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innovationbanking.hsbc. 49-year-old

2:38

Mario Pelagrini runs a hotel

2:40

in Gileo, an island off

2:43

the coast of Tuscany, Italy.

2:45

Gileo is a tiny island,

2:47

just eight square miles, but

2:50

in summer it's bustling. Tourists

2:52

come to lays on the

2:55

island's sandy beaches, explore its

2:57

hidden coves, sample wine in

2:59

its vineyards, and hike through

3:02

the pine forest to see

3:04

the medieval stone-walled fortress on

3:06

the hill. In

3:09

winter, Gileo is quiet. The

3:12

tourists have gone. The holiday

3:14

homes are shuttered. The hotels

3:16

and restaurants are mostly closed.

3:18

Just a few hundred people

3:20

live on the island all

3:23

year round. Mario Pelagrini is

3:25

the island's deputy mayor. At

3:27

10 o'clock in the evening,

3:29

on Friday the 13th of

3:31

January 2012, his phone rings.

3:33

It's the chief of the

3:36

island's police. I've

3:38

been trying to call the mayor, says

3:40

the policeman. We've had a report that

3:42

there's a ship in difficulty outside the

3:44

harbour. Do you know anything about it?

3:47

Pelagrini doesn't know anything about it, but

3:49

says he'll drive over to that side

3:51

of the island to have a look.

3:53

He also tries to call the mayor,

3:55

but can't get through. That's no surprise.

3:58

Cell phone reception is packed. reaches a

4:00

a friend whose

4:02

house overlooks the the harbour

4:04

and Can you go and look out of your

4:06

window? and look out of says the friend. Sure,

4:09

says the friend. Then, oh,

4:11

oh my God. Pellegrini rounds

4:14

a bend rounds a bend

4:16

in the road and sees what

4:18

his friends saw. gigantic A gigantic

4:20

cruise ship. They never get

4:22

this close to the island. 17

4:25

decks high, the length of of

4:27

soccer soccer a few few meters

4:29

past the harbour, where the

4:31

rocks are, tilting tilting to

4:33

one to one side. be

4:36

There must be thousands

4:38

of people on there,

4:40

thinks He's right. He's right,

4:43

two hundred and twenty-nine, to

4:45

be exact. Pellegrini

4:48

drives onto the harbour. the

4:50

He meets his friend, his friend.

4:52

there there too. What's going on? going on?

4:54

Pellegrini asks. idea, says idea says

4:56

the mayor. no We've had no

4:59

communication whatsoever from the ship or

5:01

the coast card card. They see a see

5:03

a being lowered being lowered from the

5:05

listing ship that they're realize that they're

5:07

going to have to find shelter

5:10

for everyone They start to make calls

5:12

to their fellow fellow islanders. the school

5:14

open the the church, food bring blankets

5:17

The first of the the

5:19

lifeboats in the the harbour

5:22

scrapes up against the

5:24

concrete jetty jetty. They help

5:26

the passengers passengers ask ask, what's

5:28

happening on the ship?

5:30

But nobody nobody responds they don't

5:32

Maybe they don't understand Italian, maybe

5:34

maybe they're just too cold and

5:36

stunned to speak. speak. One of

5:38

us should go on board, on

5:40

says says Pelagrini, see what's going

5:42

on. going on. The The lifeboat's about

5:44

to go back to the ship

5:46

to pick up more passengers. pick

5:48

up more yells Pellegrini. yells He gets

5:50

on. He gets on. I didn't really

5:52

think this through, through, Pellegrini later

5:54

says. says. As the As the lifeboat

5:56

approaches the cruise ship, Pellegrini

5:58

makes out its name. on

6:00

the side, The Costa

6:03

the Costa Concordia. bumps

6:05

up The lifeboat bumps up against

6:07

a rope ladder, the ships

6:10

leaning over them, the ladder

6:12

dangling in the air. in the air.

6:14

grabs a rung. grabs a

6:16

The ladder ladder sways.

6:18

He starts to clamber

6:21

up. up. I'm Tim Harford

6:23

Tim Harford, and you're

6:25

listening to Cautionary Tales. Music

6:47

plays It's

6:53

9 o 'clock in the evening

6:55

on Friday the the of

6:57

January on the Costa Concordia

6:59

and Captain Francesco Scatino is

7:01

eating dinner. is eating in one

7:03

of the ship's restaurants. the It

7:05

has five, along with

7:07

five, bars, 13 four swimming

7:09

pools, pools, five a

7:12

disco, a casino, and a

7:14

movie a movie theatre. Keeping all the

7:16

passengers on a cruise ship

7:18

fed and entertained is no

7:20

small task. task. Of the

7:23

4 ,000 -plus people the the Concordia,

7:25

over thousand a crew. that day, the ship had

7:27

that day, the ship had

7:29

picked up passengers in the

7:31

port of Rome. near Rome. forward

7:34

looking forward to a week

7:36

of puttering around the Mediterranean

7:38

Sea, skirting the coasts of

7:40

Italy, France, and Spain. They

7:43

haven't yet been through their

7:45

mandatory safety briefing safety to

7:47

do in case of do in case

7:49

of The law says that

7:51

the briefing must be held

7:53

within held hours of passengers getting

7:55

on board, on board. And surely no

7:57

rush. rush. Francesco

8:00

Scatino is 51 years old. He

8:02

has a wife back at home.

