The Treasure Hunt that Broke America (Part 2)
Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford
Pushkin Industries
4.7 • 6.4K Ratings
🗓️ 14 November 2025
⏱️ 43 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Forrest Fenn’s legendary treasure hunt ignites a nationwide obsession. The thrill of adventure, the promise of gold, and the call of the wild entice many seekers into the quest. Over time, excitement gives way to conspiracy and resentment, as treasure hunters stray into increasingly dangerous or aggressive interpretations of the clues. As the body count climbs, even Forrest begins to fear for his safety.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:02.6 | Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:04.1 | You should tell the people who we are and what our new show is. |
| 0:06.6 | I'm Robert Smith. |
| 0:07.3 | This is Jacob Goldstein. |
| 0:08.5 | And we used to host a show called Planet Money. |
| 0:10.6 | And now we're back making this new podcast about the best ideas and people and businesses in history. |
| 0:17.5 | And some of the worst people, horrible ideas and destructive companies in the history of business. |
| 0:23.5 | We struggled to come up with a name, decided to call it, business history. |
| 0:27.1 | You know why? |
| 0:28.1 | Why? |
| 0:28.4 | Does this show about the history of business? |
| 0:30.3 | Available everywhere. |
| 0:32.1 | You get your podcasts. |
| 0:41.8 | Push. Podcasts. Pushkin. |
| 0:52.8 | This is the second of two episodes about Forest Fenn's treasure. |
| 0:57.3 | Last episode, an eccentric art dealer hid a box, |
| 1:04.2 | containing at least a million dollars worth of treasure somewhere in the mountains north of Santa Fe, |
| 1:13.0 | New Mexico. Then he published a series of cryptic clues that sparked a global quest for the riches. |
| 1:17.9 | If you haven't heard part one yet, go back and listen to that first. |
| 1:27.3 | Someone is closing in on Forest Femmes treasure. |
| 1:30.3 | It's summer. |
... |
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