Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

We tell our children unsettling fairy tales to teach them valuable life 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.

iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries. 

History
Society & Culture
1
Cautionary Tales Presents: The Worlds Greatest Con
Introducing you to the The World's Greatest Con Podcast with Cautionary Tales host Tim Hartford
72 min
2
Photographing Fairies
How did two young girls convinced the venerated creator of Sherlock Holmes that they'd encountered real life fairies and gnomes.
36 min
3
Tim Joins ‘No Such Thing As A Fish’
Hear Tim’s recent guest appearance on the hit show ‘No Such Thing As A Fish’.
57 min
4
The False Dawn of the Electric Car
It was a revolutionary design by a visionary technologist... but 1985 just wasn't ready for the Sinclair C5.
36 min
5
The Balloons That Ate Cleveland (A Cautionary T...
The proud people of Cleveland wanted to set a world record... but why and at what cost?
18 min
6
Death on the Dance Floor
How one tiny error brought 60 tons of glass, concrete and steel crashing down on a packed hotel lobby.
36 min
7
The Future of Drones from What’s Your Problem
As we're getting ready for our new season, coming next week, we're sharing an episode from Pushkin's newest show, What's Your Problem?
28 min
8
Cautionary Tales Returns Every Other Friday fro...
Cautionary Tales Brings You New Episodes Every Other Friday from March 25th
2 min
9
Cautionary Tales Presents: The New Bazaar
Introducing you to the New Bazaar Podcast with Cautionary Tales host Tim Hartford
55 min
10
The Mummy’s Curse
Did poison, radiation or a deadly fungus kill those who entered the pharaoh's tomb? Or was it a curse?
36 min
11
The Truth About Hansel and Gretel
Is the famous fairy tale actually a true crime story?
36 min
12
The Ripper Retold: A Cautionary Tale
Tim discusses new research on the Jack the Ripper murders with historian Hallie Rubenhold.
55 min
13
Do NOT Pass GO!
The woman who was key to the creation of Monopoly was denied of her share of the credit and the profits.
34 min
14
Wrong Tools Cost Lives
Microsoft Excel is great for business accounts... but maybe don't use it to track a deadly disease.
33 min
15
Fritterin’ Away Genius
Was a brilliant computer scientist foolish to spend his time and talents on juggling and playing roulette?
36 min
16
The Fan Who Infected a Movie Star
A moment of selfishness by a sick fan wrecked the lives of a Hollywood star and her family.
31 min
17
Whistleblower on the 28th Floor
Blowing the whistle on wrongdoing risks your job, your friends and even your life. So why do it?
31 min
18
Masterly Inactivity Versus Micromanaging
Why parents, politicians and doctors would be wiser to sometimes do nothing.
31 min
19
Demonizing Dungeons & Dragons
How the hunt for a missing teen saw a role-playing game denounced as a demonic and deadly pursuit.
36 min
20
Number Fever: How Pepsi Nearly Went Pop
Why some botched competitions ruin businesses, while others short-change consumers.
34 min
21
The Curse of Knowledge Meets The Valley of Death
How assuming others understand exactly what we are thinking gets people killed.
33 min
22
The Dunning Kruger Hijack (and Other Criminally...
The height of stupidity is being too stupid to know you are stupid... and it's more common than you think.
33 min
23
Catching a Killer Doctor
A doctor who killed hundreds of patients left us clues... but why couldn't we see them?
33 min
24
The Art Forger, the Nazi, and "The Pope"
Being clever doesn't protect us from scams... sometimes knowledge makes us fall for intricate deceptions..
35 min
25
Florence Nightingale and Her Geeks Declare War ...
How the famed nurse battled to save lives... using statistics, graphs and colored pens.
35 min