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PODCAST

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

Pushkin Industries

We tell our children unsettling fairy tales to teach them valuable lessons, but these Cautionary Tales are for the education of the grown ups – and they are all true. Tim Harford (Financial Times, BBC, author of “The Data Detective”) brings you stories of awful human error, tragic catastrophes, and hilarious fiascos. They"ll delight you, scare you, but also make you wiser. New episodes every Friday.

history

All Episodes

39:25

Lights, Camera, Tax Break

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2025/02/28

When Ernest Borgnine gets his big break in Hollywood, he can hardly believe his luck. But soon he discovers his supposed star vehicle, Marty, is not the dream gig he thought it was. In this episode of Cautionary Tales, recorded live at the Bristol Festival of Economics, Tim Harford examines what happens when the murky world of tax avoidance collides with the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. For a full list of sources, see the show notes at timharford.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy

en-US

38:17

The Nursery Rhyme That Ruined a Rock Band

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2025/02/21

"Down Under" was huge. This jokeyode to legendary Australian wanderlust helped Men at Work win a Grammy and was a key part of the band's creative legacy. By 2007, it had been earning Men At Work a steady stream of royalties for nearly 30 years. That was when a quiz show pointed out the song's subtle connection with an Australian nursery rhyme... Tim Harford examines one of the most controversial copyright battles in music history. Where does inspiration end and infringement begin? For a full list of

en-US

20:58

The Widow Who Disrupted Champagne (with Ben Walter)

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2025/02/19

Tim Harford is joined by Ben Walter, CEO of Chase for Business and the host of "The Unshakeables" podcast, to explore the story of the trailblazing Widow Clicquot. Her namesake brand Veuve Clicquot revolutionized the champagne industry in the 19th century. Tim and Ben look at how she defied expectations and built one of the most iconic businesses in history. This episode is sponsored by Chase for Business. For a full list of sources, see the show notes at timharford.com.See omnystudio.com/listener

en-US

39:05

The Thrill and the Drop: A First Date Rollercoaster

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2025/02/14

Leah Washington and her new boyfriend Joe Pugh are on their first day out together. They're at Alton Towers theme park, where they've chosen to ride the "Smiler" rollercoaster: a terrifying tangle of track that loops and swoops through a world-record 14 inversions. Leah and Joe are seated right at the front of the train and, as they reach the highest point of the ride, they steelthemselves for the drop. But then, quite suddenly, the ridestops. Down on the ground, the computersystem that controls the

en-US

38:25

Dr. Brinkley's Miracle Cure For Impotence (with...

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2025/02/07

Cautionary Conversation: In the 1920s, a conman convinced America that goat testicles were the secret to male virility. Tim Harford and Dr Kate Lister (Betwixt the Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society) dive into the bizarre and grisly tale of "Doctor" John Brinkley. This snake oil salesman mobilised the power of radio marketing to build an empire on goat gland transplants and other quack "cures". And Brinkleymight have got away with it, were it not for his nemesis: the tenacious Dr

en-US

42:19

The Night of the Mugger

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2025/01/31

Winston Trew has just been arrested for mugging. It's 1972 and the crime has recently made its way to Britain from the United States. Dangerous thugs, replicating their American counterparts, have made the city of London their hunting ground - so Winston's eventual conviction is a win for thepolice, and for the press. The problem is, 22-year-old Winston is completely innocent. Do you have a question for Tim Harford and Rachel Botsman about trust? Please send it in totales@pushkin.fm. For a full list

en-US

46:14

Missing on "Dead Mountain": A Cold War Cold Case

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2025/01/24

In the bleak Russian winter of 1959, nine experienced hikers led by Igor Dyatlov set out on an expedition. None of them made it back alive. When their campsite was finally discovered, it told a chilling story: their tent was slashed open, bodies scattered across the snow. The hikers' injuries were as baffling as they were gruesome. One had had his head stoved in. Bits of bone had been driven into his brain. Others weremissingtheir eyes and their tongues. Had the hikers angered the localMansi

en-US

34:46

Frozen in a Burning 747 (Tenerife Air Disaster 2)

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2025/01/17

Two airplanes have just collided on the runway at Tenerife Airport. While no one on the Amsterdam-bound KLM plane survives the resulting fireball, 71 Pan-Am passengers and crew make it off their plane. But could it have been more? Why did so many Pan-Am passengers die, even though they weren’t injured by the initial collision and their plane was still on the ground? For a full list of sources see the show notes at timharford.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

32:36

Cleared For Take-Off? (Tenerife Air Disaster 1)

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2025/01/10

“Evacuate the airport, we’ve planted bombs,” a terrorist tells the telephone operator at the airport in Gran Canaria, in 1977. By the end of that day, 583 people will have lost their lives – but not to a bomb explosion.The planes are diverted to the neighboring island of Tenerife. Loaded with passengers, they’re forced to sit on the hot tarmac for hours. Meanwhile, the flight crews rely on air traffic control to keep them updated.Two Boeing 747s are waiting for thick

en-US

35:58

Do NOT Pass GO! (Classic)

