More or Less: Behind the Stats
960 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 days ago - ★★★★★ - 740 ratingsTim Harford and the More or Less team try to make sense of the statistics which surround us. From BBC Radio 4
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Episodes
How many American women will have an abortion in their lifetime?
July 02, 2022 05:00 - 9 minutes - 8.8 MBEarlier this month, the US Supreme Court overturned its 1973 ruling on Roe vs Wade - the case which guaranteed a constitutional right to a legal abortion across the US, sparking heated protests and debates across the country. But how many American women will have an abortion in their lifetime? One statistic circulating online puts it at as high as one in three. Reporter Charlotte McDonald has been looking into the figures and has uncovered some surprising statistics.
Covid climb, childcare costs and why can’t the French count properly?
June 29, 2022 08:30 - 29 minutes - 26.8 MBCovid cases are rising once again – how accurately are official figures picking up the new wave and how worried we should be? We discuss inflationary spirals and how much wage and pension increases contribute to inflation. Also how many parents actually struggle with childcare costs? Can long waits at A&E be put down to the pandemic and why the French count differently to the British.
Ed Sheeran and the mathematics of musical coincidences
June 25, 2022 05:00 - 11 minutes - 10.1 MBAfter beating a plagiarism claim in court, musician Ed Sheeran said that musical coincidences were inevitable with only 12 notes to choose from… but what do the numbers say? Mathematician and concert pianist Eugenia Cheng takes us through the mathematics of music and explains how the power of exponentials mean that just a handful of notes can open up a seemingly endless world of musical variety. Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Nathan Gower Programme Coordinator: Janet Staples Sound Eng...
Rail strikes, tyre pollution and sex statistics
June 22, 2022 08:30 - 28 minutes - 26.2 MBDo rail workers really earn £13,000 a year more than nurses? As rail strikes severely hit services we look at some of the claims being made around pay – and explain how you can measure average pay in different ways. Plus we investigate claims that Chancellor Rishi Sunak wasted £11bn by paying too much interest on Britain’s national debt. Is pollution from tyres really 2000 times worse than pollution from exhausts? And we look at sex and statistics in America. Produced in partnership with...
How often do people have sex?
June 18, 2022 05:00 - 8 minutes - 8.21 MBMagazine articles and advice columns are commonly littered with spurious statistics about how much sex we’re having. So how much do we really know – and what are the difficulties of collecting information about such an intimate part of our lives? Doctor Marina Adshade from the Vancouver School of Economics, who specialises in the economics of sex and love, answers questions posed by a curious More or Less listener in Japan.
Maternity litigation, stars, bees and windowless planes
June 15, 2022 08:30 - 28 minutes - 26.2 MBThe former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt says that the cost of maternity litigation claims in England is now more than the cost of salaries for maternity nurses and doctors. We crunch the numbers and ask how worried parents and taxpayers should be. Also are there more bees in the world than stars in the galaxy? And would planes be much lighter if they didn’t bother with windows? Maths Professor Hannah Fry talks to us about her experience of cancer and the choices she and others have faced aft...
Hannah Fry: Understanding the numbers of cancer
June 11, 2022 05:00 - 10 minutes - 9.4 MBBritish mathematics professor and broadcaster Hannah Fry has spent many years trying to explain the world through numbers. But when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer she embarked on a new mission – to discover whether the medical world, and we as individuals, make the right choices around treatment. Are patients always given the facts – and the time - they need to make rational decisions? And could we be at risk of unnecessary overtreatment?
Employment puzzle, pyramids and triplets
June 08, 2022 08:30 - 28 minutes - 26.4 MBThe UK has a low unemployment rate, and a large number of people who are not working right now – we look at how both of these are true with the help of Chris Giles from the FT and Louise Murphy from the Resolution Foundation. Have pyramids really moved 4km south since they were built? For years, the media has been claiming that the odds of having identical triplets are one in 200 million – we are very suspicious. And we look at apparently concerning reports about women's life expectancy in...
Are girls starting puberty earlier?
June 04, 2022 05:00 - 8 minutes - 8.13 MBIn the 1980s, Dr Marcia Herman-Giddens was one of the first people to notice that girls were starting puberty earlier than expected. We talk to Dr Marcia Herman-Giddens and Dr Louise Greenspan about what we know now about whether the age of girls’ puberty is falling. (Mother and daughter in the supermarket choosing sanitary items. Getty Images)
Jubilee costs, fuel poverty and imperial measures
June 01, 2022 08:30 - 28 minutes - 26.5 MBIs the government really spending a billion pounds on the Jubilee, as some have claimed? We investigate some of the facts and figures around this week’s commemorations. We also ask why energy bills are becoming so high in the UK when we actually have plenty of gas, and we unpack the mystery of measuring fuel poverty. Plus after the Texas school shooting we investigate the statistics around gun deaths in the US. And finally we hear about the joys and perplexities of imperial measures with Ha...
