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Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics in the news and in life.

World Service,753 episodes

Episodes

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Factchecking claims that 400 churches were burned to the ground in France
Looking into the numbers behind claims of attacks on churches
06 Jun 2026,9 mins
The known unknowns of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The data race to find out how fast Ebola is spreading
30 May 2026,9 mins
Is the ‘loneliness epidemic’ real?
We investigate if loneliness is increasing at epidemic rates
23 May 2026,9 mins
Erdos Problem 1196: Can AI now solve maths that no human can?
How a 23-year-old mathematician used AI to crack an unsolved maths problem
16 May 2026,9 mins
Why it’s wrong to say vaping is as bad for you as smoking
Vaping vs smoking: how the evidence on cancer and other health risks compare
09 May 2026,9 mins
Does it take 15,000 litres of water to produce a kilogram of beef?
How a stat about cows and water is not all it seems
02 May 2026,9 mins
Have RFK and MAHA really changed American views on vaccines?
Why a Politico headline overstated vaccine scepticism in the US
25 Apr 2026,9 mins
Is Trump right that wind turbines are killing millions of birds?
Investigating the scale of bird deaths caused by wind turbines
18 Apr 2026,9 mins
Dr Spock’s dangerous advice on baby sleep
How evidence eventually showed front sleeping was linked to sudden infant deaths
11 Apr 2026,9 mins
How likely is ‘likely’?
Adam Kucharski explains what people really mean when they use probability language
04 Apr 2026,9 mins
How much water does AI consume?
We take a deep dive into AI’s water consumption
28 Mar 2026,9 mins
Paul Ehrlich: The man who bet England wouldn’t exist by the year 2000
Why Paul Ehrlich’s dire predictions about a population collapse failed to materialise
21 Mar 2026,9 mins
Transgender women in sport: Does ‘comparable’ mean ‘equal’?
Investigating a scientific paper analysing the strength and fitness of transgender women
14 Mar 2026,9 mins
US-Israel war with Iran: Do the gulf states have enough interceptor missiles?
What we know about missile stockpiles following the US-Israeli strikes on Iran
07 Mar 2026,9 mins
Has a company really discovered a million new species?
Investigating whether Basecamp Research found hundreds of thousands of bacteria species
28 Feb 2026,9 mins
Did AI researchers let AI hallucinations into scientific papers?
Investigating a claim that 100 made-up claims were found in AI papers
21 Feb 2026,9 mins
Is an ancient charioteer the best paid sportsperson of all time?
Did a Roman charioteer really earn the equivalent of $15 billion dollars?
14 Feb 2026,9 mins
Is this Premier League striker a secret maths genius?
Is Chelsea’s Liam Delap a maths genius? Or has he got a trick up his sleeve?
07 Feb 2026,9 mins
Could Europe use its financial muscle to strong-arm the US?
Europe holds trillions of dollars of US shares and bonds - but can they use them?
31 Jan 2026,9 mins
Is Greenland as big as Africa?
Tim Harford asks if Greenland is really as vast as most maps seem to suggest
24 Jan 2026,9 mins
South Korea study does not show Covid vaccine causes cancer
Influencers claim that this study shows that covid jabs cause cancer. That is not true
17 Jan 2026,9 mins
Does Venezuela really have the biggest oil reserves in the world?
We investigate if there are actually 300 billion barrels of oil in Venezuela's reserves
10 Jan 2026,9 mins
Numbers of the year 2026
From passenger numbers to world cup travel, we cast our eye forwards into 2026
03 Jan 2026,9 mins
Numbers of the year 2025
From tariffs to comets, we look back at the numbers of 2025 across the world
27 Dec 2025,9 mins
The shocking world of US health costs
Can the same pill cost $3 in a pharmacy and $750 in a hospital?
20 Dec 2025,9 mins
RCP 8.5: Why did the climate change model get it wrong?
How an important climate model was too pessimistic about the future
13 Dec 2025,9 mins
Is RFK right about US sperm counts?
Do US teens have 50% lower sperm and testosterone counts than 65 year old men?
06 Dec 2025,9 mins
Richard Thaler and The Winner’s Curse
Richard Thaler on two of his most famous observations in behavioural economics
29 Nov 2025,9 mins
Is there a stock market crash coming?
Can data tell us if a stock market crash is coming?
22 Nov 2025,9 mins
Has there been a $50 trillion wealth transfer to the richest Americans?
Bernie Sanders says vast riches have moved to the wealthiest in the US. Is he right?
15 Nov 2025,9 mins