The Lovestruck Explorer's Deadly Guessing Game

In 1860, police officer Robert O'Hara Burke plans an expedition to map the mysterious blank in the centre of Australia. Joining him is scientist William Wills, and a ragtag team of hires. Burke falls out with virtually everyone around him, and demonstrates an uncanny ability to make terrible choices - from the equipment he brings to the route he takes. But even as the mission unravels, one final, simple decision could still save him. For a full list of show notes, see timharford.com .

You can listen to The Lovestruck Explorer's Deadly Guessing Game online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

The Lovestruck Explorer's Deadly Guessing Game is an episode from Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford by Pushkin Industries.

This episode is 39:11 long.

This episode was published on Apr 10, 2026.

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