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Is opinion polling broken?

Following some high profile slip-ups in recent US elections, we ask whether it’s time to call time on polling.

The opinion polling industry’s reputation has taken a battering in recent years, as high profile slip-ups in the US presidential election exposed frailties. So should we write them off? Not according to Economist data journalist G Elliot Morris, who’s written a book called Strength in Numbers: How Polls Work and Why We Need Them.

Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Jon Bithrey
Editor: Richard Vadon
Programme Coordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound Engineer: Rod Farquhar

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9 minutes

Last on

Mon 15 Aug 2022 09:50GMT
BBC World Service

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    Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics used in everyday life