Tim Harford :verified:

Author How To Make The World Add Up (UK) / The Data Detective (US).
Cautionary Tales podcast.
Undercover Economist at the FT.
BBC More or Less.
Views my own.

Website: https://timharford.com/2022/11/im-now-on-mastodon/
The other place: https://twitter.com/timharford
Birdsite/Mastodon: https://twittodon.com/share.php?t=timharford&m=timharford@econtwitter.net
At the FT: https://www.ft.com/tim-harford

Last Notes

2026-08-20 16:02:04 UTC

Explain it to me like I’m ten
In 2012, the creator of the xkcd cartoon Randall Munroe unveiled Up Goer Five — a detailed diagram of the Saturn V rocket, annotated using only the most common 1,000 (sorry, “ten hundred”) words in the dictionary.
It was a viral hit, as was the follow-up book, Thing Explainer (2015), and it produced an intriguing reaction from the science-communication community, wh
https://timharford.com/2026/08/explain-it-to-me-like-im-ten/
#UndercoverEconomist

2026-07-31 05:01:05 UTC

Cautionary Tales – Arsenic and Lace: The Trial of the Yorkshire Witch, with Maddy Pelling
https://omny.fm/shows/cautionary-tales-with-tim-harford/playlists/podcast
Mary Bateman lived in York in the late 18th Century, an age that prized rational thought. Many people still longed to believe in the old ways and Bateman used this to her advantage
https://timharford.com/2026/07/cautionary-tales-arsenic-and-lace-the-trial-of-the-yorkshire-witch-with-maddy-pelling/
#CautionaryTales

2026-06-04 17:22:16 UTC

Chatbots make stuff up. Why do we believe them anyway?
Marathon day. An early train into London, then an unfamiliar journey across a race-disrupted city from Paddington to Blackheath, all in good time for the start of the race. I was nervous, of course, but was cheered by the sight of another bib-wearing runner — more experienced at marathons, less familiar with London.
Me
https://timharford.com/2026/06/chatbots-make-stuff-up-why-do-we-believe-them-anyway/
#UndercoverEconomist

2026-01-23 05:01:03 UTC

Cautionary Tales – The WOW Machine Stops (Part 2)
https://omny.fm/shows/cautionary-tales-with-tim-harford/playlists/podcast
Tony Hsieh, the billionaire CEO of Zappos, is passionate about community. He pours his time, energy and fortune into building a network of like-minded people - first in Las Vegas, then Park City, Utah. But Tony's quest to build connection soon spirals into iso
https://timharford.com/2026/01/cautionary-tales-the-wow-machine-stops-part-2/
#CautionaryTales

2025-09-19 06:01:07 UTC

Cautionary Tales – A deadly day at the races: What radical protest can and cannot do
https://omny.fm/shows/cautionary-tales-with-tim-harford/playlists/podcast/
After years of campaigning for votes for women, the Suffragettes emerge at the turn of the 20th Century. Their motto, 'Deeds Not Words', heralds the start of more radical actions, includin
https://timharford.com/2025/09/cautionary-tales-a-deadly-day-at-the-races-what-radical-protest-can-and-cannot-do/
#CautionaryTales

2025-07-11 05:01:06 UTC

Cautionary Tales – “I get in trouble when I say things like this”… Michael Lewis on Sam Bankman-Fried
Acclaimed author Michael Lewis discusses his time with Sam Bankman-Fried and why he thinks both high finance and Effective Altruism shaped the 'Crypto King's' worldview, ultimately landing him in jail. Plus, we hear about the peo
https://timharford.com/2025/07/cautionary-tales-i-get-in-trouble-when-i-say-things-like-this-michael-lewis-on-sam-bankman-fried/
#CautionaryTales