Air traffic controllers are meant to stop aircraft flying into one another... and if they fail, computer systems are installed to warn pilots of a coming collision. But sometimes these humans and computers give conflicting and confusing advice. Who to believe? When a...
In the early 90s, cutting-edge advertising agency Chiat/Day announced a radical plan, aimed at giving the company a jolt of creative renewal. They would sweep away corner offices and cubicles and replace them with zany open spaces, as well as innovative portable...
Galileo tried to teach us that when we add more and more layers to a system intended to avert disaster, those layers of complexity may eventually be what causes the catastrophe. His basic lesson has been ignored in nuclear power plants, financial markets and at the...
Steve Jobs called 'IT' “the most amazing piece of technology since the PC”. According to Jeff Bezos 'IT' was not only “revolutionary”, but also infinitely commercial. IT was a fiendishly clever and massively hyped invention. But in the end 'IT' — also known as the...
One hundred years ago, on 16th February 1923, the Tomb of the Pharaoh Tutenkhamun was officially opened. Disturbing the remains of the Egyptian pharaohs is known to incur a deadly curse, so why did a team of archeologists still risk inciting the wrath of King...
I’m taking your questions! Do you have any queries about one of the stories we’ve covered? Are you curious about how we make the show? Or is there anything else you think I might be able to help with? I want to hear from you, so send any questions you might have -...
Golden sparks rained down on The Great Lafayette’s famous show, “The Lion’s Bride”. They looked like they were part of the performance. They weren’t — and soon the theatre was ablaze. How to save the three thousand audience members now trapped in a burning building?27...
RECORDED BEFORE AN AUDIENCE AT THE BRISTOL FESTIVAL OF ECONOMICS (17 November 2022) The Dutch went so potty over tulip bulbs in the 1600s that many were ruined when the inflated prices they were paying for the plants collapsed - that's the oft-repeated story later...
I have a special start to the year for you: two cracking shorter Cautionary Tales, previously only available to Pushkin+ subscribers. (Pushkin+ remains the place to hear other exclusive titbits, and perhaps most obviously to listen to the show uninterrupted by any...