Noisy Decisions
May 28, 2022 05:00 - 8 minutes - 8.21 MBNobel memorial prize winner Daniel Kahneman is one of the world’s most famous psychologists, known particularly for his work identifying the role of cognitive bias in everyday decision making. In this edition of More or Less he talks to Tim Harford about his latest book, Noise - A Flaw in Human Judgement, in which he outlines how a multitude of often irrelevant factors influence important decisions, whether in job interviews, the courtroom or workplaces generally - and what we can do about it.
Germany’s excess deaths, Eurovision and teacher shortages
May 25, 2022 08:30 - 29 minutes - 26.8 MBSome recent, and surprising, estimates from the World Health Organisation suggested that the UK fared better than Germany in the pandemic. But did they get it right? At Eurovision this year an algorithm was apparently used to replace whole countries’ votes - was it responsible for the UK’s second-place finish? The global economy has been putting the squeeze on many of us this year. Various factors have caused food, fuel and energy prices to rocket and many households are starting to feel t...
Are just 100 companies responsible for 71% of global emissions and how stressed are South Africans?
May 21, 2022 05:00 - 8 minutes - 8.21 MBIn the fight against global warming we’re constantly told to do our bit to reduce green house gas emissions. However, a claim circulating that just ‘100 companies are responsible for 71% of global emissions’ can make any individual effort seem futile. But does this claim mean what you think it means? We look into this and the claim that the pandemic pushed South African stress levels up by 56%. With guests Abbas Panjwani from Fullfact and Kirsten Cosser from Africa Check. (Image: Power plan...
Did the WHO get some of its excess death estimates wrong?
May 14, 2022 05:00 - 8 minutes - 8.22 MBThe World Health Organisation recently released some new estimates of the global death toll of the pandemic. But the figures for a few countries have caused controversy. Tim Harford speaks to Professor Jon Wakefield, who worked on the analysis - and Indian data journalist Rukmini S about the debate that’s erupted in India over the figures. (man puzzled at blackboard. Credit: Getty images)
Have the oceans become 30% more acidic?
May 07, 2022 05:00 - 8 minutes - 8.21 MBAlthough the climate-changing effects of Carbon Dioxide emissions are well known, they are changing our oceans too, making them more acidic. But how much? Tim Harford explores the statistical quirks of ocean acidification, from pH to the mysteries of logarithmic scales. With Dr Helen Findlay from the Plymouth Marine Laboratory in the UK.
Sweden’s polarising pandemic response
April 30, 2022 05:00 - 8 minutes - 8.21 MBWhen much of Europe went into lockdown at the start of pandemic, Sweden’s lighter touch strategy got lots of attention. Fans of the approach say it was a huge success that showed lockdowns were pointless. Opponents say it has been a disaster. But what do the numbers say? In this episode of More Or Less, Tim Harford and journalist Keith Moore carve a nuanced path through one of the pandemic’s most polarising approaches.
Understanding India through Data
April 23, 2022 05:00 - 8 minutes - 8.21 MBHow do you go about understanding a country with a population as diverse as it is vast? Data journalist Rukmini S is the author of Whole Numbers and Half Truths: What Data Can and Cannot Tell Us About Modern India. Tim Harford spoke to her about the power and pitfalls of using statistics to make sense of modern India, from basic questions like average income to the huge challenges of keeping track of Covid.
Subitising and simplifying: how to better explain numbers
April 15, 2022 04:50 - 8 minutes - 8.22 MBHave you ever looked at a numerical claim and thought ‘what on earth does that mean?’ Complex numbers are often badly communicated, making it difficult for the public to appreciate what they signify - but dial things down too much and you’re at risk of oversimplifying important issues. It’s a tightrope walk authors Chip Heath and Karla Starr have explored in their new book ‘Making Numbers Count’. Tim Harford talks to them about how we can improve the way we communicate numbers to the general...
Did tea-drinking cut deaths in the Industrial Revolution?
April 09, 2022 05:00 - 8 minutes - 8.21 MBCould an explosion in tea-drinking explain a decline in deaths in England during the industrial revolution? Professor Francisca Antman, an economist at the University of Colorado Boulder believes it might. Tim Harford discovers that dusting down the data from tea shipments and local burial records gives us surprising insight into how boiling water for tea accidentally improved public health. Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Nathan Gower Sound Engineer: Graham Puddifoot
Will the war in Ukraine cause a global wheat shortage?
