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Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

By: Pushkin Industries
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About this listen

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.

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Episodes
  • The Shark That Ate Hollywood: Jaws at 50

    The Shark That Ate Hollywood: Jaws at 50
    Jun 20 2025

    Steven Spielberg thought his career was finished. He was behind schedule, his actors were fighting, the crew were mutinous and worst of all, his shark was broken. It looked like Jaws was destined for failure, but the movie that came out defined the Hollywood blockbuster. In this special episode celebrating 50 years of Jaws, we take lessons from the greatest monster movie that almost wasn't made.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    39 mins
  • Le Mans 55: The Deadliest Race

    Le Mans 55: The Deadliest Race
    Jun 13 2025

    The annual Le Mans 24 Hour race brings in hundreds of thousands of spectators to watch the giants of motor racing put their endurance to the ultimate test. Every year, technology improves and the cars get a little faster. In 1955, that push for ultimate speed results in a catastrophe that changes the sport forever.

    For a full list of sources, see the show notes at timharford.com.

    Get ad-free episodes, plus an exclusive monthly bonus episode, to Cautionary Tales by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks exclusive binges, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows.

    Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin
    Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    40 mins
  • The Nazis, the Bomb, and the Woman that Science Forgot

    The Nazis, the Bomb, and the Woman that Science Forgot
    Jun 6 2025

    Lise Meitner has fought for her entire life to be seen as a scientist, slowly building a career as a nuclear physicist in Berlin. When Adolf Hitler rises to power, the small gains she's made are snatched away. As a Jewish woman, Lise has a critical decision to make: is her passion for science worth her life?

    An earlier version of this podcast mistakenly gave the wrong date for the bombing of Hiroshima. We apologize for the error.

    For a full list of sources, see the show notes at timharford.com.

    Get ad-free episodes, plus an exclusive monthly bonus episode, to Cautionary Tales by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks exclusive binges, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows.

    Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin
    Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
    Show more Show less
    41 mins
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A data driven look at lessons learned from both notorious and lesser known disasters. A very different way of looking at systems.

Highly Recommended

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thank you so much for such an interesting podcast. everything is so well done, the topics, the quality of the delivery of the ideas is completely awesome, thank you so much.

Beyond amazing!!

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as always the podcast does not disappoint I also like the theme music for the podcast

very good podcast.

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Thank you for this whole podcast. I listen in the car and when I go to bed. I love this. The way you tell a story is so good. Thank you! Can you do one about a story from Maine maybe? Thank you again!!
-Alexis From Maine

Thank you

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This is one of my favorite podcasts (and I listen to many). Every episode is incredibly well researched and totally fascinating. I highly recommend it!

A fantastic podcast

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Is always interesting, and informative. little to no filler while being pleasant to listen to.

One Of The Great Podcasts

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I liked that it was short stories and topics I wouldn’t normally consider. Quite interesting and educational for me.

Very interesting

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