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The True Scandal of Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound
Season 4 Episode 12
It could cure any 'female ailment' - even cancer - said the adverts. But Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound was, in fact, just a concoction of her…
2 years, 10 months ago
What if Terrorists Could Weaponize Covid?
Season 4 Episode 11
Cautionary Conversation: In 1990, a small extremist group launched a nerve gas attack on passengers riding the Tokyo subway. Thousands of people were…
2 years, 11 months ago
The Vigilante and the Air Traffic Controller
Season 4 Episode 10
Air traffic controllers are meant to stop aircrafts from flying into one another... and if they fail, computer systems are installed to warn pilots o…
2 years, 11 months ago
America's Mata Hari? The Double Life of Esther Reed
Season 4 Episode 9
Cautionary Conversation: When a small-town detective gets a tip about a missing woman, he believes he's uncovered a highly-trained chameleon: a forei…
2 years, 11 months ago
Office Hell: the Demise of the Playful Workspace
Season 4 Episode 8
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 wo…
2 years, 11 months ago
La La Land: Galileo’s Warning (Classic)
Season 4 Episode 7
With the 95th Academy Awards just around the corner, Tim Harford looks back at a basic lesson. Galileo tried to teach us that adding more and more la…
2 years, 11 months ago
The Scientist and the Swindler
Season 4 Episode 6
Cautionary Conversation: Celebrated physicist Professor Paul Frampton was on his way to Brussels to meet the love of his life, swimwear model Denise …
3 years ago
The Hero Who Rode His Segway Off a Cliff
Season 4 Episode 5
Steve Jobs called It “the most amazing piece of technology since the PC.” According to Jeff Bezos It was not only “revolutionary,” but infinitely com…
3 years ago
The Mummy's Curse (Classic)
Season 4 Episode 4
A hundred years ago, the Tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun was officially opened - despite the widely held belief that disturbing the remains of the Eg…
3 years ago
The Final Illusion of the Great Lafayette
Season 4 Episode 3
Golden sparks are raining down on the Great Lafayette’s famous vaudeville show, “The Lion’s Bride”. They look like they’re part of the performance. T…
3 years, 1 month ago