Podurama logo

 Podurama

 

Home

 

Trending

 

Personal

 

Your Podcasts

 

New Episodes

 

My Files

 

Favourite Episodes

 

Tags (Folders)

 

Recently Played

 

Bookmarks

 

Followed Playlists

YOUR PLAYLISTS

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford podcast

…

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

…

·

  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 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 Friday.

 

All

Progress

Duration

Release Date

#185

The Treasure Hunt that Broke America (Part 2)

Forrest Fenn’s legendary treasure hunt ignites a nationwide obsession. The thrill of... more

14 Nov 2025

40 MINS

40:42

14 Nov 2025

#184

The Treasure Hunt that Broke America (Part 1)

Forrest Fenn never does things the regular way. Despite no formal training and little know... more

07 Nov 2025

38 MINS

38:58

07 Nov 2025

#183

The Truth About Hansel and Gretel (Classic)

Was the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel - the story of a woodcutter’s children aband... more

31 Oct 2025

36 MINS

36:48

31 Oct 2025

#182

On Fire from the Inside - Lethal Injection Up Close with Malcolm Gladwell

Last week, Cautionary Tales told the tragic story of Derek Bentley, exploring Britain's tr... more

28 Oct 2025

27 MINS

27:04

28 Oct 2025

#181

Derek Bentley Must Hang

An amateurish burglary in 1950s London ends in murder. One of the men involved is a 19-yea... more

24 Oct 2025

38 MINS

38:32

24 Oct 2025

#180

The Canal, the Crash and the Ketamine - Pushkin's Reign of Error

In 1983, a plane takes off from Ottawa with less than half the required fuel on board. As ... more

17 Oct 2025

44 MINS

44:25

17 Oct 2025

#179

Schrödinger's Spy: Businessman, Fraud, or Russian Agent? - with Sam Jones

When the Financial Times uncovered the billion-dollar Wirecard fraud, it seemed like the s... more

10 Oct 2025

1 HR 01 MINS

1:01:30

10 Oct 2025

#178

Missing Fish and Fatal Feasts: Ritual and Ruin at the Sun King’s Table

In the gilded court of Louis XIV, 17th Century France, manners are everything. Where to si... more

03 Oct 2025

42 MINS

42:46

03 Oct 2025

#177

Don't Panic! Douglas Adams' Guide to Tomorrow - with Arvind Ethan David

Writer Douglas Adams, best known for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, used science fi... more

26 Sep 2025

37 MINS

37:54

26 Sep 2025

#176

A Deadly Day at the Races: What Radical Protest Can and Cannot Do

After years of campaigning for votes for women, the Suffragettes emerge at the turn of the... more

19 Sep 2025

41 MINS

41:17

19 Sep 2025

#175

True Lies and Genuine Fakes

In 1998, an art gallery gets a mysterious phone call. The caller claims they have been foo... more

12 Sep 2025

41 MINS

41:06

12 Sep 2025

#174

Stalling for Survival - A Lonely Fight Against a Deadly Medicine

In 1960, FDA scientist Frances Oldham Kelsey is tasked with approving an application for a... more

05 Sep 2025

38 MINS

38:40

05 Sep 2025

#173

Announcing: The Cautionary Club

Do you want more Cautionary Tales episodes in your life? Do you want access to behind the ... more

02 Sep 2025

02 MINS

02:16

02 Sep 2025

#172

Disaster Favours the Daring: Shipwreck at Honda Point

In 1923, legendary navigator Captain Dolly Hunter led a squadron of warships into America&... more

29 Aug 2025

39 MINS

39:57

29 Aug 2025

#171

Paradise Poisoned: How Utopias Fall Apart

Dore Strauch and Friedrich Ritter make an unconventional couple, united by their contempt ... more

22 Aug 2025

41 MINS

41:00

22 Aug 2025

#170

"Genius Still Unrecognised" - The Worst Poet in the World

William McGonagall's poems are something else. The jarring meter, the banal imagery, the a... more

15 Aug 2025

40 MINS

40:03

15 Aug 2025

#169

Office Hell: The Demise of the Playful Workspace (Classic)

In the early 90s, cutting-edge advertising agency Chiat/Day announced a radical plan, aime... more

08 Aug 2025

38 MINS

38:40

08 Aug 2025

#168

Number Fever: How Pepsi Nearly Went Pop (Classic)

Pepsi twice ended up in court after promotions went disastrously wrong. Other big companie... more

01 Aug 2025

35 MINS

35:30

01 Aug 2025

#167

Fire at The Beverly Hills Supper Club (Update)

It's been five years since Cautionary Tales ran a mini-series about the Covid-19 pandemic,... more

25 Jul 2025

32 MINS

32:20

25 Jul 2025

#166

"Captain Kirk Forgot to put the Machine on Stun"

Lying on the cold metal table, Voyne Ray Cox knew the drill. This was his ninth round of c... more

18 Jul 2025

40 MINS

40:28

18 Jul 2025

#165

"I get in trouble when I say things like this" - Michael Lewis on Sam Bankman-Fried

Acclaimed author Michael Lewis discusses his time with Sam Bankman-Fried and why he thinks... more

11 Jul 2025

45 MINS

45:57

11 Jul 2025

#164

Grand Theft Automated: How to Save a Trillion Lives

A radical thought experiment transforms the lives of a new breed of philanthropists, as th... more

04 Jul 2025

38 MINS

38:48

04 Jul 2025

#163

The Man who Solved Kindness

George Price is on a mission to prove that human kindness is real. He's seen the latest re... more

27 Jun 2025

37 MINS

37:42

27 Jun 2025

#162

The Shark That Ate Hollywood: Jaws at 50

Steven Spielberg thought his career was finished. He was behind schedule, his actors were ... more

20 Jun 2025

38 MINS

38:40

20 Jun 2025

#161

Le Mans 55: The Deadliest Race

The annual Le Mans 24 Hour race brings in hundreds of thousands of spectators to watch the... more

13 Jun 2025

39 MINS

39:35

13 Jun 2025