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Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford podcast

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Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

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  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 other Friday.

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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#94

Cautionary Tales Presents: Getting out of Dodge from Revisionist History

The longest running television series of the 20th century was Gunsmoke, a western set in the notorious Dodge City, Kansas. Malcolm sweeps away mountains of legal scholarship to make a bold claim: The simplest explanation for the Supreme’s Court’s puzzling run of gun rights decisions may be that the justices watched too much Gunsmoke when they were growing up. Enjoy this episode from [Revisionist History] (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/revisionist-history/id1119389968) , another Pushkin Industries podcast. See [omnystudio.com/listener] (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information. ... Read more

19 Sep 2023

44 MINS

44:39

19 Sep 2023

#93

A Chorus of Contempt at The Sydney Opera House

1957. Jørn Utzon receives a phone call: he's just won an international competition to design a brand new opera house for the Australian city of Sydney. Utzon is unknown in the field, so this is a triumph. The young architect couldn’t have imagined what a bitter victory it would turn out to be... The Guggenheim in Bilbao; the Burj Khalifa in Dubai; the Shard in London. These days, everyone seems to want an iconic building. But Sydney Opera House was the first, the greatest – and the most painful. It's now fifty years since the Opera House was opened. This is its origin story. For a full list of sources, please see the show notes at [timharford.com] (http://timharford.com/) .  See [omnystudio.com/listener] (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information. ... Read more

15 Sep 2023

39 MINS

39:57

15 Sep 2023

#92

The City That Sold Itself To Wall Street

Cautionary Book Club: When Morgan Stanley offered to lease Chicago's parking meters for the princely sum of $1 billion, the City Council were convinced that they had struck gold. They hastily signed the deal. But they soon learnt that they hadn't just traded away parking revenue - they had traded away the streets themselves... In this hybrid episode of Cautionary Tales, Tim Harford first tells the story of the Chicago parking metres fiasco of 2008. In the second half, Tim is joined by Henry Grabar, author of Paved Paradise, to discuss the lessons we can glean from Chicago's deal with Wall Street, and why parking is such an emotive issue for so many. See [omnystudio.com/listener] (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information. ... Read more

01 Sep 2023

38 MINS

38:28

01 Sep 2023

#91

General Ludd's Rage Against the Machines

1812. A band of "Luddites" is laying siege to a textile mill in the North of England, under cover of night. They plan to destroy the machines that are replacing their jobs. But mill owner William Cartwright is prepared: he's fortified his factory with skilled marksmen, fearsome eighteen-inch metal spikes and barrels of sulphuric acid. Today "Luddite" is a term of mockery — a description for someone who's scared of technology. But in 1812, Luddism was no laughing matter for the likes of Cartwright. And he plans to teach the intruders a lesson. For a full list of sources for this episode, please visit  [timharford.com] (http://timharford.com/) . See [omnystudio.com/listener] (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information. ... Read more

18 Aug 2023

36 MINS

36:20

18 Aug 2023

#90

Andy Warhol's Factory of Truth

Cautionary Conversation: Andy Warhol’s assistant, Gerard Malanga, is facing a long prison sentence in Italy. He’s forged several Che Guevara portraits and tried to pass them off as genuine Warhols. What happens next is a landmark event in the history of art and authenticity… Tim Harford is joined by Alice Sherwood, author of Authenticity, to discuss truth and fakery in modern times. Today, authenticity seems to matter more than ever — and yet we’re also constantly assailed by people and products that are not what they seem. What’s going on here? And what’s the attention economy got to do with it? See [omnystudio.com/listener] (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information. ... Read more

11 Aug 2023

36 MINS

36:48

11 Aug 2023

#89

Poles Apart: How A Journalist Divided A City

Heroic explorer Frederick Cook has just returned from the very roof of the world, the first man to reach the North Pole. Or so he says. Journalist Philip Gibbs has been watching him, and he’s convinced he’s lying. When Gibbs publishes that belief, he stands alone. Cook has a gripping manner and an excellent reputation: his winning tale must be true. Diners boo Gibbs at a restaurant, newspapers publish sly-looking caricatures of him, and he even receives threats of violence. But then, everything changes. We often think of polarisation as a modern problem — but the story of Cook and Gibbs has much to teach us here. For a full list of sources for this episode, please visit  [timharford.com] (https://timharford.com/etc/more-or-less/) . See [omnystudio.com/listener] (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information. ... Read more

04 Aug 2023

37 MINS

37:10

04 Aug 2023

#88

The Father of Space Travel

Cautionary Conversation: Did a Nazi put America on the moon? To celebrate the launch of his mini-series on the V-2 rocket, Tim Harford sits down with Pushkin’s resident V-2 expert, Ryan Dilley. They discuss the so-called “Father of Space Travel”, Wernher von Braun, and satirist Tom Lehrer’s musical lampooning of him. A three-part mini series on the V-2 rocket is available now for [Pushkin+] (https://www.pushkin.fm/join-pushkin) subscribers. We’ll be back again on August 4th with a brand new episode of Cautionary Tales on the main feed. See [omnystudio.com/listener] (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information. ... Read more

