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Series 1

Tax Havens

Gabriel Zucman invented an ingenious way to estimate how much wealth is hidden offshore.

• 10 mins

Series 1

Barbed Wire

'Lighter than air, stronger than whiskey' - barbed wire wreaked huge changes in America.

• 9 mins

Series 1

Department Store

Harry Selfridge pioneered a whole new retail experience with his London department store.

• 9 mins

Series 1

Leaded Petrol

When lead was added to petrol, it made cars more powerful - but it also poisoned people.

• 10 mins

Series 1

Dynamo

The big story behind the way dynamos made electricity useful.

• 10 mins

Series 1

Limited Liability Company

How some legal creativity has created vast wealth down the centuries.

• 10 mins

Series 1

Paper Money

Currency derives value from trust in the government which issues it.

• 10 mins

Series 1

Seller Feedback

Without seller feedback, companies like eBay might not have grown as they have.

• 10 mins

Series 1

Plastic

We make so much plastic these days that it takes about eight percent of oil production.

• 10 mins

Series 1

Market Research

Market research marked a shift from a producer-led to a consumer-led approach to business.

• 10 mins

Series 1

Radar

A high-tech 'death ray' capable of zapping sheep led to the invention of radar.

• 10 mins

Series 1

S-Bend

The S-bend was a pipe with a curve in it, an invention that led to public sanitation.

• 10 mins

Series 1

Double-entry Bookkeeping

Renaissance man Luca Pacioli wrote the definitive book on double-entry bookkeeping.

• 10 mins

Series 1

Management Consulting

If managers often have a bad reputation, what about those who tell them how to manage?

• 10 mins

Series 1

Property Register

Property rights for the world's poor could unlock trillions in 'dead capital'.

• 10 mins

Series 1

Welfare State

Do welfare states boost economic growth, or stunt it? It's not an easy question to answer.

• 10 mins

Series 1

Cold Chain

Refrigeration revolutionised the food industry, and other industries too.

• 10 mins

Series 1

Plough

The plough kick-started civilisation - and ultimately made our modern economy possible.

• 10 mins

Santa Claus

Consumerism and Christmas have gone hand in hand for a surprisingly long time

• 14 mins

Series 2

Langstroth Hive

The Langstroth Hive: a wooden box that made the industrialisation of the bee possible.

• 14 mins

Series 2

Cellophane

Cellophane transformed how consumers purchased food, as well as how producers sold it.

• 14 mins

Series 2

Gyroscope

The gyroscope: a remarkable device used to guide everything from submarines to satellites.

• 14 mins

Series 2

QWERTY

From the early typewriters, the QWERTY keyboard layout has stood the test of time.

• 14 mins

Series 2

Mail Order Catalogue

Montgomery Ward鈥檚 catalogue: once ranked among the most influential books in US history.

• 14 mins

Series 2

Bricks

Bricks: used for tens of thousands of years and still such a vital building technology.

• 14 mins

Series 2

Spreadsheet

The digital spreadsheet: a technology which took the world of accountancy by storm.

• 14 mins

Series 2

Recycling

The idea recycling is a moral obligation, as well as an economic one, is relatively new.

• 14 mins

Series 2

Pencil

The pencil claims to be a miracle product of the free market, but is that true?

• 14 mins

Series 2

Bicycle

Has the bicycle had its day? Or is it a technology whose best years lie ahead?

• 14 mins

Series 2

Dwarf Wheat

Norman Borlaug averted famine predictions by tinkering with the genetic design of wheat.

• 14 mins