
We tell our children unsettling fairy tales to teach them valuable lessons, but these Cautionary Tales are for the education of the grown ups – and they are all true. Tim Harford (Financial Times, BBC, author of “The Data Detective”) brings you stories of awful human error, tragic catastrophes, and hilarious fiascos. They'll delight you, scare you, but also make you wiser. New episodes every Frida... more
| Publishes | Weekly | Episodes | 231 | Founded | 6 years ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Listeners | Categories | Society & CultureHistory | |||

In 1999, a series of bombs explode in Russian apartments, killing hundreds and spreading panic. No one knows who is behind it. But when one device is spotted before it detonates, troubling questions emerge. Was it really a bomb? Why is the country's ... more
Donald Crowhurst is a brilliant inventor with a failing business. When he hears about the Golden Globe Race offering publicity and cash to the fastest to sail around the world, it feels like the perfect solution. Betting his business and his home on ... more
Who will be the first to sail non-stop around the world? In 1968, The Sunday Times announces a trophy and a cash prize for the winner, and the Golden Globe Race is on. Leading the charge are Robin Knox-Johnston, an old-fashioned British patriot, and ... more
This episode comes to you from American Criminal, the true-crime history podcast that takes you inside the minds of some of America's most notorious outlaws, exploring the dark side of the American dream.
In this series, host Jeremy Schwartz explor... more
People also subscribe to these shows.





Such a wonderfully crafted show. Tim does an amazing job researching, presenting and captivating on every episode. 5 stars.
The recent episodes about Zappos CEO were captivating.
Early episodes are well done, interesting, and adhere to the "cautionary tale" where unexpected or unintuitive choices or processes cause tragedy from which we can learn. Later on, the host tends more towards just the macabre and also lots of guest podcasts and interviews. Feels very much like having jumped the shark. I'm not interested in starting my day with a random episode from another podcast or a depressing description of a tragic unavoidable event.
Story great as usual. The commercial advertising a book with crazy irritating humming my only complaint. Turned sound off during commercial . Love this show
This is a good episode but the description extolling that Singer ‘liberated’ women is offensive. He did no such thing personally and the sewing machine, which he only partly invented, only did so through his partner’s ’rent-try-buy’ idea. The description is sensationalist and offensive for what is usually a measured podcast. Please change it.
Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.
How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.
Spotify | #48 | |
Apple Podcasts | #33 | |
Spotify | #27 | |
Apple Podcasts | #220 | |
Apple Podcasts | #222 | |
Apple Podcasts | #13 |
Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.
Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.
| Listeners per Episode | |
|---|---|
| Gender Skew | |
| Location | |
| Interests | |
| Professions | |
| Age Range | |
| Household Income | |
| Social Media Reach |
The podcast provides a compelling blend of storytelling and education by examining true stories of human error, disasters, and intriguing historical events. Each episode features a unique narrative that highlights fascinating characters, analytical insights, and the often unintended consequences of people's actions. With a focus on cautionary tales, it seeks to unpack complex themes related to society and culture, addressing the lessons that can be drawn from misadventures, failures, and even humor from real-life scenarios. This blend of history and narrative craft makes it a rich resource for listeners interested in learning from the past in an entertaining manner.
Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for Cautionary Tales. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to Cautionary Tales and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.
Rephonic provides a full set of podcast information for three million podcasts, including the number of listeners. View further listenership figures for Cautionary Tales, including podcast download numbers and subscriber numbers, so you can make better decisions about which podcasts to sponsor or be a guest on. You will need to upgrade your account to access this premium data.
Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for Cautionary Tales, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.
To see how many followers or subscribers Cautionary Tales has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.
These podcasts share a similar audience with Cautionary Tales:
1. Revisionist History
2. 99% Invisible
3. Hot Money: Agent of Chaos
4. Against the Rules: The Big Short Companion
5. More or Less
Cautionary Tales launched 6 years ago and published 231 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.
Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.
Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for Cautionary Tales from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.
View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.
Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of Cautionary Tales. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.
Recent guests on Cautionary Tales include:
1. Ellen Huet
2. Ed Thorpe
3. Richard Garfield
4. JR Martinez
5. Dr. Maya Shankar
6. Katie Milchman
7. Joe Robertson
8. Ashley Hamer
To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.