Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

Proceed with Caution - Pascal's Guide to Podcasts

How does a story on Cautionary Tales come to life? In this episode of our subscriber-exclusive series, Proceed with Caution, sound designer Pascal Wyse shows Tim how the audio magic happens. He explains how he picks the music in an episode, why it's best to avoid 'Mickey Mousing', and how to sound design some of the stranger moments of Cautionary Tales. To subscribe to the Cautionary Club and hear more like this, go to patreon.com/cautionary [https://airtable.com/appZTFQex5QyqNtvc/tblVtUjhHgsSFynl6/viwNPh5DVwzFSpWMR/patreon.com/cautionary] club. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

The Weight of Fame: A Hollywood Tragedy

Talented and beautiful, Molly O'Day is a rising star in 1920s Hollywood. But when Molly's teenage body starts to change and she can no longer fit into the dress she wore when she was 16, the studio wants nothing to do with her. As the scripts dry up and the money runs out, Molly faces a difficult but painfully familiar choice.  For a list of sources, see the show notes at timharford.com [https://timharford.com/] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

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

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 [https://timharford.com/] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

The Doors of Death: The Herald of Free Enterprise

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 [https://timharford.com/] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

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

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 [https://timharford.com/]. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.