8:04

He also has a mistress, half

8:07

his age, and he's with her

8:09

now. She's also employed by the

8:11

cruise company, but currently off duty.

8:14

Scatino has asked to be told

8:16

when there are a few miles

8:18

from Gileo, and now he gets

8:21

that call. The captain and his

8:23

lover finish up their meals and

8:25

make their way together from the

8:27

restaurant to the ship's bridge. Picture

8:32

a space like an airplane's cockpit,

8:34

but on a grander scale, screens

8:37

and dials, knobs and levers, wrap

8:39

around windows with a view of

8:42

what's ahead. When Scatino arrives, the

8:44

first officer is in command, also

8:46

on the bridge, of a third

8:49

officer and a helmsman, and someone

8:51

else too. The ships matredee, the

8:53

head waiter. He wouldn't normally be

8:56

on the bridge, but he's from

8:58

the island of Gileo, and Scatino

9:01

has promised him a salute. It's

9:03

common practice, a courtesy from the

9:05

captain to a valued member of

9:08

the crew. You veer slightly off

9:10

the planned route and pass closer

9:13

to the shoreline, so your family

9:15

and friends on land can admire

9:17

the impressive size of the ship.

9:20

Passengers enjoy these salutes too. It

9:22

can give them a closer look

9:24

at a picturesque island. Not that

9:27

there'd be much to see tonight,

9:29

at half past nine on a

9:32

dark January evening. It should all

9:34

be routine. But as Scatino arrives

9:36

on the bridge, there are some

9:39

causes for concern. The speed is

9:41

15 knots, about 17 miles an

9:44

hour. That's a touch too fast

9:46

for comfort. For a ship this

9:48

big and this close to land,

9:51

the quicker you're going, the more

9:53

difficult it is to judge your

9:56

turns. And the automated navigation... is

9:58

still engaged. It shouldn't be. Scatino

10:00

says to the first officer, don't

10:03

we normally use paper charts and

10:05

manual maneuvering when we're this close

10:07

to shore? The paper charts, in

10:10

truth, might not be as much

10:12

help as you'd expect. The Costa

10:15

Concordia carries only small scale charts

10:17

of the seabed this close to

10:19

Gileo. That's because detours like this,

10:22

to salute an island, aren't part

10:24

of the officially planned route, even

10:27

if they are common practice. The

10:29

planned route runs closer to the

10:31

middle of the 10-mile channel between

10:34

the island and the mainland and

10:36

the mainland. Scatino has

10:38

done this swing by, close to

10:40

Gileo, often enough before. As still,

10:43

it does look like they're heading

10:45

closer to the island than they'd

10:47

usually get. Through the bridges, big

10:49

windows, you can see flashes of

10:52

white as waves break on the

10:54

shore. The matrodee is on the

10:56

phone chatting to an old friend,

10:58

also originally from Gileo, a retired

11:01

cruise ship captain. He passes the

11:03

phone to Scatino to say hello.

11:05

The two men know each other,

11:07

though they haven't spoken in years.

11:09

Scatino skips the pleasant pleasantries. How

11:12

deep is the seabed close to

11:14

Gileo? he asks. Like 800 yards

11:16

from the harbour? The retired captain

11:18

is surprised. You don't need to

11:21

go that close. He says. It's

11:23

January. There'll be hardly anyone on

11:25

the island. And it's night time.

11:27

Nobody's going to be looking out

11:29

of their windows to see you

11:32

go by. They'll be watching television

11:34

with their curtains closed. Just say

11:36

hi and stay away. Says the

11:38

retired captain. Scatino is

11:41

trying to make sure he

11:43

stays away. He wants to

11:46

ease the ship towards the

11:48

right to run parallel to

11:50

the island's coastline. 325 degrees,

11:53

he tells the helmsman. The

11:55

helmsman repeats it back. 315

11:58

degrees. He's in charge. He

12:01

doesn't speak very good

12:04

English or Italian. Now

12:06

the first officer interjects

12:08

to clarify. Three, three,

12:11

five degrees. He's not

12:13

helping. Scatino repeats himself.

