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 the average American have fewer than three friends?
Wed 4 Jun 2025
Plus, skilled migrants, preventing Alzheimer’s and Robert Prevost on God and probability.
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Factchecking the Trump administration’s Autism claims
Sat 31 May 2025
Why has the rate of autism risen so dramatically in the last 30 years?
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Factchecking the Trump administration’s Autism claims
Sat 31 May 2025
Why has the rate of autism risen so dramatically in the last 30 years?
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Is the UN underestimating the global fall in fertility?
Sat 24 May 2025
How one graph shows the conservative side of the United Nations’ population estimates
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Is the UN underestimating the global fall in fertility?
Sat 24 May 2025
How one graph shows the conservative side of the United Nations’ population estimates
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How dead is the internet?
Sat 17 May 2025
We investigate the claim that bots make up 50% of internet traffic
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How dead is the internet?
Sat 17 May 2025
We investigate the claim that bots make up 50% of internet traffic
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Warren Buffett’s brilliant bets
Sat 10 May 2025
How retiring Berkshire Hathaway boss Warren Buffett made his money and made a point
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Warren Buffett’s brilliant bets
Sat 10 May 2025
How retiring Berkshire Hathaway boss Warren Buffett made his money and made a point
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Bonus episode: The Autism Curve
Mon 5 May 2025
The first episode of a new BBC series investigating the steep rise in autism diagnoses.
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Donald Trump: 100 days fact-check
Sat 3 May 2025
Working out the reality behind President Trump’s claims on immigration, fentanyl and eggs
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Donald Trump: 100 days fact-check
Sat 3 May 2025
Working out the reality behind President Trump’s claims on immigration, fentanyl and eggs
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Are 80% of women really only attracted to 20% of men?
Sat 26 Apr 2025
Dispelling an incel myth that featured in the Netflix drama Adolescence
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Are 80% of women really only attracted to 20% of men?
Sat 26 Apr 2025
Dispelling an incel myth that featured in the Netflix drama Adolescence
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The pioneers of proof
Sat 19 Apr 2025
Professor Adam Kucharski on his new book, Proof: The Uncertain Science of Certainty
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The pioneers of proof
Sat 19 Apr 2025
Professor Adam Kucharski on his new book, Proof: The Uncertain Science of Certainty
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How much is a human life worth?
Sat 12 Apr 2025
The Price of Life author Jenny Kleeman on the cost of making and taking a life
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How much is a human life worth?
Sat 12 Apr 2025
The Price of Life author Jenny Kleeman on the cost of making and taking a life
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The mistake in Trump’s tariff formula
Wed 9 Apr 2025
Also, counting bobbies, freezing tax and electrocuting redheads
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Trump tariffs: All about the deficits
Sat 5 Apr 2025
Explaining the maths and economics of the US ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs
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Trump tariffs: All about the deficits
Fri 4 Apr 2025
Explaining the maths and economics of the US ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs
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Is one in four people in the UK disabled?
Wed 2 Apr 2025
Plus, what has Canada done to Donald Trump? Is Rachel Reeves chasing the model?
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What’s Trump’s problem with Canada?
Sat 29 Mar 2025
Does the US subsidise Canada $200 billion a year and why does Trump call them nasty?
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What’s Trump’s problem with Canada?
Sat 29 Mar 2025
Does the US subsidise Canada $200 billion a year and why does Trump call them nasty?
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Could a 2% wealth tax raise £24bn?
Wed 26 Mar 2025
Plus, did trillions disappear from UK pensions? Why does the UK have a lot of old housing?
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What are the chances of an asteroid hitting earth in 2032?
Sat 22 Mar 2025
Why the likelihood of planetary impact changed as asteroid 2024 YR4 approached.
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What are the chances of an asteroid hitting earth in 2032?
Sat 22 Mar 2025
Why the likelihood of planetary impact changed as asteroid 2024 YR4 approached.
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Why are more people claiming disability benefits?
Wed 19 Mar 2025
Plus, UK v Russia on free speech and the collapse of the Labour Force Survey.
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How did lockdown impact children?
Mon 17 Mar 2025
Five years on, Tim Harford looks at the data on the effect of lockdown
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What is an IQ map and can we trust them?
Sat 15 Mar 2025
We investigate maps that suggest extremely low average IQs in developing countries
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.
