Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics in the news and in life.
World Service,·752 episodes
Ben Goldacre on OpenSAFELY, protecting patient privacy while analysing health data
17 Feb 2024,·9 mins
Tim Harford investigates the growing political divergence between young men and women.
10 Feb 2024,·9 mins
Tim Harford explores the history of calculators from clockwork to the Kashio brothers
03 Feb 2024,·9 mins
We investigate how Oxfam use wealth stats to illustrate global inequality
27 Jan 2024,·9 mins
We investigate how the vast possibilities in chess compare to the vastness of the universe
20 Jan 2024,·9 mins
We investigate the claim that each of us sees thousands of adverts every single day
13 Jan 2024,·9 mins
We investigate whether one criminal group could have a turnover of billions of dollars
06 Jan 2024,·9 mins
Hand-picked stats that tell you something interesting about the world
30 Dec 2023,·9 mins
We investigate a nutritional conundrum – can chocolate ever be better for you than salad?
23 Dec 2023,·9 mins
How the Chinese state make inconvenient statistics disappear
16 Dec 2023,·9 mins
We investigate the connection between high levels of exercise and arrhythmia
09 Dec 2023,·9 mins
We investigate if floods, droughts and storms will cause mass international migration
02 Dec 2023,·9 mins
A data scientist takes on rom com films to see how women in STEM are represented
25 Nov 2023,·9 mins
Checking out stats on boozing Brits and fishing fleets in the South China Sea.
18 Nov 2023,·9 mins
We look a famous equation which tries to explain whether life exists in outer space
11 Nov 2023,·9 mins
The cultural importance of gold is well known – but how much do Indians actually own?
04 Nov 2023,·9 mins
A global history of mathematics, from ancient China to the Middle East
28 Oct 2023,·9 mins
We ask whether the ‘windscreen phenomenon’ suggests falling numbers of insects
21 Oct 2023,·9 mins
Tim Harford discusses the work of Nobel Economics prize winner Claudia Goldin
14 Oct 2023,·9 mins
We ask whether almost half the words in the English language are of French origin.
07 Oct 2023,·9 mins
As the UK changes course in its path to net zero, how does it compare with other nations?
30 Sep 2023,·9 mins
We dive into the world of waterways after a listener asked who has the longest canals.
23 Sep 2023,·9 mins
Professor David Sumpter talks to Tim Harford about his new book
16 Sep 2023,·9 mins
We fact check a claim made by Donald Trump about the world famous canal
09 Sep 2023,·9 mins
Do we have access to some or all of our brain-power?
02 Sep 2023,·9 mins
We ask whether there are any risks posed by the release into the Pacific Ocean
26 Aug 2023,·9 mins
The world’s butterfly population doesn’t seem to be online – so what is it?
19 Aug 2023,·9 mins
What variables do we look at when we try to predict the outcome of a sports competition?
12 Aug 2023,·9 mins
A look at how accurately media report on the weather – especially recent heatwaves.
05 Aug 2023,·9 mins
The role data plays in climate attribution - and why we don’t always have it
29 Jul 2023,·9 mins