12:16

Three, two, five. Despite

12:19

these communication difficulties, the mood

12:21

on the bridge still seems

12:24

relaxed. Nobody yet appears to

12:26

appreciate the extent of the

12:29

danger they're in. Then, Scatino

12:31

sees the rock. Hard to

12:34

starboard, hard to port. The

12:36

helmsman tries to turn the

12:39

ship, but it's too late.

12:41

As the back of the

12:43

ship swings round, it crunches

12:46

up against the rock. There

12:49

was a loud bang,

12:51

one passenger later told

12:53

reporters from Vanity Fair,

12:55

followed by a great

12:57

big groaning sound. A

12:59

long and powerful vibration,

13:01

said another, like an

13:04

earthquake. The rock rips

13:06

a gash in the

13:08

side of the ship,

13:10

over 150 feet long.

13:16

Back in the restaurant, other

13:18

passengers are still eating dinner.

13:20

I took the first bite

13:23

of my eggplant and feta,

13:25

says one, and I literally

13:27

had to chase the plate

13:29

across the table. It was

13:31

exactly like the scene in

13:33

Titanic, recalls another. Dishes went

13:35

flying, glasses went flying, all

13:38

over. Then,

13:40

across the restaurants and bars,

13:42

the jacouces and the disco,

13:44

the casino and the theatre,

13:46

the lights went out. Cautionary

13:49

tales will be back after

13:51

the break. This is Malcolm

13:53

Gladwell. revisionist history. So we

13:55

are, we're sitting in what?

13:58

We're sitting in 1988, BMW

14:00

325 IS. And describe the

14:02

way in which it's been

14:04

modified. It has no interior.

14:07

That's where it begins. Not

14:09

even a steering wheel as

14:11

well as I was thinking

14:13

down. Yeah, right now there's

14:16

no steering wheel, although I

14:18

can fix that in second.

14:20

And what's the appeal of

14:22

the late 80s B&W 325?

14:25

Well, it's almost like the

14:27

perfection of a recipe that

14:29

BMW began in the 60s,

14:31

which is to take, you

14:33

know, a really beautifully made

14:36

inline-6 engine, railwheel drive, and

14:38

just like an incredibly balanced

14:40

and fun to drive car.

14:42

Yeah. Yeah, we give it

14:45

a little sneak peek. I

14:49

need to take the battery.

14:52

The battery is disconnected. The

14:54

battery is actually under the

14:57

rear seat. Oh, I see.

14:59

Just, that's it. That's so,

15:01

it has an absolutely perfect

15:04

balance between front and rear,

15:06

rear, rear way. Exactly, yeah.

15:09

So yes, turn it on.

15:11

Let's hear it. Oh yes!

15:15

And this is your first BMW?

15:17

My second. Oh no, Lucas, you

15:19

can't say that. You have to

15:22

say it. What was your second?

15:24

What was your first? It was

15:26

in 1989, 535I. Oh yes, right.

15:28

This is, but you own that

15:31

with a bunch of other people.

15:33

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So this is

15:35

my first, my true, my first,

15:37

you know, Solbeam Museum. Solion. Okay,

15:40

wonderful. Whether it's

15:42

a vintage 3-series or

15:44

the all-new 2025 3-series,

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you'll never forget your

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offering a striking sports

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every ride. message

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threats you can't control. Francesco Scatino

18:49

is currently in prison, serving a

18:52

16-year sentence for his role in

18:54

the sinking of the Costa Concordia.

18:57

There's not much public sympathy for

18:59

reasons we'll come to. But not

19:01

everyone is comfortable with what happened

19:04

to Francesco Scatino. He's been scapegoated,

19:06

the captain's lawyer insisted. An Italian

19:08

consumer rights organization that represented some

19:11

of the passengers on the ship,

19:13

agreed. Scatino should be punished, said

19:15

a spokesperson, but he has been

19:18

made a scapegoat. The head of

19:20

a European association of shipmasters used

19:22

the same word. Scapegote. But

19:25

what exactly is a scapegoat?

19:27

The word comes from a

19:29

story in the Old Testament.

19:31

A priest lays his hands

19:33

on the head of a

19:35

goat. He confesses all the

19:38

sins of his people, which

19:40

mystically transfers all those sins

19:42

into the goat. Then he

19:44

allows the goat to escape

19:46

his clutches and it wanders

19:48

off into the wilderness. The

19:50

escape goat, carrying with it

19:52

the sins of the people.

19:55

The underlying idea seems to

19:57

run deep in the human

19:59

psyche. the author Tom

20:02

Douglas in his book, Scapecoats,

20:04

transferring blame. Whenever an early

20:06

society came to believe in

20:09

a God that could punish

20:11

them for their sins, they

20:13

often also developed the reassuring

20:16

belief that they could escape

20:18

God's punishment by transferring their

20:20

sin onto something or someone

20:23

else. Different societies came up

20:25

with different rituals. In

20:28

ancient Athens, for example, the

20:30

metaphorical scapegoat was an unfortunate

20:33

human, who would be ceremonially

20:35

whipped on the genitals with

20:37

the branches of a fig

20:39

tree, then paraded through the

20:42

streets and pelted with stones.

