logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2010
13m 59s

Credit card

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

Neil MacGregor's history of the world as told through things. Throughout this week he is examining objects that speak of the great shifts in human organisation and thinking in the modern world - objects that raise questions about human lives, the environment and global resources. So far this week he has chosen things that deal with political and sexual revolution and that confront the disaster of global arms proliferation. In today's episode he considers the morality of modern global finance and its implication for the future. He tells the story with a credit card that is compliant with Islamic Sharia law - what does that mean and how does it work? He talks to the Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, and to Razi Fakih of the HSBC bank.

Producer: Anthony Denselow

Up next
Dec 2020
Object 101
Ten years on from the ground-breaking Radio 4 series, "A History of The World in 100 Objects", former director of the British Museum Neil MacGregor looks back at the impact of the series, on how storytelling in museums has changed over a turbulent decade and asks which object fro ... Show More
37m 51s
Oct 2010
Solar-powered lamp and charger
The very last episode in Neil MacGregor's history of humanity as told through the things that time has left behind. The director of the British Museum in London has spent the past year choosing objects from the museum's vast collection to represent a two million year story of hum ... Show More
13m 34s
Oct 2010
Throne of Weapons
The history of humanity, as told through one hundred objects from the British Museum in London, is drawing to an end. Throughout this week, Neil MacGregor, the director of the British Museum in London, has been with things that help explain the modern world. He has explored polit ... Show More
14m 9s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2019
Adam Tooze on Davos, econ 101 and the unexpected importance of China in the global economy
Adam Tooze, economic historian and author of Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World, joins the FT’s Brendan Greeley and Brown University’s Mark Blyth to discuss how our politics got us to where we are today, why our ideas about how the economy works may not b ... Show More
50m 13s
Oct 2022
A special interview with the boss of the World Bank
In a wide ranging interview, David Malpass, president of the World Bank, speaks to presenter Sam Fenwick about the global economic situation.He talks about the consequences of rising global debt and high inflation, and how poorer countries are bearing the brunt of the economic cr ... Show More
19m 16s
Oct 2023
HICHAM SAFIEDDINE | Banking on the State: Lebanon's Economic Rise & Fall
In conversation with Professor Hicham Safieddine, we get to grips with Lebanon’s banking system. He walks us through the history of central banks, who Lebanon’s Barons of Banking were, and how Lebanon’s banking sector got to where it is today. We reflect on Beirut’s economy and b ... Show More
1h 11m
Jun 2023
92: Filthy Rich: Dirty Secrets of the World’s First Billionaire | Dark History with Bailey Sarian
Welcome to the Dark History podcast. Today we’re discussing the world’s first ever billionaire- John D. Rockefeller. This guy was money obsessed, and I mean OBSESSED. We’re talking manifestation, threatening people, destroying families, and just generally doing whatever it took. ... Show More
56m 25s
May 2022
Is (De)globalization Ahead?
Amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, COVID-19 lockdowns and associated supply chain disruptions, globalization is arguably facing its biggest test of the post-Cold War era. In this episode of Exchanges at Goldman Sachs, Adam Posen, president of the Peterson Institute for Internation ... Show More
27m 53s
Feb 2023
From the Battlefield to the Stage | Special Interview with Norman S. Poser
Join us for our interview with the author, historian, and Emeritus Law Professor, Norman S. Poser about his book, "From the Battlefield to the Stage | The Many Lives of General John Burgoyne". In this special discussion, Professor Poser explains the origins of the book, discusses ... Show More
44m 48s
Feb 2024
Origins of the Civil War
The war between the Union and the Confederacy is a major turning point in the history of the United States. But why did it happen? From slavery and states' rights, to economic, legislative, moral, and political issues, in this episode, Don and Professor Adam Smith explore how the ... Show More
34m 54s
Jan 2000
Information Technology
Melvyn Bragg discusses the social and economic consequences of the information revolution. There are now more than 200 million people connected to the internet world-wide. The world’s biggest ever merger has just seen Time Warner united with the internet service provider America ... Show More
27m 42s