More or Less: Behind the Stats

More or Less: Behind the Stats episodes:

• 04.13.2024

  Tackling The Three-Body Problem

  Netflix has a big new show named after and inspired by a classic problem in astrophysics, 'The Three Body Problem', where predicting the course and orbits of three or more celestial bodies proves near impossible. But how faithful is the...

  
• 04.06.2024

  Is loneliness as bad for you as smoking?

  Is loneliness as bad for you as smoking 15 cigarettes per day? That’s the claim circulating on social media. We trace this stat back to its source and speak the scientist behind the original research on which it is based,...

  
• 03.30.2024

  Remembering Daniel Kahneman

  Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel prize-winning behavioural economist and More or Less hero, has died at the age of 90. Tim Harford explains his ideas and influence. Presenter: Charlotte McDonald Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown Editor: Richard...

  
• 03.28.2024

  Bonus episode: Daniel Kahneman on Thinking, Fast and Slow

  In an episode of More or Less from 2012, Daniel Kahneman – the Nobel prize-winning behavioural economist who has died at the age of 90 – explains the big ideas in his book Thinking, Fast and Slow.

  
• 03.25.2024

  What's happening to Arctic ice?

  The area of ice covering the Arctic ocean has been in a state of long decline, as climate change takes effect. But recent fluctuations in the ice have been seized on by climate change sceptics, who say it tells a...

  
• 03.16.2024

  Does the Russian government really spend 40% of its budget on the military?

  According to the head of the British military, the Russian government spends 40% of its budget on its war machine. But is it true? With the help of Professor Bettina Renz from Nottingham University and Dr Richard Connolly from...

  
• 03.09.2024

  Is public speaking really our biggest fear?

  For over 50 years it’s been widely reported that speaking before a group is people’s number one fear. But is it really true? With the help of Dr Karen Kangas Dwyer, a former Professor in the School of...

  
• 03.02.2024

  Ultramarathons: Are women faster than men?

  As running races get longer, the gap between male and female competitors seems to close. Tim Harford and Lucy Proctor investigate the claim that when the race is 195 miles long, women overtake men to become the fastest runners. ...

  
• 02.28.2024

  School spending, excess deaths and billions of animals at Heathrow

  Is school funding at record levels as the education secretary claimed? Why did the ONS change how they measure excess deaths? Is there a shoplifting epidemic? Did 6.5bn creatures arrive in the UK by plane last year? Tim Harford investigates...

  
• 02.24.2024

  NBA basketball: Is height more important than skill?

  In the NBA, the US professional basketball league, the average player is a shade over 6ft 6 inches tall. So just how much does being very tall increase a man’s chances of becoming a professional player? Tim Harford...

  
• 02.21.2024

  Per capita GDP, MP claims and the entire EU budget

  What does per capita GDP tell us about the UK economy? Did the government spend £94bn helping with rising energy prices? Was Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg right about the cost of the EU covid recovery scheme? How did Ben Goldacre persuade...

  
• 02.17.2024

  The digital ‘robots’ unlocking medical data

  Big medical datasets pose a serious problem. Thousands of patients’ health records are an enormous risk to personal privacy. But they also contain an enormous opportunity – they could show us how to provide better treatments or more effective health...

  
• 02.14.2024

  Debt, students, shark and chips

  What is the government’s fiscal rule on the national debt? Are international students stealing places from the UK’s young people? How much social housing is really being built? Do 90% of chip shops sell shark and chips? Tim Harford investigates...

  
• 02.10.2024

  The global gender split in young people’s politics

  In a surprising new trend, young men and women around the world are dividing by gender on their politics and ideologies. Whilst young women are becoming more liberal, young men are becoming more conservative. Tim Harford speaks to John Burn-Murdoch,...

  
• 02.07.2024

  Council tax weirdness: Hartlepool vs Westminster

  Do you really pay more in council tax on a semi in Hartlepool than a mansion in Westminster? How do the Office for National Statistics work out how much the UK population is going to grow by? How much do...

  
• 02.03.2024

  A pocket-size history of the calculator

  How was the calculator invented? How did it go from something the size of a table to something that could be carried in your pocket, the must-have gadget of the 1970’s and 80’s? Tim Harford unpicks...

  
• 01.31.2024

  Measles, Traitors and the cost of Brexit

  Was there really a 5% measles vaccination rate in Birmingham? Has Brexit already cost 6% of the UKs economy? For how long has crime been falling? And are contestants on the reality gameshow any good at finding traitors? Tim Harford...

