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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.

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All Episodes

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.

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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

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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

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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

39:49

Steel and Kindness: Clash of the Skyscrapers

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2024/09/13

Paul Starrett has just won a major building contract. If everything goes according to plan, this will be the tallest building in the world. But will everything go according to plan? This prestigious new project will have Starrett's biggest workforce yet. Everyone will need to pull together, but labour relations in the United States have been rough. There have been tens of thousands of strikes in recent years, many ending in shootings and arbitrary mass arrests. Something else is bothering Starrett

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39:13

The Nice Guy, the Bully and the Kiss

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2024/09/13

Leo Durocher would stop at nothing to win. The baseball player-turned-manager was a skilled tactician and famously tough. But he also cheated, intimidated umpires and was violent; he was even known to beat up fans. Durocher was famous for coining the phrase "nice guys finish last" - but is that really true? Tim Harford and David Bodanis examine lessons from the life of a ruthless, pugnacious baseball star. This is the first episode of a four-part series about how to succeed without being a jerk

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45:07

Tim's Tolkien Obsession & Amazon Prime's The Rings of...

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2024/08/30

Tim Harford's life has been building up to this moment. In this Cautionary Conversation, he discusses the works of his favorite author J.R.R. Tolkien and the social science at play in Amazon Prime's series The Rings of Power. What do elves and whistleblowers have in common? How can evil hide in plain sight? And where do orcs come from? This episode is sponsored by Amazon Prime's The Rings of Power. Season 2 of The Rings of Power is available to watch on Prime Video from August 29th.See

en-US

40:17

The Human Guinea Pigs of Camp Lazear

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2024/08/16

Young doctor Jesse Lazear has deadly Yellow Fever. He thrashes around and convulses in his sick bed, and his vomit is black. He is just 34 when he dies. Curiously, mosquito expert Lazear was researching the disease when he became ill. Some historians think his infection wasn't an accident, and that he was secretly experimenting on himself... Today, human challenge trials - where volunteers are intentionally given a disease under the watchful eye of medical support - are rare. The authorities are

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36:52

Embracing the Escape Fire (with Adam Grant)

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2024/08/02

Cautionary Conversation: Steve Jobs hated his phone so much that he smashed it against a wall. He also referred to mobile carriers as "orifices". Yet he went on to invent the world's most popular smartphone. Why did he change his mind? Tim Harford and organizational psychologist Adam Grant (Think Again, Hidden Potential) discuss the consequences of letting our ideas become part of our identity; when it's essential to adapt; and whether frogs really do stay sitting in slowly boiling water.See

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37:15

Cautionary Tales Presents Vultures from Lost Hills:...

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2024/07/25

The disappearance and death of Mitrice Richardson remains Malibu, CA’s most baffling unsolved case. It’s been nearly 14 years since her remains were discovered in a remote canyon, and still, no one has been held accountable for her demise. To this day, her death remains an unsolved mystery. The truth lies in the remote Malibu community where Mitrice was last seen. And now, finally, people are starting to talk. Enjoy this episode from Lost Hills: Dark Canyon. Available wherever you listen to

en-US

40:40

Flying Too High: AI and Air France Flight 447

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2024/07/19

Panic has erupted in the cockpit of Air France Flight 447. The pilots are convinced they’ve lost control of the plane. It’s lurching violently. Then, it begins plummeting from the sky at breakneck speed, careening towards catastrophe. The pilots are sure they’re done-for. Only, they haven’t lost control of the aircraft at all: one simple manoeuvre could avoid disaster… In the age of artificial intelligence, we often compare humans and computers, asking ourselves which is “better”. But is this even

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36:18

Run, Switzer, Run: The Women Who Broke the Marathon...

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2024/07/05

Until the 1960s, it was deemed too "dangerous" for women athletes to run distances longer than 200m - and a marathon would kill them, or leave them unable to have children. Rubbish, of course. But when Kathrine Switzer signed up for the 1967 Boston Marathon, it wasn't the distance that bothered her - it was the enraged race director trying to assault her. Thanks to pioneers like Kathrine, women have made huge strides in long distance running - and are now challenging the times of men in the very

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39:42

Adidas v Puma: A Battle of Boots and Brothers

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2024/06/21

Adi and Rudi Dassler made sports shoes together - until a feud erupted between them. They set up competing companies, Adidas and Puma, and their bitter rivalry divided the sporting world, their family and even the inhabitants of their home town. The Dassler clan turned bickering into an art form - even drawing the likes of soccer legend Pele into their dispute. But did the brilliant fires of hatred produce two world-class companies, or was it a needless distraction from the Dasslers' love for their

en-US

38:06

The Revenge of the Whales

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2024/06/07

In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, in 1819, Owen Chase is standing on a slowly sinking ship. It's just been headbutted by an 85 foot whale. It's taking in water. And now the creature is coming back for another go. This is a whaling ship, and Chase is convinced that he observes "fury and vengeance" in the animal.In 2010, an orca is performing for a crowd at SeaWorld - but he misses his mark and so he doesn't get his reward. That's when he grabs hold of his trainer, Dawn Brancheau, and pulls her

en-US

39:37

When the Robots Take Over... - Cautionary Questions

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2024/05/24

Tim Harford is joined by Jacob Goldstein to answer your questions. Does winning the lottery make you unhappy? Is Bitcoin bad for the economy? When does correlation imply causation? And what will Tim and Jacob do when the robot overlords come for their jobs?We love hearing from you, so please keep your questions coming: tales@pushkin.fm.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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42:39

WW2: How Britain Ignored the Mother of All Secrets

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2024/05/10

Neatly dressed in his suit, Hans Ferdinand Mayer was every inch the unassuming corporate executive. So, when he asked to borrow a typewriter from his hotel in Oslo, nobody could have guessed he would use it for one of the most extraordinary intelligence leaks in history. Mayer's gloved fingers punched out the details of Nazi Germany's most sensitive military operations and, when he had finished, he immediately dispatched his documents to the British — who did nothing. Why did the British ignore

en-US

61:09

The Fraudster's Guide to Magic Money

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford ·

2024/04/26

Cautionary Tales will be LIVE on stage in London this May. Tickets are on sale now: https://www.tegeurope.com/events/cautionary-tales/Sam Israel had a problem. The investors in his hedge fund, Bayou Capital, were expecting spectacular returns. Sam himself had spent years proclaiming the fund's brilliant results. But in reality, Sam had been marking his own homework, publishing fraudulent accounts and using these to lure in new investors. What to do? Well, the logical thing of course: wait around

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209 results

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