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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Is public speaking really our biggest fear?
Sat 9 Mar 2024
Tim Harford investigates the claim that public speaking is people’s number one fear.
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Ultramarathons: Are women faster than men?
Sat 2 Mar 2024
Is it really true that in extremely long races, women run faster than men?
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Ultramarathons: Are women faster than men?
Sat 2 Mar 2024
Is it really true that in extremely long races, women run faster than men?
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School spending, excess deaths and billions of animals at Heathrow
Wed 28 Feb 2024
Is school funding at record levels? Did 6.5bn creatures come to the UK by plane last year?
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NBA basketball: Is height more important than skill?
Sat 24 Feb 2024
How much does a man’s height affect his chances of becoming an NBA basketball player?
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NBA basketball: Is height more important than skill?
Sat 24 Feb 2024
How much does a man’s height affect his chances of becoming an NBA basketball player?
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Per capita GDP, MP claims and the entire EU budget
Wed 21 Feb 2024
What does per capita GDP tell us? How much did the EU spend on covid recovery?
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The digital ‘robots’ unlocking medical data
Sat 17 Feb 2024
Ben Goldacre on OpenSAFELY, protecting patient privacy while analysing health data
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The digital ‘robots’ unlocking medical data
Sat 17 Feb 2024
Ben Goldacre on OpenSAFELY, protecting patient privacy while analysing health data
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Debt, students, shark and chips
Wed 14 Feb 2024
What is the government’s rule on debt? Do 90% of chip shops sell shark and chips?
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The global gender split in young people’s politics
Sat 10 Feb 2024
Tim Harford investigates the growing political divergence between young men and women.
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The global gender split in young people’s politics
Sat 10 Feb 2024
Tim Harford investigates the growing political divergence between young men and women.
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Council tax weirdness: Hartlepool vs Westminster
Wed 7 Feb 2024
Council tax comparisons, migration calculations and the carbon footprint of home-grown veg
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A pocket-size history of the calculator
Sat 3 Feb 2024
Tim Harford explores the history of calculators from clockwork to the Kashio brothers
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A pocket-size history of the calculator
Sat 3 Feb 2024
Tim Harford explores the history of calculators from clockwork to the Kashio brothers
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Measles, Traitors and the cost of Brexit
Wed 31 Jan 2024
Is measles spreading? How much is Brexit costing? How good are they at traitor guessing?
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Is Oxfam right about the world’s richest and poorest people?
Sat 27 Jan 2024
We investigate how Oxfam use wealth stats to illustrate global inequality
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Is Oxfam right about the world’s richest and poorest people?
Sat 27 Jan 2024
We investigate how Oxfam use wealth stats to illustrate global inequality
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Shopping, shipping and wind chill-ing
Thu 25 Jan 2024
We investigate the cost of a weekly shop and explore the workings of wind chill
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Are there more possible games of chess than atoms in the universe?
Sat 20 Jan 2024
We investigate how the vast possibilities in chess compare to the vastness of the universe
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Are there more possible games of chess than atoms in the universe?
Sat 20 Jan 2024
We investigate how the vast possibilities in chess compare to the vastness of the universe
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Life expectancy, inheritance tax and the NHS vs winter
Wed 17 Jan 2024
How long will we live? Who pays inheritance tax? How did the NHS perform this winter?
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Do we see 10,000 adverts per day?
Sat 13 Jan 2024
We investigate the claim that each of us sees thousands of adverts every single day
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Do we see 10,000 adverts per day?
Sat 13 Jan 2024
We investigate the claim that each of us sees thousands of adverts every single day
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Deaths, taxes and missing cats
Wed 10 Jan 2024
We investigate claims about gun crime, the UK tax burden, and the number of missing cats
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How much money do the ‘Ndrangheta mafia make?
Sat 6 Jan 2024
We investigate whether one criminal group could have a turnover of billions of dollars
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How much money do the ‘Ndrangheta mafia make?
Sat 6 Jan 2024
We investigate whether one criminal group could have a turnover of billions of dollars
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Numbers of the year 2023
Sat 30 Dec 2023
Hand-picked stats that tell you something interesting about the world
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Numbers of the year 2023
Sat 30 Dec 2023
Hand-picked stats that tell you something interesting about the world
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Can chocolate be better than salad?
Sat 23 Dec 2023
We investigate a nutritional conundrum – can chocolate ever be better for you than salad?
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.
