379- Cautionary Tales
19 November 2019 - 31 minsGalileo tried to teach us that adding more and more layers to a system intended to avert disaster often makes catastrophe all the more likely. His basic lesson has been ignored in nuclear power plants, financial markets and at the Oscars... all resulting in chaos. At the 2017 Academy Awards, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway famously handed the Best Picture Oscar to the wrong movie. In this episode of Cautionary Tales, Tim Harford takes us through all of the poor design choices leading into the infamous La La Land/Moonlight debacle, and how it could have been prevented.
Cautionary Tales
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Series Episodes
580- Mr Yuk
Our pal Gillian Jacobs takes us through the history of poison control and the yucky face meant to warn children about the dangers lurking in their kitchen cabinets
56 mins
30 April Finished
579- Towers of Silence
How the loss of vultures in India has put an ancient burial tradition in crisis
1 hour 11 mins
23 April Finished
The Power Broker: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Featuring the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and covering the second section of Part 4, chapters 16-20.
2 hours 39 mins
19 April Finished
578- Anything's Pastable: Eat Sauté Love
Dan Pashman embarks on an epic trip across Italy in search of lesser-known pasta dishes — and to learn about the evolution of pasta more broadly.
44 mins
16 April Finished
577- The Society of Ambiance Makers and Elegant Persons
Bright, flamboyant central African fashion
35 mins
9 April Finished
576- Chambre de Bonne
The history of the chambre de bonne, the tiny French apartment type that may be, finally, on the way out.
33 mins
2 April Finished
