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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How accurate is baby's due date?
Sat 15 Apr 2023
This week we investigate how a baby's due date is calculated
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How to better understand and explain numbers
Sat 8 Apr 2023
Professor Oliver Johnson discusses the use of statistics in the pandemic and in life.
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How to better understand and explain numbers
Sat 8 Apr 2023
Professor Oliver Johnson discusses the use of statistics in the pandemic and in life.
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A groundbreaking new proof for Pythagoras’ Theorem?
Sat 1 Apr 2023
Two high school students say they’ve discovered a new trigonometric proof for the theorem
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A groundbreaking new proof for Pythagoras’ Theorem?
Sat 1 Apr 2023
Two high school students say they’ve discovered a new trigonometric proof for the theorem
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Covid vaccines and false claims about miscarriage
Sat 25 Mar 2023
We debunk viral claims that incorrectly link covid-19 vaccines with a risk of miscarriage
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Covid vaccines and false claims about miscarriage
Sat 25 Mar 2023
We debunk viral claims that incorrectly link covid-19 vaccines with a risk of miscarriage
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Do fungi kill three times as many people as malaria?
Sat 11 Mar 2023
We investigate the claim that fungal infections are a much bigger killer than malaria.
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Do fungi kill three times as many people as malaria?
Sat 11 Mar 2023
We investigate the claim that fungal infections are a much bigger killer than malaria.
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Does British jewellery contain stolen Brink’s-Mat gold?
Sat 4 Mar 2023
We ask what happened to the 3 tonnes of pure gold after the infamous robbery of 1983
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Does your jewellery contain stolen Brink’s-Mat gold?
Sat 4 Mar 2023
We ask what happened to the 3 tonnes of pure gold after the infamous robbery of 1983
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UK vs European energy prices, falling excess deaths and is 5 grams of cocaine a lot?
Wed 1 Mar 2023
We debunk a claim that the UK has by far the highest energy prices in Europe
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Do 29,000 coffee pods really go to landfill every minute?
Sat 25 Feb 2023
We explore the environmental consequences of our thirst for coffee
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Do 29,000 coffee pods really go to landfill every minute?
Sat 25 Feb 2023
We explore the environmental consequences of our thirst for coffee
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Reoffending rates, Welsh taxes and the menopause
Wed 22 Feb 2023
Tim Harford and team fact check a government claim about falling reoffending rates.
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Florence Nightingale and how she visualised data
Sat 18 Feb 2023
Tim Harford discusses the power of the nurse statistician’s groundbreaking diagrams
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Florence Nightingale and how she visualised data
Sat 18 Feb 2023
Tim Harford discusses the power of the nurse statistician’s groundbreaking diagrams
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Nurses' pay, ambulance times and forgotten female economists
Wed 15 Feb 2023
We look at how much nurses in the UK are paid compared with those in Europe.
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The IMF and the UK economy, NHS staff shortages and British v English
Wed 8 Feb 2023
How much should we trust the IMF’s forecasts for the UK?
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Hannah Fry on using shopping data to detect ovarian cancer
Sat 4 Feb 2023
The mathematician discusses a study that suggests loyalty card data could signal cancer.
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Hannah Fry on using shopping data to detect ovarian cancer
Sat 4 Feb 2023
The mathematician discusses a study that suggests loyalty card data could signal cancer.
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Brexit and trade; pensioner millionaires; and Hannah Fry on loyalty cards and cancer
Wed 1 Feb 2023
We examine a claim that the UK’s trade with the EU has increased since Brexit.
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Are wild mammals only 4% of the mammal population?
Sat 28 Jan 2023
We examine a study that says humans and livestock dominate mammal life on Earth
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Are wild mammals only 4% of the mammal population?
Sat 28 Jan 2023
Are wild mammals only 4% of the mammal population?
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Coffee with the chancellor, inflation measures, GP numbers and toilet paper
Wed 25 Jan 2023
We fact check Jeremy Hunt’s pledge to halve inflation.
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Does toilet paper cause 15% of global deforestation?
Sat 21 Jan 2023
We investigate the impact of our use of toilet paper on the world’s forests.
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.
