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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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.
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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
Fri 7 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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Falling pound, the Queen’s funeral and is 0.5 on the Richter scale a big number?
Wed 28 Sep 2022
How worried should we be about the steep falls in the pound?
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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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Ukraine offensive, weak pound & how much do women really exercise
Thu 22 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?
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.
