Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

By Pushkin Industries

Society & Culture History

What's Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford about?

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 other Friday.

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Office Hell: the Demise of ...

03.17.2023

In the early 90s, cutting-edge advertising agency Chiat/Day announced a radical plan, aimed at giving the company a jolt of creative renewal. They would sweep away corner offices and cubicles and replace them with zany open spaces, as well as ...

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford episodes:

03.17.2023 Office Hell: the Demise of the Playful Workspace In the early 90s, cutting-edge advertising agency Chiat/Day announced a radical plan, aimed at giving the company a jolt of creative renewal. They would sweep away corner offices and cubicles and replace them with zany open spaces, as well as ...
03.10.2023 La La Land: Galileo’s Warning (Classic) With the 95th Academy Awards just around the corner, Tim Harford looks back at a basic lesson. Galileo tried to teach us that adding more and more layers to a system intended to avert disaster often makes catastrophe all the ...
03.03.2023 The Scientist and the Swindler Cautionary Conversation: Celebrated physicist Professor Paul Frampton was on his way to Brussels to meet the love of his life, swimwear model Denise Milani. Or so he thought. When he found himself in jail, he realized he’d fallen prey to ...
02.17.2023 The Hero Who Rode His Segway Off a Cliff Steve Jobs called It “the most amazing piece of technology since the PC.” According to Jeff Bezos It was not only “revolutionary,” but infinitely commercial. It was a fiendishly clever and massively hyped invention. But in the end It — ...
02.10.2023 The Mummy's Curse (Classic) A hundred years ago, the Tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun was officially opened - despite the widely held belief that disturbing the remains of the Egyptian pharaohs could incur a deadly curse. Why did a team of archeologists risk inciting ...
02.03.2023 The Final Illusion of the Great Lafayette Golden sparks are raining down on the Great Lafayette’s famous vaudeville show, “The Lion’s Bride”. They look like they’re part of the performance. They aren’t — and soon the theater is ablaze. The manager has to figure out how to ...
01.20.2023 LIVE: The Myth of the Million Dollar Tulip Bulb Recorded before an audience at the Bristol Festival of Economics (11/17/2022) The Dutch went so potty over tulip bulbs in the 1600s that many were ruined when the inflated prices they were paying for the plants collapsed - that's the ...
01.06.2023 DOUBLE BILL: When a Plague Struck World of Warcraft/Blood on the Tracks As a special New Year treat we're presenting two Cautionary Tales Shorts - which have previously only been available to paying Apple and Pushkin+ subscribers. When a Plague Struck World of Warcraft: The makers of WoW wanted to spice up ...
01.03.2023 "Snow Crashing Into The Metaverse" from Imaginary Worlds This week, we’re sharing an episode of Imaginary Worlds. For the last 30 years, the real world has been catching up to Neal Stephenson’s vision of the future in his 1992 novel Snow Crash, which influenced the creators of Google ...
12.09.2022 The Company That Cancelled Christmas More than 100,000 families - many of them amongst the poorest in Britain - put money aside for Christmas gifts and other seasonal treats in a savings club called Farepak. It wasn't a bank, and it wasn't great value for ...
11.25.2022 The Wild Turkeys of Schleswig There are eight American turkeys painted on the walls of Schleswig's Cathedral of St Peter - which is odd... since the frescoes were created two centuries before Columbus even crossed the Atlantic. How did the creatures come to be added ...
11.18.2022 Cautionary Conversation: The Blitz Spirit and the Blackout Ripper In a crisis most people respond with decency and solidarity. The bombing of British cities in the Second World War did not cause society to crumble as was expected, but proved instead human resilience. That defiant "Blitz Spirit" is still ...
11.11.2022 The Inventor Who Almost Ended the World Thomas Midgley's inventions caused his own death, hastened the deaths of millions of people around the world, and very nearly extinguished all life on land. Midgley and his employers didn't set out to poison the air with leaded gasoline or ...
10.28.2022 The Halloween Poisoner Candy laced with cyanide and needles in marshmallows, we've long been warned to be suspicious of the sweet treats handed out by strangers at Halloween. But it seems that most stories of "Halloween sadism" are just that, stories. No child ...
10.21.2022 Cautionary Conversation: The Conspiracy Theorist Who Changed His Mind Charlie Veitch was certain that 9/11 was an inside job. The attack on the World Trade Center wasn't the work of Al-Qaeda, but an elaborate conspiracy. He became a darling of so-called "9/11 truthers" - until he actually visited Ground ...
