Flames are spreading through a Cincinnati hotel. The staff know it, the fire department is coming, and the people in the packed cabaret bar have been told to evacuate… and yet they hesitate to leave. Why don’t we react to some warnings until it’s too late?

Read more about Tim's work at http://timharford.com/

Tim's latest books 'Fifty Inventions That Shaped The Modern Economy' and 'The Next Fifty Things That Made The Modern Economy' are available now.

 Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

Flames are spreading through a Cincinnati hotel. The staff know it, the fire department is coming, and the people in the packed cabaret bar have been told to evacuate… and yet they hesitate to leave. Why don’t we react to some warnings until it’s too late?Read more about Tim's work at <a href="http://timharford.com/">http://timharford.com/</a>Tim's latest books 'Fifty Inventions That Shaped The Modern Economy' and 'The Next Fifty Things That Made The Modern Economy' are available now. Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

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.

Fire at The Beverly Hills Supper Club

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/c3cd1116-253f-4a71-9fc2-ae39003ece69/transcript

Cautionary Tales will be LIVE on stage in London this May. Tickets are on sale now: https://www.tegeurope.com/events/cautionary-tales/

Neatly dressed in his suit, Hans Ferdinand Mayer was every inch the unassuming corporate executive. So, when he asked to borrow a typewriter from his hotel in Oslo, nobody could have guessed he would use it for one of the most extraordinary intelligence leaks in history.

Mayer's gloved fingers punched out the details of Nazi Germany's most sensitive military operations and, when he had finished, he immediately dispatched his documents to the British  —  who did nothing.

Why did the British ignore Mayer? Did they fail to pick out a crucial signal amid the noise of detail — or was something else going on?

This episode of Cautionary Tales is based, with permission, on Tom Whipple’s book The Battle of the Beams, which is available from all good booksellers.

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

Cautionary Tales will be LIVE on stage in London this May. Tickets are on sale now: <a href="https://www.tegeurope.com/events/cautionary-tales/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.tegeurope.com/events/cautionary-tales/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1715348348273000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3jIfsoJWZbArdzxKJyZ9cw">https://www.tegeurope.com/events/cautionary-tales/</a>
Neatly dressed in his suit, Hans Ferdinand Mayer was every inch the unassuming corporate executive. So, when he asked to borrow a typewriter from his hotel in Oslo, nobody could have guessed he would use it for one of the most extraordinary intelligence leaks in history.
Mayer's gloved fingers punched out the details of Nazi Germany's most sensitive military operations and, when he had finished, he immediately dispatched his documents to the British  —  who did nothing.
Why did the British ignore Mayer? Did they fail to pick out a crucial signal amid the noise of detail — or was something else going on?
This episode of Cautionary Tales is based, with permission, on Tom Whipple’s book The Battle of the Beams, which is available from all good booksellers.
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=1715084619962000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3T-7S1scXGzEiEcVbYA7Dw">timharford.com</a>.

WW2: How Britain Ignored the Mother of All Secrets

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/3738e516-2035-472c-98b3-b16800ebdfe1/transcript

Cautionary Tales will be LIVE on stage in London this May. Tickets are on sale now: https://www.tegeurope.com/events/cautionary-tales/

Sam Israel had a problem. The investors in his hedge fund, Bayou Capital, were expecting spectacular returns. Sam himself had spent years proclaiming the fund's brilliant results. But in reality, Sam had been marking his own homework, publishing fraudulent accounts and using these to lure in new investors. 

What to do? Well, the logical thing of course: wait around for an extraordinary profitable streak, and in the meantime keep up the ruse...

This episode of Cautionary Tales was recorded live at the Bristol Festival of Economics and studies three incredible investment scams. How do pyramid and ponzi schemes snowball out of control, flattening victim and fraudster alike?

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

Cautionary Tales will be LIVE on stage in London this May. Tickets are on sale now: <a href="https://www.tegeurope.com/events/cautionary-tales/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.tegeurope.com/events/cautionary-tales/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1714140875871000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1AdQOUXi0vCxxJgJFKcxd8">https://www.tegeurope.com/events/cautionary-tales/</a>
Sam Israel had a problem. The investors in his hedge fund, Bayou Capital, were expecting spectacular returns. Sam himself had spent years proclaiming the fund's brilliant results. But in reality, Sam had been marking his own homework, publishing fraudulent accounts and using these to lure in new investors. 
What to do? Well, the logical thing of course: wait around for an extraordinary profitable streak, and in the meantime keep up the ruse...
This episode of Cautionary Tales was recorded live at the Bristol Festival of Economics and studies three incredible investment scams. How do pyramid and ponzi schemes snowball out of control, flattening victim and fraudster alike?
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=1714140875871000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1hFj8hZX2icQ34c5XZLfjg">timharford.com</a>.

The Fraudster's Guide to Magic Money

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/f32fbd45-a06c-4529-9698-b15d00fc4d33/transcript

Bonus: When Spanish conquistadors arrived in Peru in 1526, it was the beginning of the end for the Inca. Their bloody pursuit of gold, fame and fortune was rife with treachery and deceit. Within a few short years, the once-thriving Inca empire had been decimated.

Tim Harford is joined by Dan Snow for a special crossover episode of Cautionary Tales and Dan Snow's History Hit. Tim and Dan first recap the spectacular defeat of the French knights at the Battle of Crécy in 1346, and then draw surprising parallels with the fall of the Inca Empire two centuries later.

Bonus: When Spanish conquistadors arrived in Peru in 1526, it was the beginning of the end for the Inca. Their bloody pursuit of gold, fame and fortune was rife with treachery and deceit. Within a few short years, the once-thriving Inca empire had been decimated.
Tim Harford is joined by Dan Snow for a special crossover episode of Cautionary Tales and Dan Snow's History Hit. Tim and Dan first recap the spectacular defeat of the French knights at the Battle of Crécy in 1346, and then draw surprising parallels with the fall of the Inca Empire two centuries later.

Blood and Gold (with Dan Snow)

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/48b0afa4-d3aa-4cf8-94bf-b15a00fef61c/transcript

Fire at The Beverly Hills Supper Club

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