Short stories, fact-checked
The Old Fox
Pull up a chair.
The Old Fox is a tweed-suited fox with a long memory and a sharp nose for a con, telling true stories in about a minute. Three series: Who's Tricking You? (the marketing tricks behind what you buy), The Old Fox's Library (quick history) and The Old Fox: Case Files (heists, cons and famous thefts). New Shorts daily. Keep your nose to the wind.
Marketing tricks & consumer history
Who's Tricking You?
The marketing tricks and consumer history behind what you buy, from diamond rings to Black Friday. The Old Fox asks who's really selling you the story.
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Episode 1
Premieres 21 Oct at 6pm
Who decided a ring should cost two months' wages?
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Episode 2
Premieres 22 Oct at 6pm
Why does nothing cost a pound?
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Episode 3
Premieres 25 Oct at 6pm
Who said breakfast is the most important meal?
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Episode 4
Premieres 28 Oct at 6pm
Why does your chocolate bar feel lighter?
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Episode 5
Premieres 31 Oct at 6pm
Why pay for water that comes out of your tap?
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Episode 6
Premieres 3 Nov at 6pm
Who told you there are only three left?
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Episode 7
Premieres 6 Nov at 6pm
Why does a supermarket pay you to carry its card?
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Episode 8
Premieres 8 Nov at 6pm
Why does a free trial need your card details?
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Episode 9
Premieres 9 Nov at 6pm
Paying for things you never use? Ask a gym
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Episode 10
Premieres 10 Nov at 6pm
What does 'natural' on a food label really mean?
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Episode 11
Premieres 24 Nov at 6pm
Who decided the best deals land on one Friday?
Quick, fact-checked history
The Old Fox's Library
Pull up a chair: quick, fact-checked history from the Old Fox's bookshelf, from the pyramids to the Great Fire of London.
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Episode 1
Premieres 21 Oct at 6pm
The Great Pyramid wasn't built by slaves
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Episode 2
Premieres 24 Oct at 6pm
Stonehenge was once sold at auction
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Episode 3
Premieres 27 Oct at 6pm
Titanic had more lifeboats than the law required
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Episode 4
Premieres 30 Oct at 6pm
Were the Tower ravens a Victorian invention?
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Episode 5
Premieres 2 Nov at 6pm
Why are Roman roads so straight?
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Episode 6
Premieres 5 Nov at 6pm
What did you win at the first Olympics?
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Episode 7
Premieres 7 Nov at 6pm
The Great Fire of London and Pepys's buried cheese
Heists, cons & famous thefts
The Old Fox: Case Files
Heists, cons and famous thefts, told by an old fox who's seen them all. Case closed.
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Episode 1
Premieres 21 Oct at 6pm
The pensioner gang behind the Hatton Garden heist
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Episode 2
Premieres 23 Oct at 6pm
The theft that helped make the Mona Lisa famous
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Episode 3
Premieres 26 Oct at 6pm
How to rob a train: ask it nicely to stop
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Episode 4
Premieres 29 Oct at 6pm
D.B. Cooper: the hijacker who jumped and vanished
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Episode 5
Premieres 1 Nov at 6pm
The students who took the Stone of Scone back to Scotland
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Episode 6
Premieres 4 Nov at 6pm
The diamond heist, the rubbish bags and a salami sandwich