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Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford
by Pushkin Industries
Today: #61 in History on our combined chart.
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| Date | Pocket Casts |
|---|---|
| Oct 1 | #50 |
About the show
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.
Latest episodes
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When Muhammad Ali Met Henry’s Hammer
September 25, 2026 · 41 minBefore he became Muhammad Ali, Cassius Clay was known as the "Louisville Loud-mouth", as famous for his sharp taunts and poetic put-downs as he was for his skills in the ring. In 1963, Clay arrived in England to take down beloved British…
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How a Broken Arm Improved my French - with David Epstein
September 18, 2026 · 43 minLast week, Cautionary Tales described the rise and fall of General Magic, the startup with too much money and too few constraints. Was General Magic really doomed from the start, and what does its fate tell us about AI, drug discovery and…
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Talent, Time and Money: The Curse of General Magic
September 11, 2026 · 39 minIt's 1990. A new company called General Magic is going to build its vision of the future: the smart phone. They have talent, almost unlimited cash, and a 15 year head start on the iPhone. What could go wrong? This episode was based, with…
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Evel Knievel Faces the Abyss
September 4, 2026 · 40 minEvel Knievel, the world-famous daredevil, is planning his greatest ever stunt. In 1974, he wants to leap over Snake River Canyon in Idaho. The chasm is almost a third of a mile wide, much bigger than any jump he's done before. To make it…
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Dumm und Dümmer: Hitler Invades Florida
August 28, 2026 · 39 minIn 1942, eight men are sent from Nazi Germany to infiltrate America. Their mission: to sabotage critical infrastructure. Their problem: they're idiots. Operation Pastorius soon devolves into one of the most baffling failures of World War…
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The DeLorean Saga: Fraud, Drugs and Marty McFly's Car - with Business History
August 21, 2026 · 49 minThis is a special crossover episode with Business History. John DeLorean was a visionary who wanted to create a futuristic new sports car - a stainless steel marvel with distinctive gull-wing doors. The British Government agreed to…
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Proceed with Caution - Pascal's Guide to Podcasts
August 14, 2026 · 26 minHow does a story on Cautionary Tales come to life? In this episode of our subscriber-exclusive series, Proceed with Caution, sound designer Pascal Wyse shows Tim how the audio magic happens. He explains how he picks the music in an…
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The Weight of Fame: A Hollywood Tragedy
August 7, 2026 · 42 minTalented and beautiful, Molly O'Day is a rising star in 1920s Hollywood. But when Molly's teenage body starts to change and she can no longer fit into the dress she wore when she was 16, the studio wants nothing to do with her. As the…