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2025/01/03

Cautionary Tales returns with new episodes on January10th. Lizzie J. Magie (played by Helena Bonham Carter) should be celebrated as the inventor of what would become Monopoly. But, even though she had a patent, her role in creating the smash hit board game was cynically ignored. Discrimination has marred the careers of many inventors and excluded others from the innovation economy entirely. Could crediting forgotten figures such as Lizzie Magie help change that? For a full list of sources, see the

en-US

37:46

Demonizing Dungeons & Dragons (Classic)

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2024/12/20

When James Dallas Egbert III was reported missing from his college dorm in 1979, one of America's most flamboyant private detectives was summoned to solve the case. "Dallas" faced the same problems as many teenagers, but P.I. William Dear stoked fears that he might have fallen under the evil spell of a mysterious and sinister game: Dungeons & Dragons... Tim Harford returns with brand new episodes of Cautionary Tales on January10th. In the meantime, Merry Christmas from the Cautionary Tales team

en-US

36:51

Captain Coward and the Blame Game

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2024/12/06

Off the coast of an Italian island, an enormous cruise ship - seventeen floors high, three soccer pitches long - is tilting noticeably to one side. The local mayor is horrified: there are thousands of people on board the Costa Concordia, and it's only a matter of time before the ship capsizes altogether. How did a routine trip go so terribly wrong? And why is the captain nowhere to be found? For a full list of sources, see the show notes at timharford.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy

en-US

51:51

Get Happier, Help Others: Some Good Ideas About Giving

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2024/12/02

It's the season of giving: colorful paper and shiny bows, sure, and charitable giving, too. In this special episode, Jacob Goldstein, the host of What's Your Problem, gets smart about donating. Did you know that spending money on others makes you happier than spending money on yourself? Or that altruistic nerds have discovered four of the most impactful charities in the world (per dollar spent)? Have you ever wondered how poker players think about giving? Dr. Laurie Santos from The Happiness Lab,

en-US

42:41

RoboPod and the Perpetual Money Machine - Cautionary...

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2024/11/22

Take the Cautionary Tales listener survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HCHGGZ3 What really drove the 2008 financial crash? What’s a shadow bank? And what’s the connection between NIMBYs and BANANAs? Tim Harford and Jacob Goldstein answer more of your questions. Do you have a question for Tim? Please send it in to tales@pushkin.fm.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

40:59

Darwin's Grandpa and the Art of Sex Appeal

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2024/11/08

Take the Cautionary Tales listener survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HCHGGZ3 Charles Darwin was stumped by peacocks. According to his theory of evolution, some creatures were better equipped to survive in their particular environment than others. It explained a lot - but it didn't explain the peacock's brightly coloured tail feathers, which were extravagant and cumbersome. Surely such plumage made it harder for peacocks to survive? It so happens that the life of Darwin's own grandfather

en-US

41:47

The Edinburgh Body Snatchers: Murder at Halloween

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2024/10/25

Take the Cautionary Tales listener survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HCHGGZ3 In 1827, Edinburgh, Scotland was a world centre for anatomical study, but there was a shortage of cadavers for medical students to dissect. Two men, William Burke and William Hare, spotted a grim business opportunity. They began sourcing bodies - by any means possible... In this episode of Cautionary Tales - recorded live at the Podcast Show in London - true crime meets economics. Tim Harford's hair-raising story

en-US

48:19

Cautionary Tales Presents: Death Fraud and Other...

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2024/10/14

Tim Harford joined Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova on their podcast Risky Business to discuss two of history’s most compelling swindlers: Sam Israel III and John Law. We hope you enjoy this episode of Risky Business. It's available wherever you listen to podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

43:53

The Poet Who Toppled The British Empire

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2024/10/11

India, 1930. Sarojini Naidu is marching towards a British-controlled saltwork; behind her is a long column of protestors all dressed in white. The great campaigner for India's Independence, Gandhi, is now in jail. In his place, he's chosen Naidu to lead this movement against the hard and fearsome British Empire. Naidu and her marchers want change, and they want to achieve it peacefully. India's fate, they believe, depends on a non-violent path to resistance. Today, there will be violence. But it

en-US

41:14

Reason, Wrath and Rebellion on the High Seas

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2024/09/27

Early morning, April 1789. Captain Bligh is abruptly dragged from his cabin. Wrists bound, bayonet pressed to his chest, he and a few loyal sailors are forced into a tiny launch and set adrift on the vast Pacific Ocean. This far from land, no-one is likely to survive for long. History remembers Captain Bligh as a cruel, petty tyrant. The reality is more complicated. Bligh championed rational thought and showed his men great kindness on that famous voyage on the Bounty - yet it ended in mutiny. So

en-US

34:26

Cautionary Tales Presents: You Cannot Save Me From...

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2024/09/17

In the beautiful mountain town of Idyllwild, a wealthy widow named Dia Abrams suddenly vanishes from her home. She leaves behind her idyllic ranch, estranged children and a messy legal battle. Two men in her life, her son and a man who claims to be her fiance, launch public campaigns to find her. But soon, their efforts – and stories – begin to unravel. Enjoy this episode from Where's Dia? -- available wherever you listen to podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

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