More or Less Podcast
Tim Harford explains - and sometimes debunks - the numbers and statistics used in political debate, the news and everyday life.
Episodes to download
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Deaths, taxes and missing cats
Wed 10 Jan 2024
We investigate claims about gun crime, the UK tax burden, and the number of missing cats.
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How much money do the ‘Ndrangheta mafia make?
Sat 6 Jan 2024
We investigate whether one criminal group could have a turnover of billions of dollars
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How much money do the ‘Ndrangheta mafia make?
Sat 6 Jan 2024
We investigate whether one criminal group could have a turnover of billions of dollars
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Numbers of the year 2023
Sat 30 Dec 2023
Hand-picked stats that tell you something interesting about the world
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Numbers of the year 2023
Sat 30 Dec 2023
Hand-picked stats that tell you something interesting about the world
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Can chocolate be better than salad?
Sat 23 Dec 2023
We investigate a nutritional conundrum – can chocolate ever be better for you than salad?
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Can chocolate be better than salad?
Sat 23 Dec 2023
We investigate a nutritional conundrum – can chocolate ever be better for you than salad?
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China’s missing numbers
Sat 16 Dec 2023
How the Chinese state make inconvenient statistics disappear
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China’s missing numbers
Sat 16 Dec 2023
How the Chinese state make inconvenient statistics disappear
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Does endurance sport harm your heart?
Sat 9 Dec 2023
We investigate the connection between high levels of exercise and arrhythmia
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Does endurance sport harm your heart?
Sat 9 Dec 2023
We investigate the connection between high levels of exercise and arrhythmia
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Will there be a billion climate refugees?
Sat 2 Dec 2023
We investigate if floods, droughts and storms will cause mass international migration
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Will there be a billion climate refugees?
Sat 2 Dec 2023
We investigate if floods, droughts and storms will cause mass international migration
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A boy meets girl meets stats story
Sat 25 Nov 2023
A data scientist takes on rom com films to see how women in STEM are represented
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A boy meets girl meets stats story
Sat 25 Nov 2023
A data scientist takes on rom com films to see how women in STEM are represented.
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Are women in the UK the biggest binge drinkers in the world?
Sat 18 Nov 2023
Checking out stats on boozing Brits and fishing fleets in the South China Sea.
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Are women in the UK the biggest binge drinkers in the world?
Sat 18 Nov 2023
Checking out stats on boozing Brits and fishing fleets in the South China Sea
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Can maths prove the existence of aliens?
Sat 11 Nov 2023
We look a famous equation which tries to explain whether life exists in outer space
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Can maths prove the existence of aliens?
Sat 11 Nov 2023
We look a famous equation which tries to explain whether life exists in outer space
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Do Indian women own 11% of the world’s gold?
Sat 4 Nov 2023
The cultural importance of gold is well known – but how much do Indians actually own?
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Do Indian women own 11% of the world’s gold?
Sat 4 Nov 2023
The cultural importance of gold is well known – but how much do Indians actually own?
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The overlooked mathematicians of history
Sat 28 Oct 2023
A global history of mathematics, from ancient China to the Middle East
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The Overlooked Mathematicians of History
Sat 28 Oct 2023
Exploring the global history of mathematics
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What do windscreen splats tell us about insect decline?
Sat 21 Oct 2023
We ask whether the ‘windscreen phenomenon’ suggests falling numbers of insects
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What do windscreen splats tell us about insect decline?
Sat 21 Oct 2023
We ask whether the ‘windscreen phenomenon’ suggests falling numbers of insects
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Greedy jobs and the gender pay gap
Sat 14 Oct 2023
Tim Harford discusses the work of Nobel Economics prize winner Claudia Goldin
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Greedy jobs and the gender pay gap
Sat 14 Oct 2023
Tim Harford discusses the work of Nobel Economics prize winner Claudia Goldin
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Are half the words in English from French?
Sat 7 Oct 2023
We ask whether almost half the words in the English language are of French origin.
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Are half the words in English from French?
Sat 7 Oct 2023
We ask whether almost half the words in the English language are of French origin.
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Vaccine claims, Alzheimer's treatment and Tim's Parkrun times
Wed 4 Oct 2023
We debunk claims about excess deaths and the vaccine made by YouTuber John Campbell.
Unlock the history and truth behind the data with The OU
Explore how numbers shape, and sometimes mislead us, with The Open University.
When can you trust statistics?
BBC Ideas discovers three easy ways to help make sense of statistics.
