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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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.
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Ben Bernanke and the magic of banking
Sat 15 Oct 2022
Tim Harford explains the work of this year’s Nobel Economics Prize winners
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Ben Bernanke and the magic of banking
Sat 15 Oct 2022
Tim Harford explains the work of this year’s Nobel Economics Prize winners
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Catching chess cheats with data
Sat 8 Oct 2022
A cheating scandal is rocking the world of chess - and data is at its heart
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Catching Chess Cheats with Data
Sat 8 Oct 2022
A cheating scandal is rocking the world of chess - and data is at its heart
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Teens and antidepressants, stamp duty savings and earthquake probabilities
Wed 5 Oct 2022
We debunk a claim that a third of British teenagers have been prescribed antidepressants.
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Nasa’s asteroid collision: How many asteroids are really out there?
Sat 1 Oct 2022
As Nasa rams an asteroid to try and alter its course, how many are yet to be discovered?
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NASA’s asteroid collision: how many asteroids are really out there?
Sat 1 Oct 2022
As NASA rams an asteroid to try and alter its course, how many are yet to be discovered?
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Mini-budget, TV audience for the Queen’s funeral and 0.5 on the Richter scale
Wed 28 Sep 2022
Did 4.1 billion people really watch the Queen’s funeral?
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Ukraine’s progress in numbers
Sat 24 Sep 2022
We ask how much progress Ukraine has really made in recapturing territory from Russia.
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Ukraine’s progress in numbers
Sat 24 Sep 2022
We ask how much progress Ukraine has really made in recapturing territory from Russia.
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The size of Ukraine’s offensive, weak pound and how much do women really exercise?
Wed 21 Sep 2022
We ask how much progress Ukraine has really made in recapturing territory from Russia.
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How bad is fashion for the environment?
Sat 17 Sep 2022
Does fashion really account for 10% of greenhouse gas emissions?
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How bad is fashion for the environment?
Sat 17 Sep 2022
Does fashion really account for 10% of greenhouse gas emissions?
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Energy crisis plan, imperial measures survey, gardens v national parks
Wed 14 Sep 2022
How much will the UK government’s plan to limit energy price rises end up costing?
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Is a third of Pakistan really under water?
Sat 10 Sep 2022
We investigate a widely reported claim as Pakistan deals with devastating flooding
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Is a third of Pakistan really under water?
Sat 10 Sep 2022
We investigate a widely reported claim as Pakistan deals with devastating flooding
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Pakistan flooding, UK power prices and Boris’s broadband claim
Wed 7 Sep 2022
The scale of the disaster is huge, but is a third of Pakistan really under water?
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Can we use maths to beat the robots?
Sat 3 Sep 2022
Why improving how we teach and think about maths could help us keep an edge over machines
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Can we use maths to beat the robots?
Sat 3 Sep 2022
Why improving how we teach and think about maths could help us keep an edge over machines
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Energy prices, excess deaths and Wales v England in counting
Wed 31 Aug 2022
Is there an easy way to cut soaring energy bills?
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Kenya’s Election Rounding Error
Sat 27 Aug 2022
Official figures didn’t add up - but due to rounding, not fraud
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Kenya’s Election Rounding Error
Sat 27 Aug 2022
Official figures didn’t add up - but due to rounding, not fraud.
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The numbers behind 'natural' birth control
Sat 20 Aug 2022
We examine online claims about the effectiveness of “natural” birth control methods
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The numbers behind “natural” birth control
Sat 20 Aug 2022
We examine online claims about the effectiveness of “natural” birth control methods
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Is opinion polling broken?
Sat 13 Aug 2022
Following some high profile slip-ups in recent US elections, is opinion polling broken?
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Is opinion polling broken?
Sat 13 Aug 2022
Following some high profile slip-ups in recent US elections, is opinion polling broken?
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Debunking the Liverpool FC conspiracy theory
Sat 6 Aug 2022
We debunk spurious rumours that Liverpool FC use asthma medication to enhance performance
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Debunking the Liverpool FC Conspiracy Theory
Sat 6 Aug 2022
We debunk spurious rumours that Liverpool FC use asthma medication to enhance performance
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How our world measures up
Sat 30 Jul 2022
From ancient tally bones to a jar of peanut butter, a look at the history of measurement
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.
