Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

• The Nursery Rhyme That Ruined a Rock Band

  "Down Under" was huge. This jokey ode to legendary Australian wanderlust helped Men at Work win a Grammy and was a key part of the band's creative legacy. By 2007, it had been earning Men At Work a steady stream of royalties for nearly 30 years. That was when a quiz show pointed out the song's subtle connection with an Australian nursery rhyme... Tim Harford examines one of the most controversial copyright battles in music history. Where does inspiration end and infringement begin? For a full list of sources, see the show notes at timharford.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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• The Widow Who Disrupted Champagne (with Ben Walter)

  Tim Harford is joined by Ben Walter, CEO of Chase for Business and the host of "The Unshakeables" podcast, to explore the story of the trailblazing Widow Clicquot. Her namesake brand Veuve Clicquot revolutionized the champagne industry in the 19th century. Tim and Ben look at how she defied expectations and built one of the most iconic businesses in history. This episode is sponsored by Chase for Business. For a full list of sources, see the show notes at timharford.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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• The Thrill and the Drop: A First Date Rollercoaster

  Leah Washington and her new boyfriend Joe Pugh are on their first day out together. They're at Alton Towers theme park, where they've chosen to ride the "Smiler" rollercoaster: a terrifying tangle of track that loops and swoops through a world-record 14 inversions. Leah and Joe are seated right at the front of the train and, as they reach the highest point of the ride, they steel themselves for the drop. But then, quite suddenly, the ride stops. Down on the ground, the computer system that controls the rollercoaster is warning that another carriage is out on the track, right in the path of Leah and Joe's train. The engineers are certain the computer is wrong... Algorithms are often faster and cleverer than humans, and they can help us avoid accidents. But computers can make mistakes. When should we trust our own heads, instead of the machine? For a full list of sources, see the show notes at timharford.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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• Dr. Brinkley's Miracle Cure For Impotence (with Betwixt The Sheets)

  Cautionary Conversation: In the 1920s, a conman convinced America that goat testicles were the secret to male virility. Tim Harford and Dr Kate Lister (Betwixt the Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society) dive into the bizarre and grisly tale of "Doctor" John Brinkley. This snake oil salesman mobilised the power of radio marketing to build an empire on goat gland transplants and other quack "cures". And Brinkley might have got away with it, were it not for his nemesis: the tenacious Dr. Morris Fishbein. Find Betwixt the Sheets here: https://podfollow.com/betwixt-the-sheets-the-history-of-sex-scandal-society For a full list of sources, see the show notes at timharford.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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• The Night of the Mugger

  Winston Trew has just been arrested for mugging. It's 1972 and the crime has recently made its way to Britain from the United States. Dangerous thugs, replicating their American counterparts, have made the city of London their hunting ground - so Winston's eventual conviction is a win for the police, and for the press. The problem is, 22-year-old Winston is completely innocent. Do you have a question for Tim Harford and Rachel Botsman about trust? Please send it in to [email protected]. For a full list of sources, see the show notes at timharford.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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