Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford Pushkin

Legends are made at the Olympics and this summer shows across the Pushkin network are bringing their unique takes to Olympic stories. This special episode includes excerpts from a few: a Cautionary Tale about underestimating female marathoners, a Jesse Owens story from Revisionist History’s series on Hitler’s Olympics, and—from What’s Your Problem—the new technology that’s helping Olympic athletes get stronger.
Check out other show feeds as well, the Happiness Lab and A Slight Change of Plans are also going to the Games.
Sylvia Blemker of Springbok Analytics on What’s Your Problem
The Women Who Broke the Marathon Taboo on Cautionary Tales
Hitler’s Olympics from Revisionist History
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The disappearance and death of Mitrice Richardson remains Malibu, CA’s most baffling unsolved case. It’s been nearly 14 years since her remains were discovered in a remote canyon, and still, no one has been held accountable for her demise.
To this day, her death remains an unsolved mystery.
The truth lies in the remote Malibu community where Mitrice was last seen. And now, finally, people are starting to talk.
Enjoy this episode from Lost Hills: Dark Canyon. Available wherever you listen to podcasts.
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Panic has erupted in the cockpit of Air France Flight 447. The pilots are convinced they’ve lost control of the plane. It’s lurching violently. Then, it begins plummeting from the sky at breakneck speed, careening towards catastrophe. The pilots are sure they’re done-for.
Only, they haven’t lost control of the aircraft at all: one simple manoeuvre could avoid disaster…
In the age of artificial intelligence, we often compare humans and computers, asking ourselves which is “better”. But is this even the right question? The case of Air France Flight 447 suggests it isn't - and that the consequences of asking the wrong question are disastrous.
For a full list of sources, see the show notes at timharford.com.
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Until the 1960s, it was deemed too "dangerous" for women athletes to run distances longer than 200m - and a marathon would kill them, or leave them unable to have children. Rubbish, of course. But when Kathrine Switzer signed up for the 1967 Boston Marathon, it wasn't the distance that bothered her - it was the enraged race director trying to assault her.   
Thanks to pioneers like Kathrine, women have made huge strides in long distance running - and are now challenging the times of men in the very races they were banned from for so very long.  
For a full list of sources, see the show notes at timharford.com.
Check out more Olympics related content from Pushkin Industries and iHeartPodcasts here.
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Adi and Rudi Dassler made sports shoes together - until a feud erupted between them. They set up competing companies, Adidas and Puma, and their bitter rivalry divided the sporting world, their family and even the inhabitants of their home town. 
The Dassler clan turned bickering into an art form - even drawing the likes of soccer legend Pele into their dispute. But did the brilliant fires of hatred produce two world-class companies, or was it a needless distraction from the Dasslers' love for their craft?    
For a full list of sources, see the show notes at timharford.com. 
Check out more Olympics related content from Pushkin Industries and iHeartPodcasts here.
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In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, in 1819, Owen Chase is standing on a slowly sinking ship. It's just been headbutted by an 85 foot whale. It's taking in water. And now the creature is coming back for another go. This is a whaling ship, and Chase is convinced that he observes "fury and vengeance" in the animal.
In 2010, an orca is performing for a crowd at SeaWorld - but he misses his mark and so he doesn't get his reward. That's when he grabs hold of his trainer, Dawn Brancheau, and pulls her under water. By the time he's finished, her savaged body has multiple fractures and dislocations. And her scalp has been ripped off.
To some observers, these whales were surely out for revenge. But how much is what we think we understand about the natural world shaped by human guilt?
For a full list of sources, see the show notes at timharford.com. 
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