  
• 01.27.2024

  Is Oxfam right about the world’s richest and poorest people?

  We investigate Oxfam’s claim that “since 2020, the five richest men in the world have seen their fortunes more than double, while almost five billion people have seen their wealth fall”. With the help of Johan Norberg, Historian...

  
• 01.24.2024

  Shopping, shipping and wind chill-ing

  Was Labour shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves wrong about the increase in the price of the weekly shop? What has the violence at sea done to the cost of shipping? Why did YouGov feel the need to correct an analysis of...

  
• 01.20.2024

  Are there more possible games of chess than atoms in the universe?

  We investigate how the vast possibilities in a game of chess compare to the vastness of the observable universe. Dr James Grime helps us understand the Shannon number – a famous figure on the chess side of the equation -...

  
• 01.17.2024

  Life expectancy, inheritance tax and the NHS vs winter

  We report on the state of the NHS as it struggles through a double wave of Covid and flu infections. We report on the state of the NHS as it struggles through a double wave of Covid and flu infections....

  
• 01.13.2024

  Do we see 10,000 adverts per day?

  How many adverts does the average person see in a day? If you search for this question online, the surprising answer is that we might see thousands – up to 10,000. However, the idea that we see thousands of adverts...

  
• 01.10.2024

  Deaths, taxes and missing cats

  Did London see a 2500% increase in gun crime? Are taxes in the UK the highest since the 1950s? Did the UK have high excess deaths from Covid, compared to the rest of Europe? Do three cats go missing every...

  
• 01.06.2024

  How much money do the ‘Ndrangheta mafia make?

  The ‘Ndrangheta are one of Italy’s biggest and most dangerous criminal gangs. One piece of research suggested they have an annual turnover of €53bn - more than McDonalds and Deutsche Bank combined. But is that number realistic? Professor Anna Sergi...

  
• 12.30.2023

  Numbers of the year 2023

  Each year we ask some of our favourite statistically-minded people for their numbers of the year. Here they are - from the population of India to the results of a first division football match. Contributors: Hannah Ritchie, Our World...

  
• 12.23.2023

  Can chocolate be better than salad?

  We investigate a nutritional conundrum –can chocolate ever be better for you than salad? Today we dive in to one of our listener’s family debates and try to find an answer, with the help of nutrition experts Dr David Katz...

  
• 12.16.2023

  China’s missing numbers

  How many young people are unemployed? How much debt does the government owe? How many people have died from Covid? These are questions that many governments will keep regularly updated. But in China they have disappeared. We investigate the reasons...

  
• 12.09.2023

  Does endurance sport harm your heart?

  Exercise is good for you in all kinds of ways, there is no medicine like it to prevent a whole range of illnesses. But for some endurance athletes, exercise also comes with increased risk of a heart condition called atrial...

  
• 12.02.2023

  Will there be a billion climate refugees?

  Former Vice President Al Gore has said that climate change is predicted to lead to a billion climate refugees. But where do these predictions come from and are they realistic? We investigate the idea that floods, droughts, storms and sea...

  
• 11.25.2023

  A boy meets girl meets stats story

  Veronica Carlin is a data scientist who loves romantic comedies. But she had a hunch about those movies, that there aren’t many women like her, women in STEM - science, technology, engineering and maths – taking the lead roles. So...

  
• 11.18.2023

  Are women in the UK the biggest binge drinkers in the world?

  We check out suspect stats on boozing Brits and fishy figures on fishing fleets in the South China Sea. With the help of Professor John Holmes from the University of Sheffield's School of Medicine and Population Health and Simon Funge-Smith,...

  
• 11.11.2023

  Can maths prove the existence of aliens?

  Are we alone in the universe – and if not, how many other civilisations might there be? Remarkable images and data sent back to Earth by the James Webb telescope have given a new impetus to a well-worn debate. We...

  
• 11.04.2023

  Do Indian women own 11% of the world’s gold?

  The cultural importance of gold in India as a symbol of wealth, prosperity and safety is well known – but how much do Indians actually own? Reporter Perisha Kudhail looks at a widely circulated claim about Indian women owning 11%...

  
• 10.28.2023

  The Overlooked Mathematicians of History

  Conventional histories of mathematics are dominated by well-known names like Pythagoras, Leibniz or Newton. But to concentrate solely on figures from Europe gives us only a patchwork understanding of the rich and varied history of mathematical achievement around the world....

