50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy is a British radio show and podcast which airs on the BBC World Service. It is presented by economist and journalist Tim Harford. The first series was broadcast between 5 November 2016 and 28 October 2017. A second series began airing on 30 March 2019.
Harford explained in a BBC interview in 2017 that his motivation for creating the show was "to paint a picture of economic change by telling the stories of the ideas, people, and tools that had far-reaching consequences". He was "fascinated" by the many unexpected outcomes, such as "the impact of the fridge on global politics, or of the gramophone on income inequality."
Towards the end of the first series, a public call was made for suggestions of a "51st thing". Harford chose six submissions for an online vote, which ran from late September to early October, 2017. The winning item was announced as the credit card in an episode released on 28 October 2017. A special bonus episode on Santa Claus was broadcast on Monday 24 December 2018.
The first series was released by Harford as a book titled "Fifty Things That Made The Modern Economy." It was published in the UK by Little, Brown Books, and as "Fifty Inventions That Shaped The Modern Economy" in the US by Riverhead Books. The hardcover and eBook editions were released on 6 July 2017 in the UK and on 29 August 2017 in the US. A paperback edition was released on 2 August 2018.
Episodes.
Series 1 (2016–2017).
Each of the nine-minute long programmes introduces the story of a product or invention that revolutionised the modern world.
Each episode was originally broadcast on BBC World Service, with a subsequent broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and distribution as a BBC podcast.
Special (2018).
A bonus episode on Santa Claus was broadcast on 24 December 2018. This included the announcement of the series 2 for March 2019.
Bonus episodes.
The series 1 episode on the Index Fund was re-released with additional comments by Harford in the podcast feed to commemorate the death of John C. Bogle.
A number of episodes of the parallel BBC radio documentary series "30 Animals That Made Us Smarter" were included as bonuses in the podcast feed of early episodes of series 2.
"51st thing".
The shortlist selected by Harford for public vote as the 51st thing was:
The item selected by public vote was the credit card, announced by Harford in the episode entitled "Number 51".
Book.
Each of the short chapters describes fifty products or inventions that have revolutionised the modern world. The chapter order is different from the radio broadcast and podcast order. Some book chapters have modified titles, and the chapters are grouped into sections in the book.