Before he became Muhammad Ali, Cassius Clay was known as the "Louisville Loud-mouth", as famous for his sharp taunts and poetic put-downs as he was for his skills in the ring. In 1963, Clay arrived in England to take down beloved British Heavyweight, Henry Cooper....
https://omny.fm/shows/cautionary-tales-with-tim-harford/explosives-or-sugar-the-deadly-art-of-distraction-in-putin-s-russia-with-helena-merriman In 1999, a series of bombs explode in Russian apartments, killing hundreds and spreading panic. No one knows who is behind...
I recently described the contradictions inherent in my fitness-tracking watch. On the one hand, it had unlocked the joy of running for me, encouraging me to run further and faster and set goals I’d never dreamt of achieving. On the other, the watch could also push me...
https://omny.fm/shows/cautionary-tales-with-tim-harford/flight-of-the-fantasist-the-race-around-the-world-part-2 https://omny.fm/shows/cautionary-tales-with-tim-harford/the-philosopher-and-the-handyman-the-race-around-the-world-part-1 Donald Crowhurst is a brilliant...
How are you doing? Well, I hope, despite everything. And if you are, then you are just like all the friends and colleagues who sent me messages at Christmas, all of them claiming that they were also doing just fine, also despite everything. The contradiction here is...
https://omny.fm/shows/cautionary-tales-with-tim-harford/the-philosopher-and-the-handyman-the-race-around-the-world-part-1 https://omny.fm/shows/cautionary-tales-with-tim-harford/flight-of-the-fantasist-the-race-around-the-world-part-2 Who will be the first to sail...
In the late 1930s, the Roosevelt administration embarked on a curious project. Officials hired thousands of unemployed writers to produce guidebooks, children’s books, local histories, collections of folklore and a variety of other essays. Some of these writers were,...
https://omny.fm/shows/cautionary-tales-with-tim-harford/sphygmograph-be-damned-the-science-of-love Chris McKinlay is a good looking, smart student at UCLA, but he can't seem to get a girlfriend. He's a computing expert, so why not use his technology prowess to...
The marathon, the algorithm and me Twenty-five centuries ago, after the Greeks shattered the Persian army at Marathon, brave Pheidippides ran 26 miles to Athens with the news. Robert Browning’s poem tells the tale: “Rejoice, we conquer!” Like wine thro’ clay Joy in...