20:44

Whatever the details of the

20:46

ritual, says Douglas, the intended

20:48

outcome was the same. The

20:51

sins of the community are

20:53

removed, like the disposal of

20:55

rubbish of rubbish. Douglas

21:00

argues that much the same

21:02

dynamic plays out today, when

21:05

a community or organization collectively

21:07

screws up, its members may

21:09

instinctively try to escape the

21:12

consequences by shifting all the

21:14

blame onto one individual. This

21:17

process isn't as mystical or

21:19

ritualistic as in olden times.

21:21

More often, it's cynical and

21:24

strategic. and the punishment we

21:26

want to avoid isn't typically

21:28

from God, it may be

21:31

from the courts of law

21:33

or public opinion. Mario

21:38

Pelagrini reaches the top of the

21:40

rope ladder and hauls himself onto

21:43

the deck, or one of the

21:45

decks. The Costa Concordia, remember, has

21:47

17 levels. It's the length of

21:50

three football pitches. Pelagrini has no

21:52

idea how to find his way

21:54

around. The deck is filled with

21:56

frightened passenger. to get on to

21:59

one of the many lifeboats that

22:01

members of the crew are lowering

22:03

to the water. Pelagrini finds some

22:05

people in uniform and asks what's

22:08

happening. They have no idea, they

22:10

say. But one wants to know

22:12

why he's not wearing a life

22:14

jacket. Oh, I'm not a passenger,

22:17

Pelagrini explains. I'm the deputy mayor

22:19

of Gileo. I've come on board

22:21

to ask what help you need.

22:24

Sir, you have to put on

22:26

a life jacket. Pelagrini tries again.

22:28

I want to talk to whoever's

22:30

in charge. Where can I find

22:33

them? On the bridge, replies the

22:35

crew member. But you won't be

22:37

allowed on the bridge. You're a

22:39

civilian. Pelagrini walks off in search

22:42

of the bridge. He can't find

22:44

it. Every time he encounters someone

22:46

in uniform, he asks what's going

22:49

on and who's in charge, but

22:51

nobody can give him a useful

22:53

answer. At length,

22:55

he finds himself back on the

22:57

deck where the lifeboats are. On

22:59

the opposite side of the ship,

23:02

this time the side that's angled

23:04

upwards. And while he's been exploring,

23:06

the ship has tilted further. It's

23:08

now at such an angle that

23:10

from this side, they can't lower

23:12

any more lifeboats to the sea.

23:16

Suddenly, Pelagrini finds himself lying on

23:18

top of a woman. He's not

23:20

sure what just happened. He apologizes,

23:23

tries to stand up, and falls

23:25

right back down again. It was

23:28

very disorientating, Pelagrini recalls. You couldn't

23:30

tell which way was up or

23:32

down. The ship must be properly

23:35

capsizing onto its side now, Pelagrini

23:37

realizes. All he can do is

23:40

find something to grab onto and

23:42

wait for the shit to settle

23:44

on the rocks. It

23:49

all started with that loud

23:51

bang. Then a great big

23:53

groaning sound. Plates of eggplant

23:55

and feta flew across the

23:57

table. The lights went out.

23:59

and the darkness. After a

24:01

while, a voice over the

24:03

public address system. Ladies and

24:06

gentlemen, your attention please, I

24:08

speak on behalf of the

24:10

captain. We are currently experiencing

24:12

a blackout due to an

24:14

electrical fault. The situation is

24:16

under control. An

24:18

electrical fault? That felt

24:20

like more than an

24:22

electrical fault. The ship's

24:24

emergency backup lights come

24:26

on, and they illuminate

24:28

a scene of chaos.

24:31

Waiters are picking themselves

24:33

up. Plates and glasses

24:35

are everywhere. Panels have

24:37

fallen from the ceiling.

24:39

The ship appears to

24:41

be noticeably listing. An

24:43

electrical fault? One passenger

24:45

calls her daughter who lives in

24:48

central Italy. She describes what just

24:50

happened and says she's not convinced

24:52

that the situation is under control.

24:55

The daughter, not sure what else

24:57

to do, phones the local police.