April 02, 2022 05:00 - 8 minutes - 8.21 MBAs the Russian Invasion of Ukraine continues, the effects ripple around the rest of the world. One concern involves the wheat harvest. There have been claims that Ukraine and Russia supply 25% of the worlds wheat and that as a result we’re facing a global wheat crisis. We look into this misleading figure to determine what the real impact might be.
Pizza and Nuclear War
March 20, 2022 15:00 - 8 minutes - 8.21 MBThe War in Ukraine has reminded the world how easily conflict might escalate into a Nuclear War. But according to Professor Barry Nalebuff of Yale University, good strategy and negotiating can help us with everything from avoiding Armageddon to dividing up a pizza fairly. Tim Harford talks to Barry Nalebuff about his new book, “Split the Pie”. Presenter:Tim Harford Producer: Lizzy McNeill
Does the UK take in more refugees than other European countries?
March 13, 2022 15:00 - 11 minutes - 10.9 MBAs the war in Ukraine continues, Reuters has reported that some 2.3 million people have been displaced. So far many of those have sought refuge in neighbouring countries. The UN estimates that as of the 8th of march Poland has taken in almost 1.3 million refugees, Hungary just over 200,000 and Slovakia almost 100,000. In comparison the UK has issued visa’s to just under 1000 people. Some say this isn’t enough, however, Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended the governments record claiming ...
Numbers in Ukraine and low seas in Chagos
March 06, 2022 15:00 - 8 minutes - 8.21 MBFollowing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we take a look at some of the numbers coming out of the conflict and ask how to know which information you can trust during a war. We also investigate the perplexing claim that the seas around the Chagos Islands are 100m lower than the seas around the rest of the world.
Troop and Casualty Numbers in Ukraine
March 02, 2022 09:30 - 29 minutes - 26.7 MBHow reliable are the figures coming out of the conflict in Ukraine? Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we consider claims about the numbers of troops involved, people killed, and planes downed. Also: are the prime minister’s parliamentary claims about growing numbers of NHS staff backed up by data? We investigate the perplexing claim that the Chagos Islands are 100 metres below sea level. How long do you have to drive an electric car to offset the pollution from making the battery? An...
Did lockdowns save any lives?
February 27, 2022 15:00 - 8 minutes - 8.21 MBLockdown. A word we’ve all become overly familiar with over the past two years. Lockdowns were intended to protect people, especially societies most vulnerable, from the risks associated with contracting Covid. However, a new study has been making headlines which claims to show that mandatory lockdowns have only reduced Covid-19 mortality by 0.2%, or one death in five hundred. We examine the evidence behind the claim.
Vaccinating children, lockdowns, and ebikes
February 23, 2022 09:30 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBJabs for five to 11-year-olds, lockdown effectiveness, and being green on two wheels. Governments across the UK have decided to offer Covid vaccinations to primary school-aged children. What was the data behind this decision? What effect did lockdowns have on preventing deaths from Covid? We look at a research paper that says almost none. Plus, is Elon Musk right to warn of a global population collapse? And can it really be greener to ride an e-bike than a good old-fashioned push bike?
Hospitalisation rates for children with Covid
February 20, 2022 15:00 - 8 minutes - 8.21 MBCovid vaccines will be offered to all children across the UK between the ages of 5 and 12 - some months after the same decision in countries such as Italy and Germany. It is a topic that has caused a fair amount of controversy and with controversy often comes suspicious statistical claims. We look at the data behind child hospitalisations and deaths due to Covid19.
Questioning claims about Covid and children
February 16, 2022 09:30 - 29 minutes - 26.7 MBHow likely are children to end up in hospital because of Covid? And how many have died? We scrutinise some scary stats that have been circulating on social and examine what excess deaths figures tell us about the risks of Covid compared to other illnesses. Plus, with the gift of hindsight, we examine the joys and sorrows of modelling the spread of the virus. Do MPs understand how false positive rates work? And we unwrap the mystery of the nanomoles.
Testosterone and sport
February 13, 2022 15:00 - 8 minutes - 8.19 MBIn early December 2021 a member of Penn University Women’s Swim Team caused a stir. Lia Thomas not only won three events but she had the fastest time in elite college swimming in the country in two out of three races. This achievement reignited a debate as Lia Thomas is a transgender woman; we examine the rules around testosterone and trans women’s participation in elite sport.
