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.
26
Martin Luther King Jr, the Jewelry Genius, and ...
Why some speeches make us dream of a better world... while others become the stuff of nightmares.
35 min
27
Bonus: Why We Believe What Isn't True (with Axi...
We're no stranger to stories about misinformation or deliberate disinformation.
13 min
28
The Data Detective
Hear Tim Harford's "golden rule" for understanding statistics in this extract from his new book.
33 min
29
BONUS: Storks, Smoking and the Power of Doubt
We are often encouraged to doubt statistics. Shame. They can save our lives.
10 min
30
How To End A Pandemic
Even with a vaccine it took nearly 200 years to eradicate smallpox - so what can this long battle teach us today?
24 min
31
That Turn To Pascagoula
When a deadly storm turns away at the last minute... should we sign with relief or prepare like crazy for the next one?
24 min
32
The Village of Heroes
In 1665, the people of Eyam went into lockdown to halt the spread of the plague. Have we failed to follow their example?
21 min
33
The Spreadsheet of Life and Death
How much would the government pay to save your life? Well... it depends.
23 min
34
A Tsunami of Misery
Saving people from an urgent threat can cause their lives to be blighted in profound, yet hidden ways.
20 min
35
Fire at The Beverly Hills Supper Club
Why did audience members fail to flee a deadly fire... despite being told to escape?
20 min
36
Cautionary Tales Presents: TED Talk Daily
In this special episode of Cautionary Tales, we feature Tim Harford's TED Talk Daily from 2018.
18 min
37
You Have Reached Your Destination
If you rely on fortune tellers, GPS or clever forecasting algorithms to guide you through live... you may end up in a bad place.
32 min
38
Bowie, Jazz and the Unplayable Piano
Sometimes we do our best work not when things are going well, but when a wrench has been thrown in the works.
30 min
39
How Britain Invented, Then Ignored, Blitzkrieg
Why big and successful organisations can't always see a brilliant idea that's staring them in the face.
36 min
40
Buried by the Wall Street Crash
A tale of two men who faced ruin because they thought they could predict the financial future... and how one bounced back.
35 min
41
The Deadly Airship Race
Competition can makes things better, but when two airships were pitted against one another the result was disaster.
37 min
42
La La Land: Galileo's Warning
Giving an Oscar to the wrong film proved that some safety systems make mistakes even more likely.
30 min
43
The Rogue Dressed as a Captain
Humans aren't as blindly obedient as we are made out to be... but we still fall too easily for convincing fraudsters.
33 min
44
DANGER: Rocks Ahead!
Why did an oil tanker captain steer his beloved ship towards a reef? It's a mistake many of us make.
35 min
45
Introducing: Cautionary Tales
Coming November 15 from Tim Harford and Pushkin Industries, Cautionary Tales relates a true story of a time when something did not go according to plan.
2 min