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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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.
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Ambulance response times, teacher pay and Irish pubs
Wed 18 Jan 2023
How long are people really waiting when they call 999 for an ambulance?
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How we shook the world of very large numbers
Sat 14 Jan 2023
How an edition of More or Less influenced the naming of enormous numbers
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How we shook the world of very large numbers
Sat 14 Jan 2023
How an edition of More or Less influenced the naming of enormous numbers
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A&E delays and deaths, religious identity in N Ireland and naming the monster numbers
Wed 11 Jan 2023
How many people may be dying because of treatment delays in the NHS?
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A&E delays and deaths, religious identity in N Ireland and naming the monster numbers
Wed 11 Jan 2023
How many people may be dying because of treatment delays in the NHS?
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Can China's data on Covid deaths be trusted?
Sat 7 Jan 2023
Is China under-reporting data on Covid related deaths?
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Can China's data on covid deaths be trusted?
Sat 7 Jan 2023
Is China under-reporting data on Covid related deaths?
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Irish pubs - a global numbers game
Sat 31 Dec 2022
Are there more Irish pubs in Ireland than in all other countries combined?
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Irish pubs - a global numbers game
Sat 31 Dec 2022
Are there more Irish pubs in Ireland than in all other countries combined?
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What are the numbers of 2022?
Christmas Eve 2022
Tim Harford and guests on the numbers that help tell the big stories of the year.
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Numbers of the Year 2022
Christmas Eve 2022
Tim Harford and guests on the numbers that help tell the big stories of the year.
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Qatar World Cup: The pressure of penalties
Sat 17 Dec 2022
We analyse World Cup penalty data to ask what boosts the chance of scoring from the spot
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Qatar World Cup: the pressure of penalties
Sat 17 Dec 2022
We analyse World Cup penalty data to ask what boosts the chance of scoring from the spot
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Why is data so important in determining how we live?
Sat 10 Dec 2022
Tim Harford on how good policies depend on the availability of reliable statistics
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Why are data so important in determining how we live?
Sat 10 Dec 2022
How good policies depend on the availability of reliable statistics
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The World Cup: how many migrant workers have died?
Sat 3 Dec 2022
Examining the wildly varying estimates of deaths in the run-up to the tournament in Qatar
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World Cup in Qatar: How many migrant workers have died?
Sat 3 Dec 2022
Examining the wildly varying estimates of deaths in the run-up to the tournament in Qatar
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When do food shortages become a famine?
Sat 26 Nov 2022
With Somalia in crisis, we ask how data is used to officially declare a famine
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When do food shortages become a famine?
Sat 26 Nov 2022
With Somalia in crisis, we ask how data is used to officially declare a famine
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A $220 billion World Cup?
Sat 19 Nov 2022
Has hosting the Fifa football World Cup really cost Qatar $220bn?
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A $220 billion World Cup?
Sat 19 Nov 2022
Has hosting the FIFA football World Cup really cost Qatar $220bn?
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Bonus Episode: Understand the Economy
Mon 14 Nov 2022
Tim Harford brings you the first episode of his new podcast and explains inflation
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Improving the numbers in the news
Sat 12 Nov 2022
Tim Harford discusses the role statistics should play in the reporting of the news
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Improving the numbers in the news
Sat 12 Nov 2022
Tim Harford discusses the role statistics should play in the reporting of the news
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Lula’s 'zero deforestation' plan for the Amazon
Sat 5 Nov 2022
How much of the rainforest has been lost? And can Brazil’s new president save it?
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Lula’s “zero deforestation” plan for the Amazon
Sat 5 Nov 2022
How much of the rainforest has been lost? And can Brazil’s new president save it?
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Can China’s GDP data be trusted?
Sat 29 Oct 2022
Are China’s most recent figures for economic growth wrong?
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Can China’s GDP data be trusted?
Sat 29 Oct 2022
Are China’s most recent figures for economic growth wrong?
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Do half of new books really sell fewer than twelve copies?
Sat 22 Oct 2022
We look into a claim that 50% of new books in the US sell just a handful of copies.
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.
