinating stories of inventions, ideas and innovations which have helped create the economic world.

<p>Tim Harford tells the fascinating stories of inventions, ideas and innovations which have helped create the economic world.</p>

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

How animals make us smarter – we thought you might like to hear our brand new episode. It’s about a robotic arm inspired by an elephant’s trunk.
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Introducing: Season 2 of 30 Animals That Made Us Smarter

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 Minutes to the Moon wherever you get your podcasts. 
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Introducing 13 Minutes to the Moon Season 2

Johannes Gutenberg's printing press changed the course of human history. It created a new way of doing business, drastically reduced the cost and speed of making books, and enabled texts, ideas and arguments to spread further and faster than ever before. So why did he struggle to make money from it?

Gutenberg press

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 who play them say winning isn't the point. So why can't people pull themselves away? Tim Harford looks under the spinning wheels and flashing lights to see what these devices reveal about the business of addiction.

Slot machines

Bisnis 

Rudolf Diesel died in mysterious circumstances before he was able to capitalise on his extraordinary invention: the eponymous engine that powers much of the world today. Before Diesel invented his engine in 1892, as Tim Harford explains, the industrial landscape was very different. Urban transport depended on horses and steam supplied power for trains and factories. Incredibly, Diesel’s first attempt at a working engine was more than twice as efficient as other engines which ran on petrol and gas, and he continued to improve it. Indeed, it wasn’t long before it became the backbone of the industrial revolution; used in trains, power stations, factories and container ships.
Producer: Ben Crighton
Editors: Richard Knight and Richard Vadon
(Image: Stamp depicting Rudolf Diesel, Credit: Boris15/Shutterstock)