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Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford Episodes

  1.

    Grand Theft Automated: How to Save a Trillion Lives

    Sam Bankman-Fried is either a humanitarian hero or a con artist at an astonishing scale.

  2. Glowing Peril: The Magical Glitter That Poisoned a City

    No-one saw this horrifying radiation accident coming. Should they have?

  3. Give Politicians a Raise, Smuggle Smartphones into School, and go Full Donk! Cautionary Questions with Risky Business

    Can game theory be used to win a world cup? Can you pay the way out of corruption?

  4. Frozen in a Burning 747 (Tenerife Air Disaster 2)

    Two airplanes have just collided on the runway at Tenerife Airport.

  5. Fritterin’ Away Genius

    Are restlessness and "fritterin'" important parts of a rich and creative life?

  6. Frankenstein Versus the Volcano

    What are the limits of our ability to weather even the worst circumstances?

  7. Flying Too High: AI and Air France Flight 447

    Panic has erupted in the cockpit of Air France Flight 447...

  8. Florence Nightingale and Her Geeks Declare War on Death

    How the famed nurse battled to save lives...using statistics, graphs and colored pens.

  9. Flixborough: The Factory that was Wiped off the Map

    The people of Flixborough unknowingly drift towards disaster...

  10. Flight of the Fantasist: The Race Around the World - Part 2

    Donald Crowhurst is a brilliant inventor with a failing business...

  11. Fire at The Beverly Hills Supper Club (Update)

    Tim recflects on the pandemic.

  12. Finding Grace in a Burger Bun: An Incrediburgible Quest

    This is the story of two very different approaches to making hamburgers... and money.

  13. Explosives or Sugar? The Deadly Art of Distraction in Putin’s Russia - with Helena Merriman

    In 1999, a series of bombs explode, killing hundreds and spreading panic...

  14. Evel Knievel Faces the Abyss

    Evel Knievel, the world-famous daredevil, wants to leap over Snake River Canyon.

  15. Embracing the Escape Fire (with Adam Grant)

    When the consequences of letting our ideas become part of our identity.

  16. Dumm und Dümmer: Hitler Invades Florida

    In 1942, eight men are sent from Nazi Germany to infiltrate America.

  17. Dr. Brinkley's Miracle Cure For Impotence (with Betwixt The Sheets)

    Tim Harford and Dr Kate Lister dive into the bizarre and grisly tale of Dr John Brinkley.

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

    Tim talks with Arvind Ethan David on Douglas Adams, the future, and a sentient puddle.

  19. Do Nothing, Then Do Less

    Sometimes doing less is the better option, as Chuck Yeager learned the hard way.

  20. Disaster Favours the Daring: Shipwreck at Honda Point

    In 1923, legendary navigator Captain Dolly Hunter led a squadron of warships...

  21. Derek Bentley Must Hang

    The fate of capital punishment lies in the balance and so does Derek Bentley's...

  22. Demonizing Dungeons & Dragons

    Dungeons & Dragons caused a global panic about the dangers of role-playing games.

  23. Darwin's Grandpa and the Art of Sex Appeal

    Charles Darwin was stumped by peacocks, due to his theory of evolution.

  24. DANGER: Rocks Ahead!

    Why did an oil tanker captain steer his ship toward a reef? It's an error many of us make

  25. Cleared For Take-Off? (Tenerife Air Disaster 1)

    The story behind one of the deadliest aviation disasters.

  26. Catching a KiIler Doctor

    A doctor who killed hundreds of patients left us clues... but why couldn't we see them?

  27. Captain Coward and the Blame Game

    A massive cruise ship is tilting off Italy, but where is the captain?

  28. Can You Make a Sherman Tank Float?

    Everyone from Churchill down thought swimming tanks were a great idea... but were they?

  29. Buried Evil: V2 Rocket (Part 3)

    The evil heart of the V2 manufacturing program is uncovered in a concentration camp.

  30. Buried by the Wall Street Crash

    Two men faced ruin due to thinking they could predict financial futures…one bounced back.

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