Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford - Cautionary Tales Returns Every Other Friday from March 25th

Episode Date: March 11, 2022

The greatest mistakes, disasters and fiascos of the past aren't just gripping stories... they're also warnings from which we all can learn.Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford returns EVERY OTHER FRIDAY FROM MARCH 25th to chronicle the defeats of mighty armies, the destruction of business empires and the deadly eruptions of fearsome volcanoes. And from amongst the wrecked lives and wrecked egos, Tim finds the simple lessons we can apply in our daily lives.Tim's also created some special Cautionary Tales Shorts, available exclusively to Pushkin+ subscribers. To hear them, sign up for Pushkin+ on the show page in Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pushkin The Knights of France had every reason to feel confident. Resplendent in their fine armour, astride their great steeds, they belonged to the greatest army in medieval Europe. They'd crushed every enemy they'd met on the field of battle. So an upstart band of English invaders stood little chance. Except those French noblemen ended the day defeated.

Their horses shot out from under them, drowning in mud and their own mud. History is littered with tragic stories such as this. Stories we could all learn from and apply to our daily lives. I'm Tim Haafard, and on March the 25th, I'll be returning with all new cautionary tales, drawing out valuable lessons from the greatest mistakes, disasters, and fiascos

of the past. Every other Friday I'll transport you back in time. Together, we'll find out why a tiny change in a hotel's blueprints went unnoticed, sending tons of concrete, steel and glass crashing down on guests. We'll Watch as an airline captain lets his child play with the controls of a packed passenger jet, gambling that the autopilot will save them all from doom. And we'll have a front row seat as an award-winning choreographer and a rock music mega-star come close to opening the worst Broadway musical of all time. These new cautionary tales will explore the extremes of human behavior and the extremes of what nature can throw at us too.

We'll swerve to as a deadly heat wave descends on Chicago, killing some residents but oddly, sparing their near neighbors. And then we'll shiver as we follow two very different men competing to reach the south pole. An awful track, well deserving of the title, the worst journey in the world. In addition, I've created five cautionary tale shorts available exclusively to Pushkin Plus subscribers. To hear these smaller but still perfectly formed stories about deadly rail disasters and killer

computer viruses, sign up for Pushkin Plus on the show page in Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm-plus. Be they long or short, I promise you that some of my stories will delight you, others may scare you, but all of them will make you wiser. So join me every other Friday from March the 25th onwards for cautionary tales. Find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. wherever you get your podcasts.