Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

By: Pushkin Industries
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  • Summary

  • 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.
    2025 iHeartMedia, Inc. © Any use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from iHeartMedia
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Social Sciences World
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Episodes
  • Dr. Brinkley's Miracle Cure For Impotence (with Betwixt The Sheets)

    Dr. Brinkley's Miracle Cure For Impotence (with Betwixt The Sheets)
    Feb 7 2025

    Cautionary Conversation: In the 1920s, a conman convinced America that goat testicles were the secret to male virility. Tim Harford and Dr Kate Lister (Betwixt the Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society) dive into the bizarre and grisly tale of "Doctor" John Brinkley. This snake oil salesman mobilised the power of radio marketing to build an empire on goat gland transplants and other quack "cures". And Brinkley might have got away with it, were it not for his nemesis: the tenacious Dr. Morris Fishbein.

    Find Betwixt the Sheets here: https://podfollow.com/betwixt-the-sheets-the-history-of-sex-scandal-society

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

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    38 mins
  • The Night of the Mugger

    The Night of the Mugger
    Jan 31 2025

    Winston Trew has just been arrested for mugging. It's 1972 and the crime has recently made its way to Britain from the United States. Dangerous thugs, replicating their American counterparts, have made the city of London their hunting ground - so Winston's eventual conviction is a win for the police, and for the press.

    The problem is, 22-year-old Winston is completely innocent.

    Do you have a question for Tim Harford and Rachel Botsman about trust? Please send it in to tales@pushkin.fm.

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

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    42 mins
  • Missing on "Dead Mountain": A Cold War Cold Case

    Missing on "Dead Mountain": A Cold War Cold Case
    Jan 24 2025

    In the bleak Russian winter of 1959, nine experienced hikers led by Igor Dyatlov set out on an expedition. None of them made it back alive.

    When their campsite was finally discovered, it told a chilling story: their tent was slashed open, bodies scattered across the snow. The hikers' injuries were as baffling as they were gruesome. One had had his head stoved in. Bits of bone had been driven into his brain. Others were missing their eyes and their tongues.

    Had the hikers angered the local Mansi tribespeople? Had they witnessed a secret military experiment? Or had something even more strange and sinister unfolded on Dead Mountain?

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

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    46 mins

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What listeners say about Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

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Highly Recommended

A data driven look at lessons learned from both notorious and lesser known disasters. A very different way of looking at systems.

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Beyond amazing!!

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.

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very good podcast.

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

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Thank you

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

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A fantastic podcast

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!

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One Of The Great Podcasts

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

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Very interesting

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








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