Episode 6

The Bicycle w. David Herlihy

Published on: 24th January, 2023

Imagine traveling before the wheel. Anywhere you wanted to go, you had to either walk, or be wealthy enough to afford an animal such as a horse that could take you there. Travel was slow, fraught with delay, and in the case of a horse, needed constant feeding. Living in a developed, wealthy country, it’s easy to forget that the car isn’t the only way to get around the world. The bicycle is a hidden workhorse of transportation worldwide, and its history is chock full of controversy, innovation, and some zany designs that may make you scratch your head. As recently as 2010 there were 2.5 bicycles made for every car manufactured worldwide… over 130M that year, alone. Out of all that chaos came the beautiful, efficient mode of transport that is the bike as we know it today.

Join us for a conversation with author and historian David Herlihy.

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About the Podcast

Riches and Power
The history of the things that shaped our world.
Listen in on interviews with world-renowned experts exploring the forces in history that shaped the world both then, and now. The topics we explore vary from whaling, to the Roman games, but they always touch on the intersection between riches and power, particularly in business and economic history.

About your host

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Alex Doubet

While Alex is an entrepreneur, his first love was history (AB in History, Harvard, 2010). His studies in history primarily focused on business history, particularly the Industrial Revolution. When not podcasting, Alex is the Managing Partner of a real estate investing fund.