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 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
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Does the World Athletics Championships have a false start problem?
Sat 23 Jul 2022
We examine the rules and tech of false starts after the disqualification of Devon Allen.
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Does the World Athletics Championships have a false start problem?
Sat 23 Jul 2022
We examine the rules and tech of false starts after the disqualification of Devon Allen.
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Is Uganda about to become a middle income country?
Sat 16 Jul 2022
We assess President Museveni’s claim that Uganda is nearing a higher economic status.
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Is Uganda about to become a middle income country?
Sat 16 Jul 2022
We assess President Museveni’s claim that Uganda is nearing a higher economic status.
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Does it take 10,000 litres of water to make a pair of jeans?
Sat 9 Jul 2022
The numbers behind water use and denim production
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Does it take 10,000 litres of water to make a pair of jeans?
Sat 9 Jul 2022
The numbers behind water use and denim production
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How many American women will have an abortion in their lifetime?
Sat 2 Jul 2022
In the wake of the historic overturning of Roe vs Wade, we look at the statistics.
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How many American women will have an abortion in their lifetime?
Sat 2 Jul 2022
In the wake of the historic overturning of Roe vs Wade, we look at the statistics.
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Covid climb, childcare costs and why can't the French count properly?
Wed 29 Jun 2022
How accurately are official figures picking up the new covid wave?
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Ed Sheeran and the mathematics of musical coincidences
Sat 25 Jun 2022
Ed Sheeran thinks that musical coincidences will always happen… but do the numbers agree?
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Ed Sheeran and the mathematics of musical coincidences
Sat 25 Jun 2022
Ed Sheeran thinks that musical coincidences will always happen… but do the numbers agree?
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Rail strikes, tyre pollution and sex statistics
Wed 22 Jun 2022
Do rail workers really earn £13,000 a year more than nurses?
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Maternity litigation, stars, bees and windowless planes
Wed 15 Jun 2022
Are damages for maternity mistakes now more than wages for maternity nurses and doctors?
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Hannah Fry: Understanding the numbers of cancer
Sat 11 Jun 2022
The maths professor on the choices she and others have faced after a cancer diagnosis
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Hannah Fry: Understanding the numbers of cancer
Sat 11 Jun 2022
The maths professor on the choices she and others have faced after a cancer diagnosis
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Employment puzzle, pyramids and triplets
Wed 8 Jun 2022
The UK has a low unemployment rate but lots of people not working – how come?
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Are girls starting puberty earlier?
Sat 4 Jun 2022
We look into a claim that the age of girls’ puberty is falling rapidly
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Are girls starting puberty earlier?
Sat 4 Jun 2022
We look into a claim that the age of girls’ puberty is falling rapidly
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Jubilee costs, fuel poverty and imperial measures
Wed 1 Jun 2022
We debunk a claim the government is spending £38,000 per household on the jubilee.
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Noisy decisions
Sat 28 May 2022
Nobel prize winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman on how 'noise' impacts decision making
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Noisy Decisions
Sat 28 May 2022
The world’s most famous psychologist on how 'noise' impacts our decision making
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Are young people more single than ever before?
Fri 27 May 2022
How to define and measure being single – and are dating apps to blame?
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Germany’s excess deaths, Eurovision and teacher shortages
Wed 25 May 2022
Did Germany really fare worse than the UK in the pandemic?
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Are just 100 companies responsible for 71% of global emissions?
Sat 21 May 2022
Looking at numbers on green house gas emissions and stress.
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Are just 100 companies responsible for 71% of global emissions and how stressed are South Africans?
Sat 21 May 2022
Looking at numbers on green house gas emissions and stress
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Did the WHO get some of its excess death estimates wrong?
Sat 14 May 2022
We look at the World Health Organisation’s latest estimates of the pandemic’s death toll
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Did the WHO get some of its excess death estimates wrong?
Sat 14 May 2022
We look at the World Health Organisation’s latest estimates of the pandemic’s death toll
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.
