More or Less Podcast
Tim Harford explains - and sometimes debunks - the numbers and statistics used in political debate, the news and everyday life
Episodes to download
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How safe is the release of Fukushima nuclear plant water?
Sat 26 Aug 2023
We ask whether there are any risks posed by the release into the Pacific Ocean
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How many butterflies are there in the world?
Sat 19 Aug 2023
The world鈥檚 butterfly population doesn鈥檛 seem to be online 鈥� so what is it?
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Why is it so hard to predict the outcome of competitions like the Premier League?
Sat 12 Aug 2023
What variables do we look at when we try to predict the outcome of a sports competition?
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Are the media exaggerating how hot it is in the Mediterranean?
Sat 5 Aug 2023
A look at how accurately media report on the weather 鈥� especially recent heatwaves.
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Data, extreme weather and climate change
Sat 29 Jul 2023
The role data plays in climate attribution - and why we don鈥檛 always have it
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Ukraine war: A new way of calculating Russian deaths
Sat 22 Jul 2023
How Russian journalists are using probate records to estimate fatalities
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Are more adult nappies sold in Japan than baby ones?
Sat 15 Jul 2023
We examine a claim related to the perception of Japan as an ageing society.
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Does it take 10,000 litres of water to make a pair of jeans?
Sat 8 Jul 2023
The numbers behind water use and denim production.
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Will there be just six grandchildren for every 100 South Koreans?
Sat 1 Jul 2023
We look at the numbers around South Korea鈥檚 birth rate and the reasons why it鈥檚 so low.
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US national debt: Is $32 trillion a big number?
Sat 24 Jun 2023
How concerned should we be about how much the US government borrows?
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Is breastfeeding the key to exam success?
Sat 17 Jun 2023
We look at a new UK study that links being breastfed as a baby with academic achievement.
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A short history of data
Sat 3 Jun 2023
How the evolution of data over centuries has shaped today鈥檚 world
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Are young people more single than ever before?
Sat 27 May 2023
How to define and measure being single 鈥� and are dating apps to blame?
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Detecting bad science with data
Sat 20 May 2023
Uncovering fraud, malpractice and incompetence in science
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Do 94% of marriages in Portugal really end in divorce?
Sat 13 May 2023
We examine a social media post that claims to outline rates of divorce across the world.
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Why is life expectancy falling in the USA?
Sat 6 May 2023
We ask why average life expectancy in America is falling so quickly.
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How much is the Coronation crown worth?
Fri 28 Apr 2023
King Charles will be anointed with the St Edward鈥檚 Crown 鈥� but what is its true value?
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The Pentagon leaks and Fox News
Sat 22 Apr 2023
Why did Tucker Carlson say far more Ukrainian troops than Russian are dying in the war?
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How accurate is baby's due date?
Sat 15 Apr 2023
This week we investigate how a baby's due date is calculated
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How to better understand and explain numbers
Sat 8 Apr 2023
Professor Oliver Johnson discusses the use of statistics in the pandemic and in life.
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A groundbreaking new proof for Pythagoras鈥� Theorem?
Sat 1 Apr 2023
Two high school students say they鈥檝e discovered a new trigonometric proof for the theorem
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Covid vaccines and false claims about miscarriage
Sat 25 Mar 2023
We debunk viral claims that incorrectly link covid-19 vaccines with a risk of miscarriage
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Do fungi kill three times as many people as malaria?
Sat 11 Mar 2023
We investigate the claim that fungal infections are a much bigger killer than malaria.
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Does British jewellery contain stolen Brink鈥檚-Mat gold?
Sat 4 Mar 2023
We ask what happened to the 3 tonnes of pure gold after the infamous robbery of 1983
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Do 29,000 coffee pods really go to landfill every minute?
Sat 25 Feb 2023
We explore the environmental consequences of our thirst for coffee
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Florence Nightingale and how she visualised data
Sat 18 Feb 2023
Tim Harford discusses the power of the nurse statistician鈥檚 groundbreaking diagrams
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Hannah Fry on using shopping data to detect ovarian cancer
Sat 4 Feb 2023
The mathematician discusses a study that suggests loyalty card data could signal cancer.
Unlock the history and truth behind the data with The OU
Explore how numbers shape, and sometimes mislead us, with The Open University.
When can you trust statistics?
91福利社 Ideas discovers three easy ways to help make sense of statistics.
