Flight of the Fantasist: The Race Around the World - Part 2
Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford
Pushkin Industries
4.7 • 6.4K Ratings
🗓️ 27 February 2026
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
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 success, Crowhurst sets off in a high-tech trimaran.
Soon, the brutal Southern Ocean starts to look too much for his boat. Alone at sea, under mounting pressure, Crowhurst has a bold idea. If he radios in the right coordinates, no one needs to know he’s not where he claims to be.
WARNING: This episode discusses death by suicide. If you are suffering emotional distress or having suicidal thoughts, support is available - for example, from the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US, or the Samaritans in the UK on 116 123.
For a full list of show notes, see timharford.com.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:05.4 | I'm Jonathan Goldstein, and this spring, Heavyweight revisits some favorite episodes. |
| 0:11.2 | Yeah, I think I want to know why she made my life so difficult if she had some kind of thing against me. |
| 0:18.0 | Plus, we check back in with our guests to see what's changed in the years since. |
| 0:22.9 | How long has it been? |
| 0:24.0 | Things have transpired. |
| 0:25.3 | Yeah, the last 10 years. |
| 0:27.1 | Everything's changed. |
| 0:28.5 | New updates begin, March 12th. |
| 0:31.5 | Listen to Heavyweight wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 0:41.1 | Pushkin. |
| 0:54.3 | A warning before we start, this episode discusses death by suicide. |
| 1:00.2 | If you're suffering emotional distress or you're having suicidal thoughts, support is available. |
| 1:08.1 | For example, from the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline in the US, or from the Samaritans in the UK. |
| 1:15.0 | 16-year-old Simon Crowhurst browses the shelves and the library on his first day at a new school. |
| 1:20.2 | He's in the history section, looking for a book on King John. |
| 1:25.1 | He's about to see something much more interesting. |
| 1:30.8 | Years earlier, when he was just eight, |
| 1:34.8 | Simon and his three siblings had waved off their father, Donald Crowhurst, |
| 1:40.5 | from the harbour of a British port. |
| 1:43.2 | He was going to sail round the world on his own non-stop. |
| 1:50.5 | We heard on the last episode of Cautionary Tales |
... |
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