Podcasts like 30 Animals That Made Us Smarter

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.