Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics in the news and in life.
Radio 4,·684 episodes
We investigate how Oxfam use wealth stats to illustrate global inequality
27 Jan 2024,·10 mins
We investigate the cost of a weekly shop and explore the workings of wind chill
25 Jan 2024,·28 mins
We investigate how the vast possibilities in chess compare to the vastness of the universe
20 Jan 2024,·8 mins
How long will we live? Who pays inheritance tax? How did the NHS perform this winter?
17 Jan 2024,·23 mins
We investigate the claim that each of us sees thousands of adverts every single day
13 Jan 2024,·8 mins
We investigate claims about gun crime, the UK tax burden, and the number of missing cats
10 Jan 2024,·28 mins
We investigate whether one criminal group could have a turnover of billions of dollars
06 Jan 2024,·8 mins
Hand-picked stats that tell you something interesting about the world
30 Dec 2023,·13 mins
We investigate a nutritional conundrum – can chocolate ever be better for you than salad?
23 Dec 2023,·8 mins
How the Chinese state make inconvenient statistics disappear
16 Dec 2023,·8 mins
We investigate the connection between high levels of exercise and arrhythmia
09 Dec 2023,·8 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,·8 mins
Checking out stats on boozing Brits and fishing fleets in the South China Sea
18 Nov 2023,·8 mins
We look a famous equation which tries to explain whether life exists in outer space
11 Nov 2023,·10 mins
The cultural importance of gold is well known – but how much do Indians actually own?
04 Nov 2023,·8 mins
Exploring the global history of mathematics
28 Oct 2023,·9 mins
We ask whether the ‘windscreen phenomenon’ suggests falling numbers of insects
21 Oct 2023,·8 mins
Tim Harford discusses the work of Nobel Economics prize winner Claudia Goldin
14 Oct 2023,·12 mins
We ask whether almost half the words in the English language are of French origin.
07 Oct 2023,·9 mins
We debunk claims about excess deaths and the covid vaccine made by YouTuber John Campbell
04 Oct 2023,·28 mins
As the UK changes course in its path to net zero, how does it compare with other nations?
30 Sep 2023,·8 mins
Are consultants in England really paid an average of £120,000 a year?
27 Sep 2023,·30 mins
We dive into the world of waterways after a listener asked who has the longest canals.
23 Sep 2023,·9 mins
Have the Tories really built a record number of social rent homes since 2010?
20 Sep 2023,·27 mins
Professor David Sumpter talks to Tim Harford about his new book
16 Sep 2023,·9 mins
Is it true that 1 in 4 men and 1 in 5 women in the UK will get skin cancer?
13 Sep 2023,·28 mins
We fact check a claim made by Donald Trump about the world famous canal
11 Sep 2023,·14 mins
Covid related deaths are rising in England and Wales - we investigate the figures
06 Sep 2023,·28 mins
Do we have access to some or all of our brain-power?
02 Sep 2023,·8 mins
