logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2019
8m 59s

Factory

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Tim Harford charts the history of the factory, from "dark, Satanic mills" to the sprawling industrial parks where today's consumer goods are assembled. Have factories made workers' lives better - and what does their future look like?

Up next
Jul 2021
Introducing: Season 2 of 30 Animals That Made Us Smarter
How animals make us smarter – we thought you might like to hear our brand new episode. It’s about a robotic arm inspired by an elephant’s trunk.For more, search for 30 Animals That Made Us Smarter wherever you get your podcasts.#30Animals 
18m 4s
Mar 2020
Introducing 13 Minutes to the Moon Season 2
Jump on-board a doomed mission to the Moon. Apollo 13: the extraordinary story, told by the people who flew it and saved it. Search for 13 Minutes to the Moon wherever you get your podcasts. #13MinutestotheMoon 
3m 53s
Mar 2020
Gutenberg press
Johannes Gutenberg's printing press changed the course of human history. It created a new way of doing business, drastically reduced the cost and speed of making books, and enabled texts, ideas and arguments to spread further and faster than ever before. So why did he struggle to ... Show More
10m 10s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2023
Why is the US building electric car battery factories?
We’re in Kentucky, where an area which had long ago been abandoned as an industrial site is once again coming to life.US manufacturer Ascend Elements has chosen the site to build a factory for electric car batteries made from recycled ones - an industry previously almost entirely ... Show More
18m 14s
Nov 2017
The Hardscrabble Business of Chinese Manufacturing in Africa
Irene Yuan Sun, a consultant at McKinsey, explains why so many Chinese entrepreneurs are setting up factories in Africa. She describes what it’s like inside these factories, who works there, what they’re making—and how this emerging manufacturing sector is industrializing countri ... Show More
25m 34s
May 2024
Ask These Questions Before Choosing a Manufacturing Location
In today's global economy, what are the factors that go into choosing a production location? In this episode, Harvard Business School professor Willy Shih draws on his case study about China-based automotive glass maker Fuyao to discuss this core strategic question. The company m ... Show More
26m 27s
Apr 2023
Inside the semiconductor factory
Almost everything electronic is powered by chips. But the global semiconductor industry has been beset by the Covid pandemic, conflict, and economic slowdown. Despite the challenges, it's set to become a trillion-dollar industry by 2030.Alex Bell takes an exclusive look inside on ... Show More
17m 45s
Dec 2010
The Industrial Revolution
In the first of two programmes, Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Industrial Revolution.Between the middle of the eighteenth century and the early years of the nineteenth, Britain was transformed. This was a revolution, but not a political one: over the course of a few gene ... Show More
42m 16s
Dec 2022
Smile Plastics’ Rosalie McMillan and Adam Fairweather on recycling plastic and reviving a company.
Rosalie McMillan and Adam Fairweather are co-founders of the materials, design and manufacturing house, Smile Plastics. They have a factory in South Wales which takes plastics and other materials traditionally classed as waste and transforms them into extraordinarily eye-catching ... Show More
57m 12s
Feb 2024
The global quest to boost productivity
From tackling the long commute to sleeping on the job - we head to Lagos, New York, Tokyo, Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore) and Dublin to look at the diverse ways businesses are attempting to boost productivity and therefore also boost profits. We hear from businesses installing sl ... Show More
18m 25s
Apr 2023
Ten Years After Rana Plaza, Has Fashion Changed?
Labour rights activist Kalpona Akter and chief sustainability correspondent Sarah Kent reflect on where the industry stands a decade after the deadly factory collapse.  Background: Ten years ago this week an eight-storey factory complex in an industrial suburb of Dhaka, Banglades ... Show More
20m 44s