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More alive than dead?

Tim Harford asks if there are now more people alive than dead and asks if Michelle Obama really could have bought $50,000 of underwear.

Tim Harford investigates one of the most popular questions from More or Less listeners: "Are there more people alive today than have ever lived?". It is a zombie statistic that every time it is laid to rest it rises again. He also looks at whether science fiction writer Arthur C Clarke was right when he suggested that behind every living person are 30 ghosts.

He also investigates the strange story of Michelle Obama's shopping trip to a lingerie store in New York. Can she really have spent $50,000 on underwear?

(Picture: People walk along a crowded Oxford Street in London. Crtedit: Getty Images)

Available now

9 minutes

Last on

Sat 4 Feb 2012 23:50GMT
BBC World Service Online

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Broadcasts

  • Sat 4 Feb 2012 11:50GMT
    BBC World Service Online
  • Sat 4 Feb 2012 18:50GMT
    BBC World Service Online
  • Sat 4 Feb 2012 23:50GMT
    BBC World Service Online

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Podcast

  • More or Less

    Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics used in everyday life