10.14.2022 Cautionary Tales Presents: Warfare, The Life of Anne Frank This week, it's an episode from Warfare, a podcast from our friends at History Hit. It's 1942. The year Anne Frank and her family went into hiding during the Second World War. It was there that Anne began keeping a ...
10.07.2022 The Online Date That's Too Good to be True Single and looking for love, Dr Robert Epstein found himself chatting with a slim, attractive brunette online. She seemed perfect... perhaps even too good to be true. Dr Epstein is an expert on artificial conversation - so surely he'd be ...
09.23.2022 A Leap of Faith From the Eiffel Tower Inventor Franz Reichelt wants to test his novel "parachute suit" from as tall a structure as possible - and the Eiffel Tower seems ideal. Previous trial runs used a mannequin strapped to the chute and have not ended well. Despite ...
09.09.2022 Cautionary Conversation: Flying on Empty A meter is longer than a yard. An ounce is heavier than a gram. We harmlessly mix them up sometimes, but a "unit conversion error" when you're filling up the fuel tanks of an airliner can be fatal. Which is ...
09.02.2022 Tim Talks Bicycles with Patented Invented in the mid-1800s, bicycles have had enduring popularity. Across cultures, they have been embraced, promising freedom and mobility at a lower price point. Tim joins Dallas Campbell on Patented: History of Inventions, to discuss the history of the bicycle, ...
08.26.2022 "You’re Not Howard Hughes!" By the 1970s Howard Hughes was the "invisible billionaire”. A business tycoon, a daring aviator and Hollywood Lothario, Hughes had an amazing life story... but hiding away in luxury hotels he wasn't sharing his memories with anyone. Then the recluse ...
08.19.2022 "Who would you dine with? Scott or Amundsen?" Malcolm Gladwell and Tim Harford in Discussion. Malcolm Gladwell joins Tim Harford to discuss our recent three-part tale about the race to reach the South Pole. There's talk of imperial decline; the power of the underdog; why getting everything you want is actually a handicap; and limes... ...
08.12.2022 South Pole Race: When the Limeys Get Scurvy Polar exploration is dangerous... but trudging hundreds of miles in subzero temperatures isn't made any easier if you're suffering from scurvy. The deadly vitamin deficiency destroys the body and will of even the strongest and most determined adventurer - and ...
08.05.2022 The Bowery Boys and the Black Tom Explosion Cautionary Tales returns next week, but in the meantime enjoy a story of disaster from The Bowery Boys Podcast. It's July 30th 1916, just after 2am, and a massive explosion rips apart the munitions depot on Black Tom, an island ...
07.29.2022 South Pole Race: “Mummy, is Amundsen a good man?” Roald Amundsen beat Captain Scott to the South Pole. The Norwegian - using dog sleds and skis - made it look easy... fun, even. He was heading home to safety, while the British party - hauling sleds by hand - ...
07.15.2022 South Pole Race: David and Goliath on Ice 1910: Two men are racing to be the first to reach the South Pole. Captain Robert Falcon Scott heads a well-financed, technologically-advanced expedition - aiming to reach the pole in the "proper" and heroic way... on foot. Roald Amundsen's effort ...
07.08.2022 Gladwell on Doctors' Prescriptions, Carbon Copies and the Opioid Crisis. What if a little bit of extra paperwork could saves lives and perhaps end an epidemic? Enjoy a cautionary tale from our friend and fellow Pushkin host, Malcolm Gladwell. The new season of Revisionist History begins with a half-baked idea ...
07.01.2022 Chicago When It Sizzles July 1995: A deadly heatwave gripped Chicago - bridges buckled; the power grids failed; and the morgue ran out of space - but some neighbourhoods saw more deaths than others. Sociologist Eric Klinenberg wanted to know why. So he headed ...
06.24.2022 Cautionary Tales Presents: Hot Money This week, we're sharing an episode from a new podcast brought to you by Pushkin Industries and the Financial Times. The series is hosted by Tim’s colleagues, reporter Patricia Nilsson and editor Alex Barker. In this episode, Patricia and Alex ...
06.17.2022 The French Knight’s Guide to Corporate Culture France 1346: The army of King Philip VI is Europe's pre-eminent killing machine. It's accustomed to crushing any force stupid enough to oppose it, and now fully expects to annihilate a motley band of English invaders in a field near ...
06.10.2022 A Corvair Cautionary Tale from Car Show Cautionary Tales will be back with a new original story next week, but in the meantime, check out one of Pushkin's newest shows, Car Show! With Eddie Alterman. The Chevrolet Corvair was unusual. And it was a Cautionary Tales on ...
06.03.2022 Frankenstein Versus the Volcano When Mount Tambora erupted it spewed ash across the globe; blotting out the sun; poisoning crops; and bringing starvation, illness and death to millions. It may also have helped inspire great scientific and cultural advances - including the horror masterpiece ...
05.20.2022 Bless the Coal-black Hearts of the Broadway Critics When Billy Joel agreed to let dance legend Twyla Tharp turn his songs into a Broadway musical it seemed like a surefire hit. But in previews, Movin’ Out was panned by the critics. It was soon headed for Broadway and ...
