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 d...
28 Jul 202326min
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 th...
21 Jul 202342min
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 La...
14 Jul 202336min
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, Leand...
7 Jul 202335min
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 cl...
23 Jun 202338min
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: Mi...
15 Jun 202342min
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”...
9 Jun 202337min
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 se...
26 Mai 202337min
