As US troops approached a Nazi prison camp, they could hear agonized wailing. The stench of rotting flesh filled their nostrils. Moments later they discovered a pile of smoldering corpses, alongside emaciated survivors.

Next to the concentration camp they found something else: tunnels filled with tools — and partially assembled rockets. The soldiers had hit upon the evil heart of the V2 manufacturing program: enslaved laborers, imprisoned underground.

And the rocket program's director? Wernher von Braun had already fled. He now had just one concern: persuading the Americans to let him switch sides…

For a full list of sources, see the show notes at timharford.com.

Do you have a question for Tim? Send it to tales@pushkin.fm and we'll do our best to answer it in a Q&A episode.

As US troops approached a Nazi prison camp, they could hear agonized wailing. The stench of rotting flesh filled their nostrils. Moments later they discovered a pile of smoldering corpses, alongside emaciated survivors.
Next to the concentration camp they found something else: tunnels filled with tools — and partially assembled rockets. The soldiers had hit upon the evil heart of the V2 manufacturing program: enslaved laborers, imprisoned underground.
And the rocket program's director? Wernher von Braun had already fled. He now had just one concern: persuading the Americans to let him switch sides…
For a full list of sources, see the show notes at <a href="http://timharford.com/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://timharford.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1707930610853000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0YOhnsMm_fjvRtx5gkLPV7">timharford.com</a>.
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Do you have a question for Tim? Send it to <a href="mailto:tales@pushkin.fm">tales@pushkin.fm</a> and we'll do our best to answer it in a Q&amp;A episode.

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 other Friday.

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 other Friday.

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

We tell our children unsettling fairy tales to teach them valuable life 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” and “The Undercover Economist”) brings you stories of awful human error, tragic catastrophes, daring heists and hilarious fiascos. They'll delight you, scare you, but also make you wiser.

We tell our children unsettling fairy tales to teach them valuable life 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” and “The Undercover Economist”) brings you stories of awful human error, tragic catastrophes, daring heists and hilarious fiascos. They'll delight you, scare you, but also make you wiser.

Buried Evil: V2 Rocket (Part 3)

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/9c4f76dc-bf87-47b5-a360-b1260089fb97/transcript

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