More or Less

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

World Service,752 episodes

Episodes

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Ukraine war: A new way of calculating Russian deaths
How Russian journalists are using probate records to estimate fatalities
22 Jul 2023,9 mins
Are more adult nappies sold in Japan than baby ones?
We examine a claim related to the perception of Japan as an ageing society.
15 Jul 2023,9 mins
Does it take 10,000 litres of water to make a pair of jeans?
The numbers behind water use and denim production.
08 Jul 2023,9 mins
Will there be just six grandchildren for every 100 South Koreans?
We look at the numbers around South Korea’s birth rate and the reasons why it’s so low.
01 Jul 2023,9 mins
US national debt: Is $32 trillion a big number?
How concerned should we be about how much the US government borrows?
24 Jun 2023,9 mins
Is breastfeeding the key to exam success?
We look at a new UK study that links being breastfed as a baby with academic achievement.
17 Jun 2023,9 mins
Counting Hunger in India
Is it true that hunger has worsened in India?
10 Jun 2023,9 mins
A short history of data
How the evolution of data over centuries has shaped today’s world
03 Jun 2023,9 mins
Are young people more single than ever before?
How to define and measure being single – and are dating apps to blame?
27 May 2023,9 mins
Detecting bad science with data
Uncovering fraud, malpractice and incompetence in science
20 May 2023,9 mins
Do 94% of marriages in Portugal really end in divorce?
We examine a social media post that claims to outline rates of divorce across the world.
13 May 2023,9 mins
Why is life expectancy falling in the USA?
We ask why average life expectancy in America is falling so quickly.
06 May 2023,9 mins
How much is the Coronation crown worth?
King Charles will be anointed with the St Edward’s Crown – but what is its true value?
28 Apr 2023,9 mins
The Pentagon leaks and Fox News
Why did Tucker Carlson say far more Ukrainian troops than Russian are dying in the war?
22 Apr 2023,9 mins
How accurate is baby's due date?
This week we investigate how a baby's due date is calculated
15 Apr 2023,9 mins
How to better understand and explain numbers
Professor Oliver Johnson discusses the use of statistics in the pandemic and in life.
08 Apr 2023,9 mins
A groundbreaking new proof for Pythagoras’ Theorem?
Two high school students say they’ve discovered a new trigonometric proof for the theorem
01 Apr 2023,9 mins
Covid vaccines and false claims about miscarriage
We debunk viral claims that incorrectly link covid-19 vaccines with a risk of miscarriage
25 Mar 2023,9 mins
Silicon Valley Bank: A very modern bank run
How do bank runs happen?
18 Mar 2023,9 mins
Do fungi kill three times as many people as malaria?
We investigate the claim that fungal infections are a much bigger killer than malaria.
11 Mar 2023,9 mins
Does British jewellery contain stolen Brink’s-Mat gold?
We ask what happened to the 3 tonnes of pure gold after the infamous robbery of 1983
04 Mar 2023,9 mins
Do 29,000 coffee pods really go to landfill every minute?
We explore the environmental consequences of our thirst for coffee
25 Feb 2023,9 mins
Florence Nightingale and how she visualised data
Tim Harford discusses the power of the nurse statistician’s groundbreaking diagrams
18 Feb 2023,9 mins
Spreadsheet disasters
The long and costly history of spreadsheet mistakes
11 Feb 2023,9 mins
Hannah Fry on using shopping data to detect ovarian cancer
The mathematician discusses a study that suggests loyalty card data could signal cancer.
04 Feb 2023,9 mins
Are wild mammals only 4% of the mammal population?
We examine a study that says humans and livestock dominate mammal life on Earth
28 Jan 2023,9 mins
Does toilet paper cause 15% of global deforestation?
We investigate the impact of our use of toilet paper on the world’s forests.
21 Jan 2023,9 mins
How we shook the world of very large numbers
How an edition of More or Less influenced the naming of enormous numbers
14 Jan 2023,9 mins
Can China's data on Covid deaths be trusted?
Is China under-reporting data on Covid related deaths?
07 Jan 2023,9 mins
Irish pubs - a global numbers game
Are there more Irish pubs in Ireland than in all other countries combined?
31 Dec 2022,9 mins