It's the season of giving: colorful paper and shiny bows, sure, and charitable giving, too. In this special episode, Jacob... more

What really drove the 2008 financial crash? What’s a shadow bank? And what’s the connection between NIMBYs and BANANAs? Tim... more

Charles Darwin was stumped by peacocks. According to his theory of evolution, some creatures were better equipped to survive in... more

In 1827, Edinburgh, Scotland was a world centre for anatomical study, but there was a shortage of cadavers for medical... more

Tim Harford joined Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova on their podcast Risky Business to discuss two of history’s most compelling... more

India, 1930. Sarojini Naidu is marching towards a British-controlled saltwork; behind her is a long column of protestors all dressed in... more

Early morning, April 1789. Captain Bligh is abruptly dragged from his cabin. Wrists bound, bayonet pressed to his chest, he... more

Paul Starrett has just won a major building contract. If everything goes according to plan, this will be the tallest... more

Leo Durocher would stop at nothing to win. The baseball player-turned-manager was a skilled tactician and famously tough. But he also cheated,... more

Tim Harford's life has been building up to this moment. In this Cautionary Conversation, he discusses the works of his... more

Young doctor Jesse Lazear has deadly Yellow Fever. He thrashes around and convulses in his sick bed, and his vomit... more

Cautionary Conversation: Steve Jobs hated his phone so much that he smashed it against a wall. He also referred to... more

The disappearance and death of Mitrice Richardson remains Malibu, CA’s most baffling unsolved case. It’s been nearly 14 years since... more

Panic has erupted in the cockpit of Air France Flight 447. The pilots are convinced they’ve lost control of the plane. It’s... more

Until the 1960s, it was deemed too "dangerous" for women athletes to run distances longer than 200m - and a... more

Adi and Rudi Dassler made sports shoes together - until a feud erupted between them. They set up competing companies,... more

In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, in 1819, Owen Chase is standing on a slowly sinking ship. It's just... more

Tim Harford is joined by Jacob Goldstein to answer your questions. Does winning the lottery make you unhappy? Is Bitcoin bad... more

Neatly dressed in his suit, Hans Ferdinand Mayer was every inch the unassuming corporate executive. So, when he asked to... more

Sam Israel had a problem. The investors in his hedge fund, Bayou Capital, were expecting spectacular returns. Sam himself had spent... more

Bonus: When Spanish conquistadors arrived in Peru in 1526, it was the beginning of the end for the Inca. Their... more

Nicolae Ceaușescu was not beloved. His regime was vicious and he treated Romania as his personal wallet: while Ceaușescu emptied the... more

Why are so many autocrats germaphobes? Why was the truth so dangerous for Soviet engineers? And what can salami reveal... more

The Happiness Lab’s Dr. Laurie Santos brings together other Pushkin hosts to mark the International Day of Happiness. Revisionist History’s... more

Chuck Yeager's plane pitched and rolled as it plummeted from the sky. He grappled with the controls inside the cockpit,... more

As US troops approached a Nazi prison camp, they could hear agonized wailing. The stench of rotting flesh filled their... more

In the 1920s, Germany’s Society for Spaceship Travel boasted some of the sharpest scientific minds – like the incandescently brilliant... more

At the height of World War Two, British intelligence began receiving reports that the enemy was developing a rocket weapon.... more

Teaser: In 1977, two planes collided on the runway at Tenerife Airport. Why did the crash happen? And, given that... more

One speechmaker inspired millions with his words, the other utterly destroyed his own multi-million-dollar business with just a few phrases.... more

Torrey Canyon was one of the biggest and best ships in the world - but its captain and crew still... more

What if you could never have the same day off as your family and friends? Would you quit your job?... more

Cautionary Book Club: Mollie Maggia's dentist planned to remove a painful abscess from her mouth. But to his horror, her jawbone disintegrated at his... more

In Goiânia, Brazil, a junk dealer acquires an old medical device from two scrap-metal scavengers. The device itself isn't useful, but it... more

Cautionary Conversation: Just before Christmas 1799, President George Washington was riding around his country estate, Mount Vernon, when it began to... more

William the Conqueror undertook a remarkably modern project. In 1086, he began compiling and storing a detailed record of his... more

On The Dream, host Jane Marie gets to know the life coaches and gurus who claim they know the secret... more

Henry Roan has been shot through the back of his head. The local authorities have found his body slumped over... more

Minnie Smith grew sick quite suddenly. She had been young, fit and healthy - and the doctors were baffled when... more

This week, we've twice the storytelling fun for you: two Cautionary Tales shorts, previously only available to Pushkin+ subscribers. A... more

Why are board games so popular in Germany? What’s Tim Harford’s top tip for productivity? And where do all those... more

The longest running television series of the 20th century was Gunsmoke, a western set in the notorious Dodge City, Kansas.... more

1957. Jørn Utzon receives a phone call: he's just won an international competition to design a brand new opera house... more

Cautionary Book Club: When Morgan Stanley offered to lease Chicago's parking meters for the princely sum of $1 billion, the City... more