The prime minister in statistical bother
February 09, 2022 09:30 - 28 minutes - 26.4 MBBoris Johnson has been ticked off for misleading Parliament on jobs and on crime. He claimed that the number of people in employment has been rising - when it’s been falling. And he made a claim that crime has fallen - when it’s risen. We discuss the truth, and what Parliament can do to defend it. Plus, we examine the rules around testosterone and trans women’s participation in elite sport, and the spirit of Donald Rumsfeld is with us as we try to navigate the largely unknown world of fun...
Can you fool your brain?
February 06, 2022 15:00 - 8 minutes - 8.21 MBHave you given up on your New Year’s resolution yet? Every year many of us make the promise to become better, shinier, more accomplished versions of ourselves by the same time next year. It’s often easier said than done but to an extent it really is the thought that counts. David Robson, author of ‘The Expectation Effect’ says the power of our expectations can cause real physiological effects but Mike Hall, co-director of ‘The Skeptic’ magazine isn’t convinced.
Does the UK have the fastest growing economy in the G7?
February 02, 2022 09:30 - 28 minutes - 26.4 MBConservative politicians have taken to the airwaves to tell us to forget the parties, and just look at the economic growth - but is the UK really growing faster than other leading economies? The Omicron variant has raised the chance that people are re-infected with Covid - how common is that, and should it change the way we read the statistics that are reported each day? The great statistician Sir David Cox has died; we remember his life and his contribution to the science of counting. An...
Fertility rates: baby boom or bust?
January 30, 2022 15:00 - 8 minutes - 8.19 MBUnder lockdown, couples were destined to find themselves closer than ever before, but despite what you’d think – this didn’t result in a higher birth rate. In fact in developed countries across the world the birth rate is falling, we spoke to Professor Marina Adshade about why this is and what this could mean for the future.
Should you follow the 5 second rule? And does inflation hit the poorest harder?
January 26, 2022 09:30 - 28 minutes - 25.9 MBFood writer Jack Monroe sparked national debate this week when she tweeted about food price hikes on the cheapest goods in supermarkets - but does inflation really hit low income households hardest? Social media and some news outlets have spread claims this week that only around 17,000 people have actually died of Covid. We debunk. We test the truth of the five second rule - is it a good idea to eat watermelon within five seconds of dropping it on the floor? And can you think yourself bett...
Are female patients more likely to die if the surgeon is male?
January 23, 2022 15:00 - 10 minutes - 9.63 MBIn early January several newspapers ran article claiming that ‘women are 32% more likely to die after operation by male surgeon. If true, this is a terrifying figure but is all as it seems? We dig into the data to find out whether women should really be worried about having a male surgeon.
Are women 32% more likely to die after operation by a male surgeon?
January 19, 2022 09:25 - 28 minutes - 26.2 MBAre women 32% more likely to die after operation by a male surgeon? Headlines asserting this were shared across social media recently - but the truth is a bit more complicated. We compare the price and the quality of the UK’s Test and Trace system with that of Germany and check on what’s happening to the Covid death toll during the Omicron wave. And we investigate the worrying statistic that one in ten people are planning to start a podcast in the coming year.
QAnon: Did 365,348 children go missing in the US in 2020?
January 16, 2022 15:00 - 8 minutes - 8.21 MBIn December, Republican politician Lauren Boebert tweeted the claim that ‘365,348 children went missing in 2020’. This is a shocking statistic but is it true and does it mean what we think it means? We speak to Gabriel Gatehouse, international editor of Newsnight, who has been investigating conspiracy theories including the Qanon conspiracy theory for a new podcast, The Coming Storm.
Omicron, pandemic birth rates and boosters
January 12, 2022 09:30 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MBThe pandemic seems to be entering a new phase as Omicron has taken hold. Is it milder? And how might we make decisions based on the latest data? Predictions that lockdowns might lead to a baby boom have proven wrong - in fact fertility is falling. We re-examine a baffling claim about the number of children being abducted every year in the US after claims by a Republican politician on social media, and we run our statistical measuring tape up the inside leg of the government’s promise to gi...
How much plastic is in the Ocean and can Mr Beast make a difference?
January 09, 2022 07:00 - 8 minutes - 8.21 MBIn October of last year popular Youtubers Mark Rober and the enigmatically named Mr Beast pledged to remove 30 million pounds of plastic from the Ocean – if they could raise $30 million dollars. A dollar per pound of plastic sounds like a fairly good deal, but how much plastic is out there and will they actually be removing anything from the Ocean at all? (Image: Sahika Encumen dives amid plastic waste in Ortakoy coastline: photo by Sebnem Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Will the population of Nigeria be larger than Europe’s?
