Cautionary Conversation: Did a Nazi put America on the moon? To celebrate the launch of his mini-series on the V-2 rocket, Tim Harford sits down with Pushkin’s resident V-2 expert, Ryan Dilley. They discuss the so-called “Father of Space Travel”, Wernher von Braun, and satirist Tom Lehrer’s musical lampooning of him.

A three-part mini series on the V-2 rocket is available now for Pushkin+ subscribers. We’ll be back again on August 4th with a brand new episode of Cautionary Tales on the main feed.

Cautionary Conversation: Did a Nazi put America on the moon? To celebrate the launch of his mini-series on the V-2 rocket, Tim Harford sits down with Pushkin’s resident V-2 expert, Ryan Dilley. They discuss the so-called “Father of Space Travel”, Wernher von Braun, and satirist Tom Lehrer’s musical lampooning of him.
A three-part mini series on the V-2 rocket is available now for <a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/join-pushkin">Pushkin+</a> subscribers. We’ll be back again on August 4th with a brand new episode of Cautionary Tales on the main feed.

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.

The Father of Space Travel

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/f2a89b9f-13cf-4af9-a414-b04a015e0046/transcript

Mary Bateman lived in Yorkshire in the late 18th Century, an age that prized rational thought. Many people still longed to believe in the old ways and Bateman used this to her advantage, selling spells and enchantments to the desperate. Dr Maddy Pelling, co-host of the After Dark podcast and author of Hoax: Truth and Lies in the Age of Enlightenment, joins Tim to tell the tale of the villainous Yorkshire Witch, and just how far she was willing to go. 

For the sources, see the show notes at timharford.com

Mary Bateman lived in Yorkshire in the late 18th Century, an age that prized rational thought. Many people still longed to believe in the old ways and Bateman used this to her advantage, selling spells and enchantments to the desperate. Dr Maddy Pelling, co-host of the After Dark podcast and author of Hoax: Truth and Lies in the Age of Enlightenment, joins Tim to tell the tale of the villainous Yorkshire Witch, and just how far she was willing to go.&nbsp;
For the sources, see the show notes at <a href="https://timharford.com/">timharford.com</a>

Arsenic and Lace: The Trial of the Yorkshire Witch - with Maddy Pelling

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/f1feb573-07b2-4dbe-92d6-b4970118d34a/transcript

The Herald of Free Enterprise is a new class of ferry that allows cars to drive directly into the ship. The doors must be closed before every departure, or the ship sails with a gaping hole at one end. One black night in 1987, on the freezing waters off Zebrugge, Belgium, a single crew member falls asleep at the worst possible time. 

For the sources, see the show notes at timharford.com

The Herald of Free Enterprise is a new class of ferry that allows cars to drive directly into the ship. The doors must be closed before every departure, or the ship sails with a gaping hole at one end. One black night in 1987, on the freezing waters off Zebrugge, Belgium, a single crew member falls asleep at the worst possible time.&nbsp;
For the sources, see the show notes at <a href="https://timharford.com/">timharford.com</a>

The Doors of Death: The Herald of Free Enterprise 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/ff7ffcab-7b9e-497d-a542-b490013f1e6d/transcript

Windscale is supposed to be Britain's big leap into the nuclear age, bringing science fiction to life in 1950s Northern England. But in the race to catch up with America's nuclear program, scientists are tinkering with forces they don't fully understand. When the reactor catches fire, no-one knows how bad it could be, or how to put it out. As the reactor workers scramble to save lives, other eyes on Windscale are much more concerned with containing the political fallout and burying the truth.  

See the show notes at timharford.com.

Windscale is supposed to be Britain's big leap into the nuclear age, bringing science fiction to life in 1950s Northern England. But in the race to catch up with America's nuclear program, scientists are tinkering with forces they don't fully understand. When the reactor catches fire, no-one knows how bad it could be, or how to put it out. As the reactor workers scramble to save lives, other eyes on Windscale are much more concerned with containing the political fallout and burying the truth.&nbsp;&nbsp;
See the show notes at <a href="https://timharford.com/">timharford.com</a>.

"What a Bloody Mess we're in" - Britain's [REDACTED] Accident 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/ff9ee0f6-539c-4c8c-a21c-b489013196a4/transcript

The Father of Space Travel

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