Supermarkets: they are ubiquitous yet hard to define, lauded and vilified in roughly equal measures, and in many countries they have a huge influence on what we eat. Technological innovations, big social changes and new shopping habits have all shaped their development and today’s megastores are a far cry from their small-scale ancestors of the 1930s. And yet, some quirks of supermarket design remain constant: for instance, why are the eggs always so hard to locate in the stores?
Iszi Lawrence navigates supermarket aisles with the help of historian and economist Marc Levinson; Aarti Krishnan, Lecturer in Sustainability at Manchester University; Simona Botti, professor of marketing at London Business School and Forum listeners from around the world.
(Photo: A customer in a supermarket. Credit: Adene Sanchez/ Getty Images)
Feeding the world and the Green Revolution
Etiquette
Diplomacy
The story of throwaway living
Political parties and us
What makes a good boss?
The joy and sorrow of roads
Pets and us
The evolution of teenagers
Global mass tourism
A deep dive into deepfakes
How the mobile phone changed everything
The submarine: Stealth machine
Hazel Scott: Jazz star and barrier breaker
The bittersweet tale of cocoa
The dam builders
Alexander the Great or not so great?
Rituals: Our anchors in a changing world
Tropicália: the movement that defied Brazil’s dictatorship
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Global News Podcast
Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4
The Infinite Monkey Cage
You’re Dead to Me
Elis James and John Robins