Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

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.

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford is a history podcast hosted by Pushkin Industries, with 232 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Pushkin Industries hosts Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford, a history show with 232 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #36

  Evel Knievel Faces the Abyss

  Sep 3, 202640 minS7

  Evel Knievel, the world-famous daredevil, is planning his greatest ever stunt. In 1974, he wants to leap over Snake River Canyon in Idaho. The chasm is almost a third of a mile wide, much bigger than any jump he's done before. To make it work, he'll need a custom-made rocket-powered "Skycycle," TV camera crews and - most importantly - a very positive attitude.  For a list of sources, see the show notes at timharford.com . Join our Cautionary Club to get episodes ad-free, hear bonus interviews and get an extra Cautionary Tale every month. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  Episode #35

  Dumm und Dümmer: Hitler Invades Florida

  Aug 27, 202639 minS7

  In 1942, eight men are sent from Nazi Germany to infiltrate America. Their mission: to sabotage critical infrastructure. Their problem: they're idiots. Operation Pastorius soon devolves into one of the most baffling failures of World War II. For a list of sources, see the show notes at timharford.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  Episode #34

  The DeLorean Saga: Fraud, Drugs and Marty McFly's Car - with Business History

  Aug 20, 202649 minS7

  This is a special crossover episode with Business History. John DeLorean was a visionary who wanted to create a futuristic new sports car - a stainless steel marvel with distinctive gull-wing doors. The British Government agreed to finance the project, provided he built his factory in a troubled part of Northern Ireland. Production stumbled, sales fizzled and DeLorean liked to fiddle with the numbers. As the company approached ruin, a neighbour offered DeLorean a lifeline, if he'd only come in on a cocaine deal.   See the show notes at timharford.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  Episode #33

  Proceed with Caution - Pascal's Guide to Podcasts

  Aug 13, 202626 minS7

  How does a story on Cautionary Tales come to life? In this episode of our subscriber-exclusive series, Proceed with Caution, sound designer Pascal Wyse shows Tim how the audio magic happens. He explains how he picks the music in an episode, why it's best to avoid 'Mickey Mousing', and how to sound design some of the stranger moments of Cautionary Tales. To subscribe to the Cautionary Club and hear more like this, go to patreon.com/cautionary club. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  Episode #32

  The Weight of Fame: A Hollywood Tragedy

  Aug 6, 202642 minS7

  Talented and beautiful, Molly O'Day is a rising star in 1920s Hollywood. But when Molly's teenage body starts to change and she can no longer fit into the dress she wore when she was 16, the studio wants nothing to do with her. As the scripts dry up and the money runs out, Molly faces a difficult but painfully familiar choice.  For a list of sources, see the show notes at timharford.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

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