Economics in Ten Podcast - Adam Smith

The obvious starting point: Adam Smith is the patron saint of the discipline and Pete and Gav treat him accordingly. The episode covers both major works, The Theory of Moral Sentiments and The Wealth of Nations, and does a good job of separating the real Smith from the cartoon version that appears in textbook summaries. Key ideas include the division of labour, the invisible hand, and the argument that markets harness self-interest for collective benefit. There’s also useful context on how Smith is sometimes misread, which is worth flagging to students who arrive with confident but oversimplified views about what he said. Directly spec-relevant and accessible to all students: the ideas here underpin the whole course.  Listen here