Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

Tim Harford interviews David Epstein, author of *Range* and *Inside the Box*, to explore how constraints drive creativity and innovation.

Tim Harford explores the rise and fall of General Magic, a 1990s tech consortium that envisioned the smartphone a decade before the iPhone.

Tim Harford examines Evel Knievel’s reliance on "positive mental attitude" over rigorous preparation, tracing his career from insurance salesman to daredevil.

Tim Harford recounts Operation Pastorius, a failed 1942 Nazi sabotage mission where eight incompetent agents landed in the US.

Tim Harford joins Jacob Goldstein and Robert Smith of Business History to discuss the DeLorean Motor Company’s dramatic rise and fall.

Tim Harford interviews sound designer Pascal Wise, who reveals the behind-the-scenes process of creating audio for Cautionary Tales.

Tim Harford explores the dangers of rigid beauty standards through two cautionary tales.

Tim Harford interviews historian Maddie Pelling about her book on 18th-century hoaxes, focusing on Mary Bateman, a Leeds witchfinder who murdered clients with arsenic.

Tim Harford recounts the 1987 capsizing of the Herald of Free Enterprise, caused by an assistant bosun who fell asleep with the ferry doors open.

Tim Harford recounts the 1957 Windscale nuclear fire, where worker Tom Toohey bravely extinguished a reactor blaze amidst urgent Cold War pressures.

Tim Harford explores the legacy of radio host Gene Shepard, who pranked listeners by inventing a fake book to expose societal conformity.

Tim Harford interviews Sarah O’Connor about her book *We Are Not Machines*, exploring how AI and automation are reshaping work.

Tim Harford recounts the 1919 Boston molasses disaster, where a poorly constructed tank burst, killing 21 people.

Tim Harford recounts the 1907 theft of the Irish Crown Jewels from Dublin Castle, focusing on the negligence of custodian Sir Arthur Vickers and the…

Tim Harford recounts the bizarre true story of John Darwin, who faked his death in a canoe to claim insurance money and lived in hiding for five years.