Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

We tell kids unsettling fairy tales to teach them life lessons, but Cautionary Tales are for grown ups – and they are true. They'll delight you, scare you, and make you wiser.

Sounds,117 episodes

Episodes

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How Civilizations Die - with Paul Cooper
Tim is joined by Paul Cooperto explore why the Han dynasty and the Roman Empire collapsed
05 Jun 2026,40 mins
Can You Make a Sherman Tank Float?
Everyone from Churchill down thought swimming tanks were a great idea... but were they?
29 May 2026,39 mins
Wrong Tools Cost Lives
UK’s “world-beating” Covid tracker failed after using outdated Microsoft Excel.
22 May 2026,34 mins
Angels, Gold and Lust: John Dee and the Philosopher's Stone (Part 2)
Part Two: Tudor polymath John Dee meets a man who claims he can speak with angels...
15 May 2026,45 mins
The Queen's Astrologer: The Price of Prophecy (Part 1)
In Tudor England, the line between mathematics and the mystic arts is vanishingly thin.
08 May 2026,42 mins,
Beware Tech Tycoons with Piranha Tanks - with Katie Prescott
Mike Lynch was often lauded as Britain's answer to Bill Gates...
01 May 2026,39 mins
Finding Grace in a Burger Bun: An Incrediburgible Quest
This is the story of two very different approaches to making hamburgers... and money.
24 Apr 2026,39 mins
The False Dawn of the Electric Car
Sir Clive Sinclair was a visionary who could do no wrong...
21 Apr 2026,35 mins
The Lovestruck Explorer's Deadly Guessing Game
Robert O'Hara Burke plans an expedition to map the mysterious blank in Australia.
10 Apr 2026,37 mins
The Mad Mystic and the Last Battle on English Soil - with Ian Breckon
As the Victorian era dawns, modernisation erodes the old ways of life and poverty rises.
03 Apr 2026,42 mins
The Sightseeing Flight and the Invisible Mountain
In 1979, Flight 901 left New Zealand for an Antarctic tour, heading toward a volcano.
27 Mar 2026,38 mins,
The Mummy’s Curse
Why did archeologists still risk inciting the wrath of King Tutankhamun?
20 Mar 2026,37 mins,
"And it went click" - Dawn of the Working Dead
Robert Propst wasn't just an inventor; he envisioned the modern office workstation.
13 Mar 2026,40 mins
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...
06 Mar 2026,41 mins,
Flight of the Fantasist: The Race Around the World - Part 2
Donald Crowhurst is a brilliant inventor with a failing business...
27 Feb 2026,39 mins,
The Philosopher and the Handyman: The Race Around the World - Part 1
Who will be the first to sail non-stop around the world?
20 Feb 2026,38 mins
Sphygmograph Be Damned: The Science of Love
Chris McKinlay is a smart student at UCLA, but he can't seem to get a girlfriend.
13 Feb 2026,45 mins
The Angels, The Stones and The Dead
Both anti-establishment, they're both counterculture: what could possibly go wrong...
06 Feb 2026,39 mins,
Powered by Orgasm: The Rise and Fall of a Sex Cult - with Ellen Huet
Ellen Huet joins Tim to discuss why we should beware people promising pleasure.
30 Jan 2026,40 mins,
The WOW Machine Stops (Pt 2)
Tony's quest to build connection soon spirals into isolation, addiction and mistrust...
23 Jan 2026,39 mins,
Shoes, Booze and the Pursuit of Happiness (Pt 1)
CEO Tony Hsieh is obsessed with the hunt for happiness.
16 Jan 2026,37 mins,
Liar, Bigamist, Brute: How Isaac Singer Liberated Women
The sewing machine was once thought to be an impossible invention.
09 Jan 2026,36 mins
Frankenstein Versus the Volcano
What are the limits of our ability to weather even the worst circumstances?
02 Jan 2026,33 mins
Photographing Fairies (Classic)
How did Elsie and Frances fool so many people with their photography?
26 Dec 2025,36 mins
"They fall behind and are slowly crushed" - Board Games and Economics with Richard Garfield
Tim is joined by Richard Garfield for a special Q&A about economics and game design.
19 Dec 2025,47 mins
Flixborough: The Factory that was Wiped off the Map
The people of Flixborough unknowingly drift towards disaster...
12 Dec 2025,36 mins,
The Disappearance of Grace Oakeshott
After one hundred years, the truth about Grace’s disappearance has finally come to light.
05 Dec 2025,37 mins,
Homo deceptus: Science's Dirty Little Secret
In 1912, a fossil discovery shakes the scientific world.
28 Nov 2025,39 mins
Kyoto: The Battle that Defined Climate Politics - with Joe Robertson
Tim is joined by playwright Joe Robertson to discuss Kyoto.
21 Nov 2025,38 mins
The Treasure Hunt that Broke America (Part 2)
Forrest Fenn’s legendary treasure hunt ignites a nationwide obsession...
14 Nov 2025,39 mins,