HeyJaredCautionary 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.
- Indexed episodes, last 90 days
- 9
- Latest publication
- Sep 4, 2026
- Audience
- Apple #133 · US
- Earliest in this view
- Jul 10, 2026
Latest episodes
Evel Knievel Faces the Abyss (opens the original)
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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
Dumm und Dümmer: Hitler Invades Florida (opens the original)
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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.
The DeLorean Saga: Fraud, Drugs and Marty McFly's Car - with Business History (opens the original)
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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 o
Proceed with Caution - Pascal's Guide to Podcasts (opens the original)
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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/cautionaryclub. Dumm und Dümmer : Hitler Invades Florida is avail
The Weight of Fame: A Hollywood Tragedy (opens the original)
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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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Audience
Apple #133 · US
Measured Sep 19, 2026
Apple Podcasts chart position, not a count of listeners or downloads.
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