24:59

The police think perhaps they'd better

25:02

call the Coast Guard. The Coast

25:04

Guard is surprised to get the

25:06

call. Usually when a ship's in

25:09

trouble, the ship calls them. The

25:11

Coast Guard doesn't normally have to

25:13

call the ship. says

25:18

the Coast Guard to the Costa

25:20

Concordia. No, everything's fine, comes the

25:22

response. We just had a blackout,

25:24

that's all. So you don't need

25:27

assistance? No, we don't. The

25:29

Coast Guard doesn't believe them. Are

25:31

they in denial? Hoping, perhaps, that

25:33

they can make it to the

25:36

next port and avoid the embarrassment

25:38

of having to call for help?

25:40

He sends a boat to investigate,

25:42

but precious time has been lost.

25:44

Many of the passengers are just

25:47

as skeptical as the Coast Guard.

25:49

They put on life jackets and

25:51

head straight for the lifeboats, ignoring

25:53

messages from the crew to kindly

25:55

return to your cabin. Everything is

25:57

under control. Later,

26:00

some tell how they got into

26:02

a lifeboat and demanded that members

26:04

of the crew lower it into

26:06

the water. The crew members didn't

26:08

want to because they hadn't yet

26:10

received orders from the captain to

26:12

abandoned ship. What

26:15

was happening with Captain Scatino up

26:17

on the bridge? He was getting

26:19

reports about how many of the

26:21

ship's compartments had flooded. Enough to

26:24

be sure that the ship would

26:26

sink. But he didn't seem to

26:28

be taking the information in, according

26:31

to the testimony of one crew

26:33

member. He was out of his

26:35

routine mental state. He was under

26:37

shock. He wasn't the person I

26:40

knew. A

26:42

video from the bridge shows

26:44

him looking stunned, says one

26:47

expert analyst. The captain really

26:49

froze. It doesn't seem his

26:52

brain was processing. Scatino was

26:54

also on the phone to

26:56

the cruise company's crisis coordinator.

26:59

What exactly were they saying

27:01

to each other? Later, their

27:04

accounts would differ. But eventually,

27:06

over an hour after the

27:08

collision with the rock, the

27:11

order came over the public

27:13

address system. Abandoned ship. One

27:16

72-year-old woman tells how she

27:18

tried to get on a

27:21

lifeboat on the side of

27:23

the listing ship that was

27:25

closer to the water. It's

27:28

full. People yelled from one

27:30

boat. And the next. I

27:33

think there was room, she

27:36

says, but those already on

27:38

the boats were shouting at

27:40

the crew members to lower

27:42

them down straight away. The

27:44

ship was tilting alarmingly. She

27:47

saw that land really wasn't

27:49

that far away. She was

27:51

a strong swimmer. She jumped.

27:53

Every 50 feet I would

27:56

stop and look back, recalled

27:58

the woman. I could hear

28:00

the ship creaking. was scared

28:02

that it would fall on

28:05

top of me if it

28:07

capsized completely. Not long after

28:09

midnight, the ship finally did

28:11

capsize completely. This was the

28:14

moment when Mario Pellegrini found

28:16

himself lying on top of

28:18

a woman wondering what just

28:20

happened. You couldn't tell which

28:23

way was up or down.

28:25

32 people died on the

28:27

Costa Concordia that night. Experts

28:30

believe that this was the

28:32

moment, the final capsize, when

28:34

most of their fates were

28:37

sealed. Would some of those

28:39

32 have already been off

28:41

the ship if the order

28:43

to evacuate had been given

28:45

more quickly? Perhaps. Since

28:48

he gave that order, Francesco

28:50

Scatino has changed out of

28:53

his captain's uniform into civilian

28:55

clothes. He can no longer

28:57

be so readily identified as

29:00

the person who should be

29:02

in charge. Scatino

29:04

too later tells a story

29:06

of losing his footing as

29:09

the ship suddenly shifts. In

29:11

his case he explains he

29:13

slipped and accidentally fell into

29:15

a lifeboat. He then had

29:17

no choice but to allow

29:19

the lifeboat to take him

29:21

safely to shore. Cautionary tales.

29:23

We'll be back in a

29:25

moment. This

29:35

is Malcolm Gladwell from Revisionist

29:37

History. So we are, we're

29:39

sitting in what? We're sitting

29:41

in 1988, BMW 325 IS.

29:43

And describe the way in

29:45

which it's been modified. It

29:47

has no interior. That's where

29:49

it begins. Not even a

29:51

steering wheel, so I have

29:53

a second down. Yeah, right

29:55

now there's no steering wheel,

29:57

although I can fix that

29:59

in second. And what's the

30:01

appeal of a late 80s

30:03

BMW through 25? Well, it's

30:05

almost like the perfection of

30:07

a recipe that BMW began

30:09

in 60s, which is to

30:11

take, you know, a really

30:13

beautifully made inline-6 engine, rail

30:15

drive, and just like an

30:17

incredibly balanced and fun-to-drive car.

30:20

Yeah. Let me give a

30:22

little sneak peek. I

30:26

need to take the battery.