28 Jul 2023

26 MINS

26:49

28 Jul 2023

#87

A Fascination with Failure: Death On The Dancefloor (Classic)

Henry Petroski is one of Tim Harford's favourite fellow nerds. His study of engineering failures has profoundly influenced Tim's own writing, including the classic Cautionary Tales episode Death on the Dance Floor. Petroski passed away in June 2023, at the age of 81. This week, in honour of the late great engineer, Tim looks back at the catastrophic Kansas City Hyatt Regency disaster of 1981. The hotel's space-age sky walks -- 60 tonnes of glass, concrete and steel -- crashed down onto the heads of revellers in the atrium below. 114 people died. What was to blame? For a full list of sources for this episode, please visit [timharford.com] (https://timharford.com/etc/more-or-less/) . See [omnystudio.com/listener] (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information. ... Read more

21 Jul 2023

42 MINS

42:27

21 Jul 2023

#86

When Parakeets Plundered New York

Cautionary Conversation: An invasive parakeet species began spreading in New York City - and the government decided to kill every last bird. Tim Harford is joined by Ben Naddaff-Hafrey, host of [The Last Archive] (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-last-archive/id1506207997) , to talk about the great parakeet panic of the 1970s and a history of anxieties about population growth. See [omnystudio.com/listener] (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information. ... Read more

14 Jul 2023

36 MINS

36:12

14 Jul 2023

#85

The Coup, the Poet and the Secret to Winning Wimbledon

“If you can make one heap of all your winnings and risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss..." Those words - from Rudyard Kipling's poem "If" - were based on charismatic nineteenth century doctor, Leander Starr Jameson. In Britain, Jameson was worshipped as a plucky hero: a bastion of courage and mental fortitude. Ironically, he was also responsible for the Jameson Raid, a South African coup that was an unmitigated disaster. Kipling's champion might have spearheaded a fiasco - but could the poem "If" hold clues for triumph in another arena? See [omnystudio.com/listener] (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information. ... Read more

07 Jul 2023

35 MINS

35:58

07 Jul 2023

#84

The Man Who Played With Hurricanes

Today, the idea of controlling the weather is controversial. Scientists who research geoengineering have even received death threats. But once upon a time, people were optimistic about remaking the climate in entire regions of the world. They approached this science with a touching faith in the power of human creativity. Absent-minded genius Irving Langmuir was one such scientist. He dreamt of making deserts bloom and conjuring rain from an arid sky. He even believed that his experiments with a hurricane had succeeded in redirecting its path. Why did we stop trying to control the weather? And might geoengineering help us solve climate change - or have we missed our chance? For a full list of sources, please visit  [timharford.com] (https://timharford.com/articles/cautionarytales/) . See [omnystudio.com/listener] (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information. ... Read more

23 Jun 2023

38 MINS

38:02

23 Jun 2023

#83

Cautionary Tales Presents: Lost Hills - The Dark Prince

Today, we're sharing an episode of the gripping Pushkin series Lost Hills: The Dark Prince. The brand-new season takes a deep dive into the surf world to explore the legacy of Malibu's Dark Prince: Miki Dora. A surfer known for his style, grace and aggression, he ruled Malibu from the 1950s to the 1970s. Celebrated for his rebellious spirit, he was also a conman who led the FBI on a 7-year manhunt around the world. Episodes 1 and 2 are out now: [https://apple.co/losthills] (https://apple.co/losthills) . And of course, if you'd like to binge all of the season 3 episodes early and ad free, make sure you subscribe to Pushkin+. See [omnystudio.com/listener] (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information. ... Read more

15 Jun 2023

42 MINS

42:32

15 Jun 2023

#82

Sonic Poison? The Genesis of Havana Syndrome

CIA agents in Havana complaining of mental fog, dizziness and ear pain in 2016. Children in Miami in 1974, hyperventilating and wracked with abdominal pain. A medieval outbreak of the “dancing plague”. A chorus of meowing nuns. These mysterious and seemingly disparate events may have a simple explanation — and one that’s often overlooked when it comes to understanding strange new syndromes. For a full list of sources used in this episode visit [Tim Harford.com] (https://timharford.com/) . See [omnystudio.com/listener] (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information. ... Read more

09 Jun 2023

37 MINS

37:04

09 Jun 2023

#81

Airships, AI and Alan Cumming: Tim Answers Your Questions

Why does economics get a bad rap? How did a small Hungarian airline wreak havoc in the 2000s? What cautionary tales can we glean from Tim’s own life? And what’s his favourite role-playing game? You sent in your questions and now - with the help of podcasting maestro Jacob Goldstein (What’s Your Problem?) - Tim is answering them. Do you have a question for Tim? Please email any queries you might have, however big or small, to  [tales@pushkin.fm] (mailto:tales@pushkin.fm) . See [omnystudio.com/listener] (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information. ... Read more

26 May 2023

37 MINS

37:06

26 May 2023