  
• 10.21.2023

  What do windscreen splats tell us about insect decline?

  Do you notice fewer insect splats on windscreens than you used to? There’s a study in the UK trying to measure this ‘windscreen phenomenon’, as it’s become known. We hear more about the study and whether we can draw conclusions...

  
• 10.14.2023

  Greedy jobs and the gender pay gap

  Harvard professor Claudia Goldin has become only the third woman to win the Nobel Economics Prize for her groundbreaking research on women’s employment and pay. Tim Harford discusses her work showing how gender differences in pay and work have changed...

  
• 10.07.2023

  Are half the words in English from French?

  Are almost half the words in the English language of French origin? It’s a claim one of our loyal listeners found surprising. Tim Harford talks to Dr Beth Malory, lecturer in English Linguistics at University College London, who explains why...

  
• 10.04.2023

  Vaccine claims, Alzheimer's treatment and Tim's Parkrun times

  John Campbell, a YouTuber whose posts get millions of views, has made claims about excess deaths and the Covid vaccine. We show why he's incorrect. Also will a much-vaunted new treatment for Alzheimer's really change lives and how much longer...

  
• 09.30.2023

  Is the UK really ahead in cutting carbon emissions?

  The UK Prime Minister has announced several changes to key policies designed to help Britain reach net zero by 2050. In a major speech justifying what many see as a watering down of commitments, Rishi Sunak championed Britain’s achievements to...

  
• 09.27.2023

  NHS consultant pay, Net Zero claims and Scotland's ferry woes

  NHS consultants in England are striking over a pay offer of 6%. We look at whether they are paid an average of £120,000 a year and examine how much their pay compared to inflation has fallen. Also we fact check...

  
• 09.23.2023

  Which city has the longest canals?

  After a listener emailed More or Less to ask whether world famous Venice or the slightly less famous English city of Birmingham has more canals, Daniel Gordon decided to investigate and widen the question to the whole world – with...

  
• 09.20.2023

  Social housing, NHS workforce and Liz Truss debt claims

  Long: Housing minister Rachel Maclean claimed the government has built a record number of social rent homes. Tim and the team investigate. Following Lucy Letby’s conviction, we look at how sentences for murder have changed over the past few decades....

  
• 09.16.2023

  How to approach the world through numbers

  How can we navigate our lives in a more efficient and satisfactory way? It’s a question Professor David Sumpter is looking to answer in his new book, Four Ways of Thinking. He talks to Tim Harford about four different approaches...

  
• 09.13.2023

  Skin cancer, London rents and your great great great granddaughter

  A BBC report quoted a study that said 1 in 4 men and 1 in 5 women in the UK will get skin cancer in their lifetime. Tim Harford and the team look into the detail. Also London’s Mayor Sadiq...

  
• 09.11.2023

  Did 35,000 Americans die building the Panama Canal?

  The construction of the Panama Canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through Central America is considered one of the greatest engineering feats of all time. It also caused enormous human suffering and loss of life. Donald Trump claimed in...

  
• 09.06.2023

  Covid deaths, North Sea gas and Chloe Kelly's World Cup penalty

  Covid related deaths are rising in England and Wales - but what do the figures really tell us? Also the UK's GDP during the pandemic has been revised upwards. Tim Harford and team ask why and discuss what it tells...

  
• 09.02.2023

  What percentage of our brain do we actually use?

  On this week’s episode of More or Less we interrogate a widely circulated myth relating to how much of our brain power we can access and engage. Ever heard someone say, “You know we can only use 10% of our...

  
• 08.30.2023

  HS2 and electric cars, UK vs China emissions & massive maths errors

  Can you really buy an electric car for everybody in the UK for the cost of HS2? That claim was recently made on Radio 4's Broadcasting House programme. Also we look at a viral claim that 1 in 73 people...

  
• 08.26.2023

  How safe is the release of Fukushima nuclear plant water?

  Water used to cool nuclear reactors at the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan is being released into the Pacific Ocean by Japanese authorities. The move has sparked protests and concerns about safety in the region and met with...

  
• 08.19.2023

  How many butterflies are there in the world?

  Butterflies are a much-loved feature of summer in many parts of the world. But how many of them are there on Earth? That’s the question a young listener to More or Less wanted an answer to – and she...