Tim Harford's life has been building up to this moment. In this Cautionary Conversation, he discusses the works of his favorite author J.R.R. Tolkien and the social science at play in Amazon Prime's series The Rings of Power. What do elves and whistleblowers have in common? How can evil hide in plain sight? And where do orcs come from?

Season 2 of The Rings of Power is available to watch on Prime Video from August 29th.

Tim Harford's life has been building up to this moment. In this Cautionary Conversation, he discusses the works of his favorite author J.R.R. Tolkien and the social science at play in Amazon Prime's series The Rings of Power. What do elves and whistleblowers have in common? How can evil hide in plain sight? And where do orcs come from?
Season 2 of The Rings of Power is available to watch on Prime Video from August 29th.

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

Revisionist History is Malcolm Gladwell's journey through the overlooked and the misunderstood. Every episode re-examines something from the past—an event, a person, an idea, even a song—and asks whether we got it right the first time. From Pushkin Industries. Because sometimes the past deserves a second chance.

To get early access to ad-free episodes and extra content, subscribe to Pushkin+ in Apple Podcasts are pushkin.fm/pus.

iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries.

Revisionist History is Malcolm Gladwell's journey through the overlooked and the misunderstood. Every episode re-examines something from the past—an event, a person, an idea, even a song—and asks whether we got it right the first time. From Pushkin Industries. Because sometimes the past deserves a second chance.
To get early access to ad-free episodes and extra content, subscribe to Pushkin+ in Apple Podcasts are pushkin.fm/pus.
iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries.

Because sometimes the past deserves a second chance

Revisionist History

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.

Tim's Tolkien Obsession & Amazon Prime's The Rings of Power

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/80339522-ef85-4830-abb5-b1d901055e47/transcript

Take the Cautionary Tales listener survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HCHGGZ3

Charles Darwin was stumped by peacocks. According to his theory of evolution, some creatures were better equipped to survive in their particular environment than others. It explained a lot - but it didn't explain the peacock's brightly coloured tail feathers, which were extravagant and cumbersome. Surely such plumage made it harder for peacocks to survive?

It so happens that the life of Darwin's own grandfather offered clues to the puzzle of the peacock's tail - if only he'd known to look there...

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

Take the Cautionary Tales listener survey here: <a href="https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HCHGGZ3" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HCHGGZ3&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1729884952533000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3ELlG6ziHuuJhKEdquu7Wg">https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HCHGGZ3</a>
Charles Darwin was stumped by peacocks. According to his theory of evolution, some creatures were better equipped to survive in their particular environment than others. It explained a lot - but it didn't explain the peacock's brightly coloured tail feathers, which were extravagant and cumbersome. Surely such plumage made it harder for peacocks to survive?
It so happens that the life of Darwin's own grandfather offered clues to the puzzle of the peacock's tail - if only he'd known to look there...
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=1731001488462000&amp;usg=AOvVaw182hvri6RSP21OX-dN1nYc">timharford.com</a>.

Darwin's Grandpa and the Art of Sex Appeal

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/c4e920e6-cc40-4acb-9fbb-b22001527b47/transcript

Take the Cautionary Tales listener survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HCHGGZ3

In 1827, Edinburgh, Scotland was a world centre for anatomical study, but there was a shortage of cadavers for medical students to dissect. Two men, William Burke and William Hare, spotted a grim business opportunity. They began sourcing bodies - by any means possible...

In this episode of Cautionary Tales - recorded live at the Podcast Show in London - true crime meets economics. Tim Harford's hair-raising story explores a question: what makes some markets acceptable, and others repugnant?

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

Take the Cautionary Tales listener survey here: <a href="https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HCHGGZ3" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HCHGGZ3&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1729884952533000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3ELlG6ziHuuJhKEdquu7Wg">https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HCHGGZ3</a>
In 1827, Edinburgh, Scotland was a world centre for anatomical study, but there was a shortage of cadavers for medical students to dissect. Two men, William Burke and William Hare, spotted a grim business opportunity. They began sourcing bodies - by any means possible...
In this episode of Cautionary Tales - recorded live at the Podcast Show in London - true crime meets economics. Tim Harford's hair-raising story explores a question: what makes some markets acceptable, and others repugnant?
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=1729771054859000&amp;usg=AOvVaw066CGLyo0FDxOzacgfoQTz">timharford.com</a>

The Edinburgh Body Snatchers: Murder at Halloween

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/2b3e4ec4-96d8-4d65-82da-b21200fdf887/transcript

Tim Harford joined Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova on their podcast Risky Business to discuss two of history’s most compelling swindlers: Sam Israel III and John Law.

We hope you enjoy this episode of Risky Business. It's available wherever you listen to podcasts.

Tim Harford joined Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova on their podcast Risky Business to discuss two of history’s most compelling swindlers: Sam Israel III and John Law.
We hope you enjoy this episode of <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/risky-business-with-nate-silver-and-maria-konnikova/id1743213122">Risky Business</a>. It's available wherever you listen to podcasts.

Cautionary Tales Presents: Death Fraud and Other Risky Business

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/20b93c2b-d367-4783-84c5-b202010d8805/transcript

Tim's Tolkien Obsession & Amazon Prime's The Rings of Power

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

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Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

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