30:28

The battery is disconnected. The

30:31

battery is actually under the

30:33

rear seat. Oh, I see.

30:35

Just, that's it. That's so,

30:38

it has an absolutely perfect

30:40

balance between front and rear,

30:42

rear, rear way. Exactly, yeah.

30:45

So yes, turn it on.

30:47

Let's hear it. Oh yes!

30:52

And this is you. This is

30:54

your first B&W. My second. Oh

30:57

no, Lucas, you can't say that.

30:59

You're to say it. Why was

31:01

your second? What was your first?

31:03

It was in 1989, 535 I.

31:05

Oh yes, but you own that

31:07

with a bunch of other people.

31:09

Yeah, yeah. So this is my

31:11

first, my true, my first, you

31:13

know, sole B&W. Sully on B&W.

31:16

Okay, wonderful. Whether

31:18

it's a vintage 3-series

31:20

or the all-new 2025

31:22

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31:24

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and A. Member FDIC. The

34:02

ship, at last, come has

34:04

come to rest on its

34:06

side and the the deputy mayor

34:08

of of Gileo, Mario can find

34:10

his feet again. his feet He looks

34:13

around. looks and takes in his

34:15

new situation. He's

34:17

standing on what used to be

34:19

a wall. be a wall. It's difficult

34:21

to walk along it walk it's

34:23

strewn with things like lamps

34:25

and fire extinguishers and

34:28

doors. and doors. used to

34:30

be doors in the wall in

34:32

the corridors, led now they're doors

34:34

in the floor that lead to

34:36

vertical shafts. shafts. don't want to

34:38

fall through one of those,

34:40

and plunge into the dark and

34:42

chilly water below. chilly It's hard

34:44

to see to the emergency lights

34:46

have gone out. have gone Only

34:48

shafts of moonlight now illuminate the

34:50

ship. ship. Dozens of

34:52

people are still on board. on How

34:54

are they going to get off? to

34:56

get off? First, clear that they'll have to

34:58

climb have to climb To get to get

35:01

now the top of the

35:03

ship that used to be

35:05

its side, used that's not

35:07

going to be easy. not going

35:09

have to scale a have to scale

35:11

a now near vertical deck. brings an aluminium

35:13

ladder. As As everyone realizes, the

35:16

only way up, way up. all

35:18

hell breaks loose. watches

35:20

people crowd around the ladder, all

35:22

trying to push their way to

35:24

the front. to the front. was horrible,

35:26

Pellegrini later says. later just remember

35:28

all the all the children crying. A

35:30

A woman starts to climb

35:32

the ladder. ladder. A man behind

35:34

her up a a toddler in a

35:36

life jacket. Someone Someone else shoves

35:38

him out of the way. The

35:40

mother on The mother on the

35:42

ladder clings to the life The cord

35:44

The cord pulls tight around

35:46

the falling toddler's neck. Her face

35:48

starts to turn purple. barges through the

35:50

barges through the crowd yelling

35:52

in anger, to you're going to

35:54

kill that child. be be animals. Let

35:57

Let the parents with go up

35:59

first. up first. When the

36:01

panic subsides, Pelagrini hears shouts

36:03

for help. They're coming from

36:05

below, down what used to

36:07

be a corridor, and has

36:09

now become a well. Together

36:12

with the ship's doctor, Pelagrini

36:14

finds a rope and drops

36:16

it into the shaft. Someone

36:18

below ties it into a

36:20

harness. The deputy mayor and

36:22

the doctor heave on the

36:24

rope, and up comes a

36:27

woman, a member of the

36:29

crew. She's drenched and terrified.

36:31

They lower the rope again

36:33

and fish out the next

36:35

person. And the next. Her

36:37

last, a man in a

36:39

waiter's uniform says to Pellegrini,

36:42

I'm the last. There's no

36:44

one else down there. Or

36:46

no one's still alive. I

36:48

saw a man and child,

36:50

he adds, to the window

36:52

in the restaurant, floating past

36:54

me, dead. Pellegrini puts down

36:57

the rope and looks at

36:59

his hands. They covered in

37:01

blood. Francesco

37:09

Scatino, meanwhile, is sitting on

37:11

the rocks, on the island

37:13

of Gileo, looking at the

37:15

capsized ship. He gets a

37:17

call on his mobile phone.

37:20

It's the Coast Guard. Who

37:22

wants to know how many

37:24

people still need to be

37:26

rescued? I don't know. Scatino

37:28

says, I'm not on board

37:30

anymore. You

37:33

what? The Coast Guard is

37:35

flabbergasted. Captains aren't supposed to

37:37

leave their ships. Everyone knows

37:40

that. Get in a boat,

37:42

says the Coast Guard. Get

37:45

back on board and tell

37:47

me how many people still

37:49

need rescuing. Scatino says he'd

37:52

rather coordinate things from where

37:54

he is now. What are

37:57

you coordinating from there? Asked

37:59

the Coast Guard. Get back.

