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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NHS waiting lists, Voter ID and measuring divorce
Wed 24 May 2023
Why a fall in those waiting longest for treatment in England isn't telling the whole story
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Detecting Bad Science with Data
Sat 20 May 2023
Uncovering fraud, malpractice and incompetence in science
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Do 94% of marriages in Portugal really end in divorce?
Sat 13 May 2023
We examine a social media post that claims to outline rates of divorce across the world.
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Why is life expectancy falling in the USA?
Sat 6 May 2023
We ask why average life expectancy in America is falling so quickly.
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How much is the Coronation crown worth?
Sat 29 Apr 2023
King Charles will be anointed with St Edward’s Crown – but what’s its true value?
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The Pentagon Leaks and Fox News
Sat 22 Apr 2023
Why did Tucker Carlson say far more Ukrainian troops than Russian are dying in the war?
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How accurate is baby's due date?
Sat 15 Apr 2023
This week we investigate how a baby's due date is calculated
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How to better understand and explain numbers
Sat 8 Apr 2023
Professor Oliver Johnson discusses the use of statistics in the pandemic and in life.
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A groundbreaking new proof for Pythagoras’ Theorem?
Sat 1 Apr 2023
Two high school students say they’ve discovered a new trigonometric proof for the theorem
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Covid vaccines and false claims about miscarriage
Sat 25 Mar 2023
We debunk viral claims that incorrectly link covid-19 vaccines with a risk of miscarriage
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Do fungi kill three times as many people as malaria?
Sat 11 Mar 2023
We investigate the claim that fungal infections are a much bigger killer than malaria.
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Does your jewellery contain stolen Brink’s-Mat gold?
Sat 4 Mar 2023
We ask what happened to the 3 tonnes of pure gold after the infamous robbery of 1983
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UK vs European energy prices, falling excess deaths and is 5 grams of cocaine a lot?
Wed 1 Mar 2023
We debunk a claim that the UK has by far the highest energy prices in Europe
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Do 29,000 coffee pods really go to landfill every minute?
Sat 25 Feb 2023
We explore the environmental consequences of our thirst for coffee
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Reoffending rates, Welsh taxes and the menopause
Wed 22 Feb 2023
Tim Harford and team fact check a government claim about falling reoffending rates
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Florence Nightingale and how she visualised data
Sat 18 Feb 2023
Tim Harford discusses the power of the nurse statistician’s groundbreaking diagrams
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Nurses' pay, ambulance times and forgotten female economists
Wed 15 Feb 2023
We look at how much nurses in the UK are paid compared with those in Europe.
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The IMF and the UK economy, NHS staff shortages and British vs English
Wed 8 Feb 2023
How much should we trust the IMF’s forecasts for the UK?
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Hannah Fry on using shopping data to detect ovarian cancer
Sat 4 Feb 2023
The mathematician discusses a study that suggests loyalty card data could signal cancer.
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Brexit and trade, pensioner millionaires and Hannah Fry on loyalty cards and cancer
Wed 1 Feb 2023
We examine a claim that the UK’s trade with the EU has increased since Brexit
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Are wild mammals only 4% of the mammal population?
Sat 28 Jan 2023
Are wild mammals only 4% of the mammal population?
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Coffee with the Chancellor, inflation measures, GP numbers and toilet paper
Wed 25 Jan 2023
We fact check Jeremy Hunt’s pledge to halve inflation
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Does toilet paper cause 15% of global deforestation?
Sat 21 Jan 2023
We investigate the impact of our use of toilet paper on the world’s forests.
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Ambulance response times, teacher pay and Irish pubs
Wed 18 Jan 2023
How long are people really waiting when they call 999 for an ambulance?
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How we shook the world of very large numbers
Sat 14 Jan 2023
How an edition of More or Less influenced the naming of enormous numbers
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A&E delays and deaths, religious identity in N Ireland and naming the monster numbers
Wed 11 Jan 2023
How many people may be dying because of treatment delays in the NHS?
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Can China's data on covid deaths be trusted?
Sat 7 Jan 2023
Is China under-reporting data on Covid related deaths?
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Irish pubs - a global numbers game
Sat 31 Dec 2022
Are there more Irish pubs in Ireland than in all other countries combined?
