A British Lord wanted to build the best airship in the world - and so he had two rival design teams battle it out to win the juicy government contract. Competition is supposed to bring the best out of people, but run in the wrong way it can cause people (and the things they produce) to fall apart in the most horrifying ways.

Read more about Tim's work at http://timharford.com/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices