We tell our children unsettling fairy tales to teach them valuable lessons, but these Cautionary Tales are for the education of the grown ups – and they are all true. Tim Harford (Financial Times, BBC, author of “The Data Detective”) brings you stories of awful human error, tragic catastrophes, and hilarious fiascos. They’ll delight you, scare you, but also make you wiser. New episodes every Friday.
I first came across this podcast when it was shared as a preview on the Revisionist History feed, but now it is a regular listen for me and my son. The podcast puts out several different styles of episodes (like interviews, Q&A sessions, and live shows) but my favorites are the episodes are the ones where host Tim Harford explores a topic about something that has gone terribly wrong and how it could have been prevented. He often weaves multiple stories together of related events from all across the timeline. Harford’s story telling is fantastic and always draws you in.
Some of my favorite episodes include:
