Tim Harford tells the fascinating stories of inventions, ideas and innovations which have helped create the economic world.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04b1g3c
Bonus: 30 Animals That Made Us Smarter
Introducing our new podcast about innovation, technology and the animal kingdom. This is the whole of the first episode about how the kingfisher inspired the design of a train. The 500 series Shinkansen, also known as bullet train, is one of the fastest in the world. It is also quiet, but that was not always the case. This is the tale of Japanese engineer Eiji Nakatsu, the kingfisher, an owl, a penguin and biomimicry. www.bbcworldservice.com/30animals