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Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

By: Pushkin Industries
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About this listen

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.

2026 2025 Pushkin Industries
Social Sciences World
Episodes
  • The Angels, The Stones and The Dead
    Feb 6 2026

    In the final days of the Sixties, The Rolling Stones join forces with other rock legends to plan a free concert at Altamont Speedway that will rival Woodstock. The "bad boys of rock" don't have the warmest relationship with the police, so they choose another option for security: The Hells Angels. They're both anti-establishment, they're both counterculture: what could possibly go wrong?

    See the show notes at timharford.com

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    39 mins
  • Powered by Orgasm: The Rise and Fall of a Sex Cult - with Ellen Huet
    Jan 30 2026

    Run by the charismatic Nicole Deadone, OneTaste billed itself as a sexual wellness startup celebrating the power of female orgasm. But behind the celebrity endorsements and promises of healing, lay a darker reality. When Bloomberg journalist Ellen Huet began to dig into the organisation, she uncovered financial, emotional and sexual exploitation of its members, many of whom would call the company a cult. Huet, author of Empire of Orgasm, joins Tim to discuss why we should beware people promising pleasure, and what we can learn from the rise and fall of OneTaste.

    This episode contains explicit content from the beginning, and is not suitable for children.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    41 mins
  • The WOW Machine Stops (Pt 2)
    Jan 23 2026

    Tony Hsieh, the billionaire CEO of Zappos, is passionate about community. He pours his time, energy and fortune into building a network of like-minded people - first in Las Vegas, then Park City, Utah. But Tony's quest to build connection soon spirals into isolation, addiction and mistrust of those closest to him, revealing a contradictory truth about the pursuit of one of our most fundamental human needs.

    WARNING: This episode discusses death by suicide. If you are suffering emotional distress or having suicidal thoughts, support is available - for example, from the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US, or the Samaritans in the UK on 116 123

    See the show notes at timharford.com

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    40 mins
All stars
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I really enjoy how the tales are told and the lessons that we are presented in that story format. It's a fantastic podcast that I binged every episode and wish there was more to hear.

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