Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford
Pushkin Industries
Topics: History · Society & Culture
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.
Latest episodes
- Why Miners See Ghosts | Halloween Season
- Introducing... Unexplained: Lying in Wait
- The Pedlar and the Witch | Halloween Season
- A Tale of Blood and Ashes: The Exeter Vampires | Halloween Season
- When Aliens Landed in Wiltshire | Halloween Season
- The Mummy's Curse (Halloween Classic)
- When Muhammad Ali Met Henry’s Hammer
- How a Broken Arm Improved my French - with David Epstein
- Talent, Time and Money: The Curse of General Magic
- Evel Knievel Faces the Abyss
Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford is No. 54 in the UK, No. 128 in Canada, No. 81 in Australia, No. 46 in New Zealand and No. 126 in Ireland on Apple Podcasts today. On Apple Podcasts' topic charts: No. 7 in History. Its best place on the chart since October 31, 2026 (New Zealand): No. 42. The latest episode came out on October 30, 2026. A new episode comes out about once a week.
Its place on the chart, day by day
All the numbers, day by day
Its place on the chart, day by day
| Day | UK | Canada | Australia | New Zealand | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 2, 2026 | 54 | 128 | 81 | 46 | 126 |
| November 1, 2026 | 61 | 131 | 79 | 43 | 116 |
| October 31, 2026 | 64 | 138 | 81 | 42 | 136 |
Today's places
| Chart | Place | Since yesterday |
|---|---|---|
| US: History | 13 | = |
| UK: All podcasts | 54 | ▲7 |
| UK: History | 7 | = |
| Canada: All podcasts | 128 | ▲3 |
| Canada: History | 7 | = |
| Australia: All podcasts | 81 | ▼2 |
| Australia: History | 8 | ▼1 |
| New Zealand: All podcasts | 46 | ▼3 |
| New Zealand: History | 7 | ▼3 |
| Ireland: All podcasts | 126 | ▼10 |
| Ireland: History | 11 | ▼3 |
Also on: Apple Podcasts · Podcast website