38:01

on board! But it's dark,

38:04

says Scatino. When the recording

38:06

of this conversation is later

38:09

leaked to the media, a

38:11

line from the Coast Guard

38:13

becomes iconic. Vada Aboro, Katsu!

38:16

Which roughly translates as, get

38:18

the fuck on board! Scatino

38:22

does not try to

38:25

get on board. He

38:27

stays on Julian. Later

38:30

in the night, he

38:32

meets a priest, who

38:34

says, the captain broke

38:37

down and sobbed for

38:39

a very long time.

38:41

Francesco Scatino was sentenced

38:44

to 16 years in

38:46

prison for his role

38:49

in the Costa Concordia

38:51

disaster. But disasters

38:53

like this are very rarely

38:55

the fault of just one

38:58

person. Surely others could have

39:00

done better too. Italian

39:03

prosecutors brought charges against five

39:05

other individuals. The first and

39:07

third officers and the helmsman

39:09

from the bridge, the officer

39:11

whose job it was to

39:13

coordinate the evacuation, and the

39:16

cruise company's crisis coordinator, who

39:18

spoke to Scatino on the

39:20

phone from his office, in

39:22

the period after the collision

39:24

and before the decision to

39:27

admit to the Coast Guard

39:29

that they needed help, or

39:31

the decision to give the

39:33

order to abandon ship. All

39:35

five entered into plea bargains.

39:37

They were given short prison

39:40

sentences, short enough that on

39:42

a technicality, they didn't actually

39:44

have to serve them. Scatino

39:46

too asked if he could

39:48

plea bargain. The prosecutors said

39:50

no. What about the cruise

39:53

company itself? It's their job,

39:55

after all, to make sure

39:57

that everyone's properly trained. following

39:59

procedures. That the helmsman can

40:01

understand English and so on.

40:03

They knew or should have

40:06

known that it was common

40:08

practice for their ships to

40:10

deviate from the official route

40:12

to perform a salute to

40:14

picturesque islands. The cruise

40:17

company also cut a deal

40:19

with prosecutors. They agreed to

40:21

pay a fine of one

40:23

million euros. Relative to the

40:25

cost of a cruise ship

40:27

or the value of a

40:29

human life, one million euros

40:31

isn't exactly a lot of

40:33

money. It

40:36

takes some work to summon

40:39

much sympathy for Captain Scatino,

40:41

but 16 years in prison,

40:43

compared to a trivial fine

40:46

for his employer. No wonder

40:48

there's been some disquiet about

40:50

that. It's hard to disagree

40:52

with the conclusion of the

40:55

Italian consumer rights organization I

40:57

mentioned earlier. Scatino should be

40:59

punished, but he has been

41:02

made a scapegoat. In

41:07

his book, scapegoats transferring blame,

41:09

the author Tom Douglas discusses

41:11

how societies through the ages

41:13

have gone about choosing their

41:16

scapegoats. With actual goats, the

41:18

question doesn't arise. Warren, after

41:20

all, is much like another.

41:22

But what about the people

41:24

in Athens who were whipped

41:26

in the genitals with the

41:28

branches of a fig tree?

41:30

They, says Douglas, were typically

41:33

chosen because they were different.

41:35

Ugly or deformed. In other

41:37

cases, scapegoats were chosen because

41:39

they'd broken a law. If

41:41

you've got someone who clearly

41:43

deserves to be punished for

41:45

something anyway, it makes sense

41:47

to take the opportunity to

41:49

load them up with everyone

41:52

else's sins as well. When

41:55

disaster strikes, for which lots

41:57

of people may bear some

42:00

portion of You can expect

42:02

those people to cast around

42:04

for one individual who might

42:07

plausibly be made to carry

42:09

all the blame, letting everyone

42:11

else off the hook. Captain

42:14

Scatino practically thrust up his

42:16

hand to volunteer for the

42:18

role. It was all too

42:21

easy to paint him as

42:23

a cartoonish villain. Captain Coward,

42:26

the newspapers called him. The

42:28

sleazy, brazen adulterer, giving orders

42:30

on the bridge with his

42:33

much younger mistress by his

42:35

side. The captain, who abandoned

42:37

his ship by accidentally falling

42:40

into a lifeboat, Scatino made

42:42

mistakes. He played his part

42:44

with others in the accident

42:47

and the chaotic response. But

42:50

he surely would have made

42:52

it harder to scapegoat him

42:54

if he'd reacted differently to

42:56

the crisis he helped to

42:59

create. If he'd reacted, for

43:01

example, like the Deputy Mayor

43:03

of Gileo. Mario Pelagrini at

43:05

last takes his turn to

43:07

climb the aluminium ladder. At

43:09

its top, he meets a

43:11

young man, a second officer

43:13

on the cruise ship. What's

43:15

happening from here? Pellegrini asks

43:17

him. The young officer explains,

43:20

rescue boats are waiting, he

43:22

says, in the water below.