1812. A band of "Luddites" is laying siege to a textile mill in the North of England, under cover of... more

Cautionary Conversation: Andy Warhol’s assistant, Gerard Malanga, is facing a long prison sentence in Italy. He’s forged several Che Guevara... more

Heroic explorer Frederick Cook has just returned from the very roof of the world, the first man to reach the... more

Cautionary Conversation: Did a Nazi put America on the moon? To celebrate the launch of his mini-series on the V-2... more

Henry Petroski is one of Tim Harford's favourite fellow nerds. His study of engineering failures has profoundly influenced Tim's own... more

Cautionary Conversation: An invasive parakeet species began spreading in New York City - and the government decided to kill every... more

“If you can make one heap of all your winnings and risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss..." Those words... more

Today, the idea of controlling the weather is controversial. Scientists who research geoengineering have even received death threats. But once... more

Today, we're sharing an episode of the gripping Pushkin series Lost Hills: The Dark Prince. The brand-new season takes a... more

CIA agents in Havana complaining of mental fog, dizziness and ear pain in 2016. Children in Miami in 1974, hyperventilating... more

Why does economics get a bad rap? How did a small Hungarian airline wreak havoc in the 2000s? What cautionary... more

You can gamble on horses or on the turn of a card - but Daniel Gould made a living betting... more

Anna Marie Jarvis wanted a national holiday to honor the dedication and sacrifice of America's mothers. She wasn't the first... more

It could cure any 'female ailment' - even cancer - said the adverts. But Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound was,... more

Cautionary Conversation: In 1990, a small extremist group launched a nerve gas attack on passengers riding the Tokyo subway. Thousands... more

Air traffic controllers are meant to stop aircrafts from flying into one another... and if they fail, computer systems are... more

Cautionary Conversation: When a small-town detective gets a tip about a missing woman, he believes he's uncovered a highly-trained chameleon:... more

In the early 90s, cutting-edge advertising agency Chiat/Day announced a radical plan, aimed at giving the company a jolt of... more

With the 95th Academy Awards just around the corner, Tim Harford looks back at a basic lesson. Galileo tried to... more

Cautionary Conversation: Celebrated physicist Professor Paul Frampton was on his way to Brussels to meet the love of his life,... more

Steve Jobs called It “the most amazing piece of technology since the PC.” According to Jeff Bezos It was not... more

A hundred years ago, the Tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun was officially opened - despite the widely held belief that... more

Golden sparks are raining down on the Great Lafayette’s famous vaudeville show, “The Lion’s Bride”. They look like they’re part... more

Recorded before an audience at the Bristol Festival of Economics (11/17/2022) The Dutch went so potty over tulip bulbs in... more

As a special New Year treat we're presenting two Cautionary Tales Shorts - which have previously only been available to... more

This week, we’re sharing an episode of Imaginary Worlds. For the last 30 years, the real world has been catching... more

More than 100,000 families - many of them amongst the poorest in Britain - put money aside for Christmas gifts... more

There are eight American turkeys painted on the walls of Schleswig's Cathedral of St Peter - which is odd... since... more

In a crisis most people respond with decency and solidarity. The bombing of British cities in the Second World War... more

Thomas Midgley's inventions caused his own death, hastened the deaths of millions of people around the world, and very nearly... more

Candy laced with cyanide and needles in marshmallows, we've long been warned to be suspicious of the sweet treats handed... more

Charlie Veitch was certain that 9/11 was an inside job. The attack on the World Trade Center wasn't the work... more

This week, it's an episode from Warfare, a podcast from our friends at History Hit. It's 1942. The year Anne... more

Single and looking for love, Dr Robert Epstein found himself chatting with a slim, attractive brunette online. She seemed perfect...... more

Inventor Franz Reichelt wants to test his novel "parachute suit" from as tall a structure as possible - and the... more

A meter is longer than a yard. An ounce is heavier than a gram. We harmlessly mix them up sometimes,... more

Invented in the mid-1800s, bicycles have had enduring popularity. Across cultures, they have been embraced, promising freedom and mobility at... more

By the 1970s Howard Hughes was the "invisible billionaire”. A business tycoon, a daring aviator and Hollywood Lothario, Hughes had... more

Malcolm Gladwell joins Tim Harford to discuss our recent three-part tale about the race to reach the South Pole. There's... more

Polar exploration is dangerous... but trudging hundreds of miles in subzero temperatures isn't made any easier if you're suffering from... more

Cautionary Tales returns next week, but in the meantime enjoy a story of disaster from The Bowery Boys Podcast.  It's... more

Roald Amundsen beat Captain Scott to the South Pole. The Norwegian - using dog sleds and skis - made it... more

1910: Two men are racing to be the first to reach the South Pole. Captain Robert Falcon Scott heads a... more

July 1995: A deadly heatwave gripped Chicago - bridges buckled; the power grids failed; and the morgue ran out of... more

France 1346: The army of King Philip VI is Europe's pre-eminent killing machine. It's accustomed to crushing any force stupid... more

When Mount Tambora erupted it spewed ash across the globe; blotting out the sun; poisoning crops; and bringing starvation, illness... more