Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

In 1999, a series of bombs explode in Russian apartments, killing hundreds and spreading panic. No one knows who is behind it. But when one device is spotted before it detonates, troubling questions emerge. Was it really a bomb? Why is the country's security service changing its story? And why are the people who probe too closely turning up dead? Tim Harford is joined by Helena Merriman, host of new BBC podcast The History Bureau - Putin and the Apartment Bombs, which charts the mysterious events surrounding the rise of Vladimir Putin, and asks why the real story sometimes gets missed.  For a full list of show notes, see timharford.com.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Donald Crowhurst is a brilliant inventor with a failing business. When he hears about the Golden Globe Race offering publicity and cash to the fastest to sail around the world, it feels like the perfect solution. Betting his business and his home on success, Crowhurst sets off in a high-tech trimaran.  Soon, the brutal Southern Ocean starts to look too much for his boat. Alone at sea, under mounting pressure, Crowhurst has a bold idea. If he radios in the right coordinates, no one needs to know he’s not where he claims to be. 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. For a full list of show notes, see timharford.com.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who will be the first to sail non-stop around the world? In 1968, The Sunday Times announces a trophy and a cash prize for the winner, and the Golden Globe Race is on. Leading the charge are Robin Knox-Johnston, an old-fashioned British patriot, and Bernard Moitessier, an enigmatic French philosopher. As monstrous seas and deadly gales close in, the difference between victory and disaster will come down to just one word.  For a full list of show notes, see timharford.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode comes to you from American Criminal, the true-crime history podcast that takes you inside the minds of some of America's most notorious outlaws, exploring the dark side of the American dream. In this series, host Jeremy Schwartz explores the scandal at the heart of the McDonald's Monopoly promotion. The chance to win a prize when you bought a burger was a massive marketing success, with McDonald's returning to the promotion for years. But what the company didn't know was that a man on the inside was rigging the competition and choosing the big winners himself. Find American Criminal wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chris McKinlay is a good-looking, smart student at UCLA, but he can't seem to get a girlfriend. He's a computing expert, so why not use his technology prowess to supercharge his search for a soulmate? He starts building an army of bots and unleashes them into the world of online dating. Chris' search for love leads him to some unexpected places, and it might be teaching us all the wrong lessons about love.  See the show notes at timharford.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

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 123See the show notes at timharford.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They say the company Zappos is harder to get into than Harvard. Zappos may sell shoes, but its mission is to deliver WOW through a fun-focused company culture, making it one of the most coveted places to work in America. At the centre is CEO Tony Hsieh, obsessed with the hunt for happiness and driven by increasingly bold - and strange - ideas about how to find it. See the show notes at timharford.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The sewing machine was once thought to be an impossible invention. It was such a complicated contraption that it would take more than one inventor, with more than one good idea, to make it work. Each of these inventors, including the notorious Isaac Singer, wanted the credit (and the fortune that came with it) for themselves. And so began the sewing machine war: a mire of backstabbing, stealing and misogyny. See the show notes at timharford.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Claude Shannon was brilliant. He was the Einstein of computer science... only he loved "fritterin' away" his time building machines to play chess, solve Rubik's cubes and beat the house at roulette.If Shannon had worked more diligently - instead of juggling, riding a unicycle and abandoning project after project - would he have made an even greater contribution to human knowledge? Maybe... and maybe not. Are restlessness and "fritterin'" important parts of a rich and creative life?Read more about Tim's work at http://timharford.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sherlock Holmes is known for approaching all mysteries with cool logic - and yet when his creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle saw photographs taken by two young girls purporting to show real life fairies at play... he unwisely declared them genuine.How did Elsie and Frances fool so many people with their photography... and why did they keep the hoax going for decades?For a full list of sources go to timharford.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Playing board games and spending too much money are time-honored Christmas traditions, so to mark the festive season, Tim is joined by the creator of Magic: The Gathering - Richard Garfield - for a special Q&A about economics and game design.How should you go about building the perfect game? Why did the Magic trading card market crash? Why do so many people hate Monopoly? Plus, Richard has a bone to pick with Tim about a previous episode of Cautionary Questions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A megaplant near the small village of Flixborough, England, is busy churning out a key ingredient of nylon 6, a material used in everything from stockings to toothbrushes to electronics. When a reactor vessel fails, the engineers improvise a quick-fix workaround, so the plant can keep up with demand. Before long, the temporary patch - a small, bent pipe - becomes a permanent part of the factory, and the people of Flixborough unknowingly drift towards disaster. For a full list of sources, see www.timharford.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the start of the 20th century, Britain was slowly becoming a freer place for women. Young Grace Oakeshott seized every opportunity to learn and improve the world around her - though she found those opportunities frustratingly narrow. One day, she vanished suddenly, leaving behind only a pile of clothes on a beach. A hundred years later, the truth about Grace’s disappearance has finally come to light.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ever wished you could be a fly on the wall while Cautionary Tales is being made? Now you can. We just launched the Cautionary Club - our new Patreon community for Cautionary Tales fans who want to go deeper. If you sign up before the end of the year, you’ll be a Cautionary Club Founding Member, and you'll be invited to join Tim and the producers in a live table read of an unreleased episode. This will be a rare chance for you to see how the stories we tell are developed in real time, hear the editorial suggestions, and ask your burning questions about Cautionary Tales. Founding Members will receive an invitation to the table read, which will be held early 2026. But that’s just the beginning. You’ll also receive:- two monthly bonus episodes- a members-only newsletter with sneak peeks of what’s coming up - behind-the-scenes chats and videos with Tim - the chance to vote on future episodes- early information on books and live events- ad-free listening to the entire archive and the opportunity to support the creation of the stories we tell on Cautionary Tales. Join by December 31, 2025 to lock in exclusive perks and be recognised as one of the original members of the Cautionary Club. Sign up at patreon.com/cautionaryclub.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1912, a fossil discovery shakes the scientific world. Piltdown Man is the elusive missing link between humans and their ape-like ancestors. Forty years later, a researcher at the Natural History Museum gets a chance to see the relic for himself and notices something isn't quite right. For a full list of sources see timharford.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Misinformation, double-dealing, character assassination - lobbyist Don Pearlman will stop at nothing to prevent the world from agreeing to cut carbon emissions. This arch disrupter, who works for fossil fuel companies and oil-producing nations, is determined that the climate talks in Kyoto, COP3, will fail. Will Don's tactics succeed, and what will it mean for the future of the planet? Tim is joined by playwright Joe Robertson to discuss Kyoto, the political thriller he and co-writer Joe Murphy based on 1997's international climate negotiations. Kyoto is currently on stage at the Lincoln Center in New York https://www.lct.org/shows/kyoto/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Satanic Panic ripped through America, rock music was in the crosshairs. Could songs contain secret backwards messages urging children to take drugs and worship the devil? This special episode is from Twenty Thousand Hertz, a podcast all about the rich world of sound. Follow Twenty Thousand Hertz wherever you get your podcasts. https://www.20k.org/ This episode mentions 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 123See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Forrest Fenn’s legendary treasure hunt ignites a nationwide obsession. The thrill of adventure, the promise of gold, and the call of the wild entice many seekers into the quest. Over time, excitement gives way to conspiracy and resentment, as treasure hunters stray into increasingly dangerous or aggressive interpretations of the clues. As the body count climbs, even Forrest begins to fear for his safety. For a full list of show notes see www.timharford.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.