43:24

But the only way to

43:26

get to them is to

43:28

descend the steep and slippery

43:30

slope of the upturned bow.

43:32

There's a rope ladder for

43:34

people to cling to as

43:36

they shop, and it's hard

43:38

work. Lose your grip, and

43:41

you'll slide into the sea.

43:44

Pelagrini sees that the second officer

43:46

is wearing only a shirt. He

43:49

must be freezing. I've got both

43:51

a jacket and a sweater on,

43:53

he says. Let me give you

43:55

one of them. No, no, says

43:57

the young officer. I'm not feeling

43:59

cold at all. passengers are as

44:02

they wait their turn on the

44:04

rope ladder. Some people are clearly

44:06

at risk of hypothermia. Pellegrini and

44:08

the second officer wonder what they

44:10

might do to help. They see

44:12

the canvas cover of a life

44:15

raft. They find a knife and

44:17

cut lengths of canvas to wrap

44:19

around the shivering shoulders of those

44:21

who are suffering most. Together,

44:24

Pelagrini and the second officer

44:26

help the remaining passengers off

44:28

the ship. First, to clamber

44:30

over some metal railings. Then,

44:32

to negotiate the rope ladder,

44:35

a half past four in

44:37

the morning, there's no one

44:39

left to help. Or no

44:41

one they can see. I'm

44:44

going down to check if

44:46

anyone's still trapped below, says

44:48

the second officer. I'll come

44:50

with you, says Pelagrini. They

44:52

carefully make their way along

44:54

the floor that used to

44:56

be a wall. They heave

44:58

open door after door and

45:01

shine a torch into the

45:03

blackness. Is anyone down there?

45:05

Knock on something if you

45:07

hear me. Door after door.

45:09

Only the sounds of splashing

45:11

water come back. But

45:14

nearly six in the morning,

45:16

they finally come across some people.

45:19

But they're not passengers in

45:21

need of rescue. They're professional

45:23

rescuers who've been helicoptered in. We'll

45:25

take over from here, say

45:27

the rescuers. You can leave

45:29

the ship now. The second officer

45:32

starts to protest. I mustn't

45:34

leave the ship, he says, until

45:36

I'm sure that no more passengers

45:38

need help. The rescuers gently

45:40

insist. We'll take over.

45:43

You've done enough. Look at yourself. The

45:45

young second officer looks down. He sees

45:47

how much his hands are shaking. He's

45:50

still wearing only a shirt. And all

45:52

of a sudden, he does now feel

45:54

the cop. turns to He

45:56

turns to Mario Pellegrini

45:59

and asks, does that offer

46:01

that offer of your

46:03

sweater still stand? This

46:05

script relied on a book by Mario

46:08

Pellegrini and Sabrina script relied

46:10

on a book

46:12

by Mario Pellegrini and

46:15

accounts of the incident of

46:17

the incident and contemporary

46:19

reporting in outlets such

46:21

as Vanity Fair. Fair.

46:24

For a full

46:26

list of our sources,

46:28

see the show

46:30

notes at see the.com. timharford.com. Cautionary

46:33

Tales is written by me, Tim Harford,

46:35

with Andrew Wright. The show is

46:37

by me, Tim Alice

46:39

with Andrew Wright. with

46:42

The show is produced

46:44

by Alice design and the

46:47

sound design and original

46:49

music for the work

46:51

of Pascal Wise. Sarah Nix

46:53

edited the scripts. Cautionary Tales

46:56

features the voice talents

46:58

voice talents of Ben Crow, Melanie Guthridge, Stella

47:00

Saunders Jemma Saunders and Rufus The

47:02

show wouldn't have been

47:04

possible without the work

47:06

of Jacob the work of

47:09

Ryan Weisberg, Ryan Dilly, Greta Sandler, Sandler,

47:11

Kerry Christina Sullivan, Sullivan, Kira Posey

47:13

Owen Miller. Miller. Cautionary Tales

47:15

a production of of Industries.

47:18

It's recorded at at in London

47:20

by Tom by Tom Barry. you

47:22

like the show, please remember

47:25

to share, to rate rate review. review,

47:27

it make a difference to

47:29

us. a difference to you want to

47:31

hear the show want to hear

47:33

sign up to Pushkin up to

47:36

the show page on Apple the

47:38

show page on Apple Podcasts, or at Pushkin.fm slash plus.

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