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More or Less: Behind the Stats

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BBC Radio 4

Tim Harford and the More or Less team try to make sense of the statistics which surround us. From BBC Radio 4

#957

Are women 14 times more likely to die in natural disasters?

The idea that women outnumber men by 14 to 1 as casualties of natural disasters has been repeated in newspapers and online for years - the UN have even used this statistic. But when you track down the source, the research behind this claim leaves much to be desired. Presenter: Kate Lamble Series producer: Tom Colls Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: Nigel Appleton Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith ... Read more

4 hrs Ago

12 MINS

12:59

4 hrs Ago

#956

Is increasing turbulence making flying more dangerous?

Is climate change making turbulence more dangerous for people taking flights around the world? That’s what one listener asked, following a terrifying turbulence incident which left one person dead and more than 20 injured on a flight to Singapore. We speak to turbulence expert Paul Williams, Professor of Atmospheric Science at the University of Reading, to understand what is going on. Presenter: Kate Lamble Producer: Nathan Gower Series producer: Tom Colls Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: Nigel Appleton Editor: Richard Vadon ... Read more

20 Jul 2024

10 MINS

10:04

20 Jul 2024

#955

Federer’s 54%: Tennis stats explained

How can tennis star Roger Federer have won only 54% of the points he played, but been the best player in the world? Jeff Sackmann, the tennis stats brain behind tennisabstract.com, explains to Tim Harford how probability works in the sport. Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Debbie Richford Series producer: Tom Colls Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown Sound Mix: Nigel Appleton Editor: Richard Vadon ... Read more

13 Jul 2024

08 MINS

08:59

13 Jul 2024

#954

The magic of trigonometry

You might have found it boring in school maths classes, but Matt Parker thinks we should all learn to love trigonometry. The ‘Love Triangle’ author talks to Tim Harford about the maths used in GPS, architecture and special effects. Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Debbie Richford Series Producer: Tom Colls Production Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown Sound Mix: Nigel Appleton Editor: Richard Vadon ... Read more

06 Jul 2024

09 MINS

09:35

06 Jul 2024

#953

Election endings, tennis and meeting men in finance

Are Labour right about employment? Are the Conservatives right about cutting NHS managers? Are the Lib Dems right about share buyback? Are Reform UK right about their tax plans? How do they make the exit poll so accurate? What are the odds of meeting a very tall man in finance (with a trust fund)? What does it mean that Roger Federer only won 54% of the points he played? Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. Presenter: Tim Harford Reporter: Kate Lamble Producers: Nathan Gower, Beth Ashmead Latham and Debbie Richford Series producer: Tom Colls Production coordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: Rod Farquhar Editor: Richard Vadon ... Read more

03 Jul 2024

37 MINS

37:24

03 Jul 2024

#952

How a tick box doubled the US maternal mortality rates.

he US has been portrayed as in the grip of a maternal mortality crisis. In contrast to most other developed nations, the rate of maternal deaths in the US has been going up since the early 2000s. But why? With the help of Saloni Dattani, a researcher at Our World in Data, Tim Harford explores how a gradual change in the way the data was gathered lies at the heart of the problem. Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Debbie Richford Production Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown Series Producer: Tom Colls Sound Mix: Emma Harth Editor: Richard Vadon ... Read more

29 Jun 2024

09 MINS

09:03

29 Jun 2024

#951

Election claims and erection claims

Are Labour right about the Liz Truss effect on mortgages? Are the Conservatives right about pensioners? Are Plaid Cymru right about spending? Are the Lib Dems right about care funding? Is Count Binface right about croissants? Why are MRP polls coming up with such different numbers? Do erections require a litre of blood? Tim Harford investigates the numbers in the news. Presenter: Tim Harford Reporter: Kate Lamble Producers: Simon Tulett, Nathan Gower, Beth Ashmead Latham and Debbie Richford Series producer: Tom Colls Production coordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: Rod Farquhar Editor: Richard Vadon ... Read more

26 Jun 2024

28 MINS

28:29

26 Jun 2024

#950

Do ‘pig butchering’ cyber scams make as much as half Cambodia’s GDP?

So-called “pig butchering” scams take billions of dollars from people around the globe. But do the cyber scams run from compounds in Cambodia really take an amount of money equivalent to half that country’s GDP? We investigate how the scale of these criminal operations has been calculated. Presenter: Tim Harford Reporter: Tom Colls Production coordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: Andrew Garratt Editor: Richard Vadon ... Read more

22 Jun 2024

09 MINS

09:31

22 Jun 2024

#949

Worse mortgages, better readers, and potholes on the moon

Will Conservative policies raise mortgages by £4800, as Labour claim? Are primary school kids in England the best readers in the (western) world, as the Conservatives claim? Are there more potholes in the UK than craters on the moon? Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. Presenter: Tim Harford Reporter: Kate Lamble Producers: Nathan Gower, Simon Tullet Beth Ashmead-Latham and Debbie Richford Production coordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: James Beard Editor: Richard Vadon ... Read more

