Economist and author, Paul Seabright, begins a series that explores our trading story, from the earliest exchange networks in child-care and food, right up to the modern day. He discusses the links between trade and war, the different phases of globalization, and how the history of trade features major setbacks as well as extraordinary progress.

In this opening episode, Paul visits the Café Bibent in Toulouse to talk about the city's connections with two key moments in the history of trade: Adam Smith and his great book The Wealth of Nations, and the outbreak of the First World War.

Producer: Chris Ledgard.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2018. Show less