Here’s a special preview of the new season of Cautionary Tales from Pushkin Industries. On Cautionary Tales, bestselling author Tim Harford shares stories of human error, natural disasters, and tragic catastrophes from history that teach us important lessons for today. In this preview, you’ll hear about the 1981 Hyatt Regency Hotel collapse, a shocking desig ... Show More
Jul 28
Empire of Blood: The Fall of the Godfather of Crime and the Green Gang
When his Green Gang goons killed thousands of leftists in 1927’s Shanghai Massacre, Du Yuesheng was welcomed into the political scene of China’s nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek. ‘Big Ears Du’ would then take over the country’s biggest city wholesale — running transport, water, ... Show More
47m 6s
Jul 21
China’s Mob King Prepares for War
By the mid-1920s, Green Gang Boss Du Yuesheng had conquered almost all before him — including his own underworld mentor Huang Jinrong. Shanghai’s opium scene, torn open by British gunboats, belonged to him. But the city was about to become the crucible for a far more bloody showd ... Show More
52m 8s
Oct 2019
Introducing: Cautionary Tales
Coming November 15 from Tim Harford and Pushkin Industries, Cautionary Tales relates a true story of a time when something did not go according to plan. Some of these true stories are tragic, some are comic, but like the great fables and parables, each of them has a moral. Equipp ... Show More
2m 57s
Jul 2023
A Fascination with Failure: Death On The Dancefloor (Classic)
Henry Petroski is one of Tim Harford's favourite fellow nerds. His study of engineering failures has profoundly influenced Tim's own writing, including the classic Cautionary Tales episode Death on the Dance Floor. Petroski passed away in June 2023, at the age of 81. This week, i ... Show More
42m 27s
Oct 2025
The Canal, the Crash and the Ketamine - Pushkin's Reign of Error
Today, Jonathan joins his fellow Pushkin hosts for a special episode all about mistakes. Jonathan speaks with his friend, the writer Sheila Heti. Together, they muse on the cost of mistakes and whether we're really in control of how many we make. Plus, Nate Silver and Maria Konni ... Show More
44m 25s
Oct 2025
On Fire from the Inside - Lethal Injection Up Close with Malcolm Gladwell
Last week, Cautionary Tales told the tragic story of Derek Bentley, exploring Britain's troubled relationship with capital punishment. Across the Atlantic, Revisionist History has also been scrutinizing what it means for a state to try to execute a person. For this bonus episode, ... Show More
27m 4s
Jul 2023
28. The Twilight Zone Deaths: Part One
On this new mini-series, Payton discusses preventable deaths, starting with the Twilight Zone Deaths.
https://linktr.ee/bingedpod
Case Sources:
Outrageous Conduct: Art, Ego and the Twilight Zone Case (1988, Arbor House), by Stephen Farber and Marc Green
Fly by Night: The Secret ... Show More
1h 1m
