As Governor of Britannia, Magnus Maximus has a huge army at his disposal, which is just what he needs to secure the Roman imperial throne. But perhaps the impressive general should have looked into the past before focusing on his future. Tim is joined by Paul Cooper, host of Fall of Civilizations Podcast, to explore why powerful civilizations such as the Assyrians, the Han dynasty and the Roman Empire all ultimately collapsed.

Paul Cooper is the author of Fall of Civilizations: Stories of Greatness and Decline. For a full list of show notes, see timharford.com

As Governor of Britannia, Magnus Maximus has a huge army at his disposal, which is just what he needs to secure the Roman imperial throne. But perhaps the impressive general should have looked into the past before focusing on his future. Tim is joined by Paul Cooper, host of&nbsp;<a href="https://fallofcivilizationspodcast.com/">Fall&nbsp;of Civilizations Podcast</a>, to explore why powerful civilizations such as the Assyrians, the Han dynasty and the Roman Empire all ultimately collapsed.
Paul Cooper is the author of&nbsp;<a href="https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Fall-of-Civilizations-by-Paul-Cooper/9780715655481">Fall&nbsp;of Civilizations: Stories of Greatness and Decline</a>. For a full list of show notes, see <a href="https://timharford.com/">timharford.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 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 &ndash; and they are all true. Tim Harford (Financial Times, BBC, author of &ldquo;The Data Detective&rdquo;) 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

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. New episodes every Friday.

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 &ndash; and they are all true. Tim Harford (Financial Times, BBC, author of &ldquo;The Data Detective&rdquo; and &ldquo;The Undercover Economist&rdquo;) 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. New episodes every Friday.

How Civilizations Die - with Paul Cooper 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/429f62b2-c891-445d-8bf4-b45f013785b6/transcript

It’s D-Day and the Allies are about to invade Nazi-occupied France. For the landings to succeed, American soldiers on Omaha Beach will have to break through some formidable coastal defences - Hitler’s Atlantic Wall. Sherman tanks will come in very handy - and the Allies have come up with a novel solution for getting them to the beach. These tanks will swim. Everyone from Winston Churchill down thought swimming tanks were a great idea… but were they? 

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

It&rsquo;s D-Day and the Allies are about to invade Nazi-occupied France. For the landings to succeed, American soldiers on Omaha Beach will have to break through some formidable coastal defences - Hitler&rsquo;s Atlantic Wall. Sherman tanks will come in very handy - and the Allies have come up with a novel solution for getting them to the beach. These tanks will swim. Everyone from Winston Churchill down thought swimming tanks were a great idea&hellip; but were they?&nbsp;
For a full list of sources, see the show notes at <a href="https://timharford.com/">⁠timharford.com⁠</a>

Can You Make a Sherman Tank Float? 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/a58b655b-e14b-4aaf-9f67-b45800f4f57b/transcript

Thomas Midgley's inventions caused his own death, hastened the deaths of millions of people around the world, and very nearly extinguished all life on land. 

Midgley and his employers didn't set out to poison the air with leaded gasoline or wreck the ozone layer with CFCs - but while these dire consequences were unintended... could they have been anticipated?

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

Thomas Midgley's inventions caused his own death, hastened the deaths of millions of people around the world, and very nearly extinguished all life on land.&nbsp;
Midgley and his employers didn't set out to poison the air with leaded gasoline or wreck the ozone layer with CFCs - but while these dire consequences were unintended... could they have been anticipated?
For a list of sources, see the show notes at&nbsp;<a href="https://timharford.com/">timharford.com</a>

The Inventor who Almost Ended the World (Classic)

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/48f8a754-176e-4569-b05b-b45101865325/transcript

We usually bring you failures of the past, but today we're sharing an episode from someone who uncovers failures as they happen. Amy Westervelt is an award-winning investigative climate journalist and the host of Drilled, a true-crime climate change podcast exposing how corporate corruption and political operatives built decades of climate denial and delay. Each season unravels new evidence of deception, disinformation, and the power structures keeping real climate solutions out of reach.

Drilled's latest season, Carbon Cowboys, examines a group of people who've turned climate policy into a profit engine. In September 2025, a group of Brazilian government ministers flew to North Dakota to watch a presentation on a new type of clean energy project, one that promised to help them deliver Brazilian President Lula’s dream of turning Brazil into “the Saudi Arabia of sustainable aviation fuels.” It was the latest in a string of projects from Midwest Republican kingmaker and corn ethanol magnate Bruce Rastetter, whose investments in Brazil might just transform him into a global carbon czar, even as his Summit pipeline carbon project faces fierce opposition from Iowa to North Dakota.

Here's episode 1 of Drilled: Carbon Cowboys. Find Drilled wherever you get podcasts and hear episodes early and ad-free with a Pushkin+ subscription. Sign up on the Drilled show page on Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus.

We usually bring you failures of the past, but today we're sharing an episode from someone who uncovers failures as they happen. Amy Westervelt is an award-winning investigative climate journalist and the host of Drilled, a true-crime climate change podcast exposing how corporate corruption and political operatives built decades of climate denial and delay. Each season unravels new evidence of deception, disinformation, and the power structures keeping real climate solutions out of reach.
Drilled's latest season, Carbon Cowboys, examines a group of people who've turned climate policy into a profit engine. In September 2025, a group of Brazilian government ministers flew to North Dakota to watch a presentation on a new type of clean energy project, one that promised to help them deliver Brazilian President Lula&rsquo;s dream of turning Brazil into &ldquo;the Saudi Arabia of sustainable aviation fuels.&rdquo; It was the latest in a string of projects from Midwest Republican kingmaker and corn ethanol magnate Bruce Rastetter, whose investments in Brazil might just transform him into a global carbon czar, even as his Summit pipeline carbon project faces fierce opposition from Iowa to North Dakota.
Here's episode 1 of Drilled: Carbon Cowboys. Find Drilled wherever you get podcasts and hear episodes early and ad-free with a Pushkin+ subscription. Sign up on the Drilled <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/drilled/id1439735906">show page</a> on Apple Podcasts or at <a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/join-pushkin">pushkin.fm/plus</a>.

From Drilled: The Carbon Gold Rush

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/071e0803-45d1-4500-a12f-b44e01156b5c/transcript

How Civilizations Die - with Paul Cooper

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