January 02, 2022 15:00 - 8 minutes - 8.21 MBIn recent years population growth has slowed rapidly. Experts believe that the global population will stabilise somewhere around 11 billion people. But just because global population is stabilising doesn’t mean each country is following the global trend. Some projections estimate that the population of Nigeria will increase rapidly to the point that there will be more people living in Nigeria than the whole of Europe combined. We look at the methods behind this claim.
Numbers of 2021
December 26, 2021 15:00 - 8 minutes - 8.21 MBA guide to the most concerning, striking and downright extraordinary numbers of 2021. Tim Harford asks three More or Less interviewees about their most significant and memorable figure over the past year. From the excess death toll of Covid-19; to declining total fertility rates, and a spike in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, we showcase the numbers that tell us something about the year gone by. During this programme, we speak to Hannah Ritchie, head of research at ...
The psychological economics of gift giving
December 19, 2021 15:00 - 8 minutes - 8.21 MBChristmas, the most wonderful time of the year – if you have something to sell that is. Every year we waste hundreds of dollars on gifts that aren’t appreciated, but how can you ensure that the gifts you buy hit the mark every time? We speak to behavioural scientist Professor Francesca Gino to find out more then use our newfound knowledge to exam an old Christmas classic
Does catching covid give you more immunity than being vaccinated?
December 12, 2021 15:00 - 8 minutes - 8.21 MBImmunity to Covid-19. We've all been hoping to develop it ever since the virus emerged two years ago. Since then, a race to vaccinate the world has begun in earnest, with many countries rolling out booster shots in response to the rise of the Omicron variant. Health officials and scientists agree that vaccines are the safest way to develop immunity to the disease. But when US Congresswoman Nancy Mace took to Fox News recently, citing a study showing a whooping 27 times better immunity from n...
Does wearing a mask halve your chances of getting Covid-19?
December 05, 2021 23:59 - 8 minutes - 8.21 MBMasks, you may not have worn them before 2020 but now we’re all at it. With the rise of the Omicron variant countries have scrambled to reintroduce public health policies, among them mask wearing. Health officials and scientists agree that masks help reduce the incidence of covid19 infections – but by how much is still debated. Several newspapers recently reported that masks could cut Covid-19 infections by 53%, we look at how they came to this number and whether we should be believe it. (...
Simpson’s Paradox: How to make vaccinated death figures misleading
November 28, 2021 15:00 - 8 minutes - 8.21 MBVaccines are the best way to stop deaths and serious cases related to covid19, this is an irrefutable fact. However, recent ONS data seems to show that vaccinated people had a higher all cause death rate than unvaccinated people. Why is this data misleading? Here’s a clue: it’s to do with a quirky statistical phenomenon called Simpsons Paradox. (Image: The Simpsons / TCFFC )
A TikTok tale
November 21, 2021 15:00 - 8 minutes - 8.21 MBNowadays if you are an academic and who needs some participants for a study you go online, but over the summer academic studies were inundated with participants who all happened to be teenage girls ... we explore how one TikTok can tip the balance of data gathering. Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Chris Flynn (Image: TikTok logo is displayed on a smartphone screen/Getty/NurPhoto/contributor)
The carbon cost of breakfast at COP26
November 14, 2021 15:00 - 8 minutes - 8.19 MBA French minister told people to eat fewer croissants at this year’s COP26 summit, after the menu said the carbon cost of the pastry was higher than that of a bacon roll, even if it was made without butter. Tim Harford investigates whether this claim could be true, and how the effect of food on climate change can be measured. (Image: Continental breakfast with coffee and croissants: Getty/Cris Cantón)
Same data, opposite results. Can we trust research?
November 07, 2021 15:00 - 8 minutes - 8.21 MBWhen Professor Martin Schweinsberg found that he was consistently reaching different conclusions to his peers, even with the same data, he wondered if he was incompetent. So he set up an experiment. What he found out emphasises the importance of the analyst, but calls into question the level of trust we can put into research. Features an excerpt from TED Talks (Image: Getty/erhui1979)
The art of counting
October 31, 2021 15:00 - 8 minutes - 8.21 MBWho is counting, why are they counting, and what are they are counting? These three questions are important to ask when trying to understand numbers, according to Deborah Stone, author of Counting, How We Use Numbers to Decide What Matters. In this episode, she explains how different ways of totting up can have real-world consequences. (Image: Betta Blue Red Veiltail/Getty Images/zygotehasnobrain)
The numbers behind Squid Game
October 24, 2021 14:00 - 8 minutes - 8.21 MBNetflix has announced that South Korean survival drama Squid Game is its most popular series ever. We scrutinise the statistics behind the claim, and look at the odds of surviving one of the show’s deadly contests.