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How Economics Went From Medieval to Modern

There was once a time when there were only occasional federal taxes, no 9-to-5 jobs and farmers markets as far as the eye could see. And then the Black Death came and ruined the whole thing.

This was back in Europe during the 12th and 13th centuries, often called the High Middle Ages. And life back then was pretty rough. You were either in the country working for a knight, who was basically a mafia thug, or living in the city under the rules of a guild, who would throw you out of town if they didn't like what you were doing.

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Bronson Arcuri is a video producer at NPR, where he directs the "Planet Money Shorts" video series and helps out with Tiny Desk Concerts from time to time. He also produced "Elise Tries" and "Ron's Office Hours" along with the "Junior Bugler" series, which he still insists was "pretty good for what it was."