05.17.2022 Respect the Polygon from Against the Rules This week, we're sharing an episode of Against the Rules, hosted by perhaps the greatest non-fiction writer on the planet, Michael Lewis. On the show, Michael explores what’s happened to fairness in modern life. He’s looked at referees and at ...
05.13.2022 Monkey for Mayor from This Day in Esoteric Political History What happens when a monkey gets elected mayor? Well, not really a monkey, but a monkey mascot for a town’s football games. Tim Harford joins This Day in Esoteric Political History to discuss a weird moment from UK history in ...
05.06.2022 When the Autopilot Switched Off An airline captain thought he was giving his children a harmless thrill by letting them "fly" his packed airplane - the young cockpit visitors weren't really in control... the autopilot was doing the real flying. Until it wasn't. Do safety ...
04.29.2022 Cautionary Tales Presents: World's Greatest Con We'll be back with another story of human error next week, but today we're sharing another podcast you might like. On World's Greatest Con, Brian Brushwood talks about the most audacious con jobs, swindles, and heists in history. In this ...
04.22.2022 Photographing Fairies Sherlock Holmes is known for approaching all mysteries with cool logic - and yet when his creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle saw photographs taken by two young girls purporting to show real life fairies at play... he unwisely declared them ...
04.15.2022 Tim Joins ‘No Such Thing As A Fish' ‘No Such Thing as a Fish’ is one of Tim Harford’s favorite podcasts and he was recently invited on as a guest. So here’s a chance to listen to the host of Cautionary Tales chat vital vitamins, stinging schemes, and ...
04.08.2022 The False Dawn of the Electric Car Sir Clive Sinclair was a computer whizz and business mogul to rival Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. He was a visionary who could do no wrong... until he tried to launch an electric vehicle. The C5 “electrically assisted pedal cycle" ...
03.25.2022 The Balloons That Ate Cleveland (A Cautionary Tales Short) When Disneyland released one million helium balloons to set a new world record, Cleveland, Ohio looked on in envy. Could it top the Magic Kingdom? What did citizens hope to gain from getting into the record books... and at what ...
03.25.2022 Death on the Dance Floor With its splendid modern architecture, the Hyatt Regency was the place to be seen in Kansas City in 1981. Beneath space-age walkways, guests drank, laughed and danced... not realizing that the 60 tons of of glass, concrete and steel hanging ...
03.17.2022 The Future of Drones from What’s Your Problem While we're getting ready to premiere our new season next week, check out Pushkin's newest show, What's Your Problem? In this preview, Tim talks to former Planet Money host Jacob Goldstein about the entrepreneurs interviewed on the show, the future ...
03.11.2022 Cautionary Tales Returns Every Other Friday from March 25th The greatest mistakes, disasters and fiascos of the past aren't just gripping stories... they're also warnings from which we all can learn. Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford returns EVERY OTHER FRIDAY FROM MARCH 25th to chronicle the defeats of mighty ...
01.19.2022 Cautionary Tales Presents: Endless Thread While we're working away on new episodes for Season 3, check out Endless Thread, a podcast from WBUR. Endless Thread reveals untold histories, unsolved mysteries, and other wild stories from the internet. They recently did a whole series on internet ...
12.01.2021 Lost Hills Season 2: Dead in the Water This week, we're sharing a special preview of the new season of Pushkin's show Lost Hills: Dead in the Water. Lost Hills investigates the dark side of Malibu, California. Beneath a seductive facade, this city of billionaires, celebrities, and surf ...
11.19.2021 Cautionary Tales Presents Miracle And Wonder: Conversations With Paul Simon Presenting: An Excerpt from Miracle And Wonder: Conversations With Paul Simon by Malcolm Gladwell and Bruce Headlam. Download the audiobook today at miracleaudiobook.com and receive an exclusive listener's guide pdf featuring additional commentary from Bruce, the producers and editors of ...
10.29.2021 The Mummy’s Curse Disturbing the remains of the Egyptian pharaohs is known to incur a deadly curse, so why did a team of archeologists still risk inciting the wrath of King Tutankhamun by entering his burial chamber? And how many of them met ...
10.22.2021 The Truth About Hansel and Gretel Was the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel - the story of a woodcutter’s children abandoned in the woods and left at the mercy of a witch - in fact, early true crime? A hit book - The Truth About ...
08.23.2021 A Cautionary Tale of Kubrick and the Pain of Rejection Being shunned by a lover, a school or an employer hurts - but we're only just beginning to understand how real this pain is and how we can administer a bit of emotional first aid to stop the hurt. Dr. ...

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