19 Jun 2024

31 MINS

31:52

19 Jun 2024

#948

Shakespeare’s maths

AWilliam Shakespeare might well rank as the most influential writer in the English language. But it seems he also had a knack for numbers. Rob Eastaway, author of Much Ado about Numbers, tells Tim Harford about the simple maths that brings Shakespeare’s work to life. Presenter: Tim Harford Readings: Stella Harford and Jordan Dunbar Producer: Beth Ashmead-Latham Series producer: Tom Colls Production coordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: James Beard Editor: Richard Vadon ... Read more

15 Jun 2024

09 MINS

09:53

15 Jun 2024

#947

Leaflets, taxes, oil workers and classrooms

What’s going on with the dodgy bar charts that political parties put on constituency campaign leaflets? What’s the truth about tax promises? Are 100,000 oil workers going to lose their jobs in Scotland? Will class sizes increase in state schools if private schools increase their fees? Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. Presenter: Tim Harford Reporter: Kate Lamble Producers: Nathan Gower, Beth Ashmead-Latham, Debbie Richford Production coordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: Neil Churchill Editor: Richard Vadon ... Read more

12 Jun 2024

28 MINS

28:31

12 Jun 2024

#946

Why medical error is not the third leading cause of death in the US

The claim that medical error is the third leading cause of death in the US has been zooming around the internet for years. This would mean that only heart disease and cancer killed more people than the very people trying to treat these diseases. But there are good reasons to be suspicious about the claim. Professor Mary Dixon-Woods, director of The Healthcare Improvement Studies Institute, or THIS Institute, at Cambridge University, explains what’s going on. Presenter: Tim Harford Series producer: Tom Colls Production coordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: Nigel Appleton Editor: Richard Vadon ... Read more

08 Jun 2024

09 MINS

09:13

08 Jun 2024

#945

Debate, Reform, tax evasion and ants

Were there any suspicious claims in the election debate between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer? Do the claims in Reform UK’s policy documents on excess deaths and climate change make sense? Can the Conservatives and Labour raise £6bn a year by cracking down on tax avoidance and evasion? And do all the humans on earth weigh more than all of the ants? Presenter: Tim Harford Reporters: Kate Lamble and Nathan Gower Producer: Beth Ashmead-Latham Series producer: Tom Colls Production coordinator: Brenda Brown Editor: Richard Vadon ... Read more

05 Jun 2024

30 MINS

30:05

05 Jun 2024

#944

Data for India

India’s election has been running since 19 April. With results imminent on 4th June, More or Less talks with Chennai based data communicator Rukmini S. She founded Data for India, a new website designed to make socioeconomic data on India easier to find and understand. She talks us through the changing trends to help give a better picture of the type of country the winning party will govern. Producers: Bethan Ashmead and Nathan Gower Sound Engineer: Nigel Appleton Production Coordinator: Brenda Brown Editor: Richard Vadon ... Read more

01 Jun 2024

08 MINS

08:58

01 Jun 2024

#943

UK growth, prisons and Swiftonomics

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said that the UK economy is growing faster than Germany, France and the US, while Labour says the typical household in the UK is worse off by £5,883 since 2019. Are these claims fair? We give some needed context. Net migration has fallen - we talk to someone who predicted it would - Dr Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford. Is Taylor Swift about to add £1 bn to the British economy as some media outlets have claimed? The answer is ‘No’. Why are our prisons full? We ask Cassia Rowland from the Institute for Government. Presenter: Tim Harford Producers: Charlotte McDonald, Nathan Gower, Bethan Ashmead Latham and Ellie House Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Neil Churchill Production coordinator: Brenda Brown Editor: Richard Vadon ... Read more

29 May 2024

28 MINS

28:41

29 May 2024

#942

Is intermittent fasting going to kill you?

News stories earlier in the year appeared to suggest that time restricted eating – where you consume all your meals in an 8 hour time window – was associated with a 91% increase in the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. But is this true? Tim Harford looks into the claim with the help of Cardiologist Dr Donald Lloyd-Jones, chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Northwestern University in the US. Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Debbie Richford Series producer: Tom Colls Production coordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: Nigel Appleton Editor: Richard Vadon ... Read more

25 May 2024

10 MINS

10:16

25 May 2024

#941

MP misconduct, NHS waiting lists and gold (gold)

Is it going to take 685 years to clear NHS waiting lists in England? Are 10 per cent of MPs under investigation for sexual misconduct? How does gold effect the UKs export figures? What does it mean to say that a woman has 120% chance of getting pregnant? Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. Presenter: Tim Harford Producers: Nathan Gower and Bethan Ashmead Latham Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Neil Churchill Production coordinator: Brenda Brown Editor: Richard Vadon ... Read more

22 May 2024

29 MINS

29:05

22 May 2024

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#957

Are women 14 times more likely to die in natural disasters?

#956

Is increasing turbulence making flying more dangerous?

#955

Federer’s 54%: Tennis stats explained

#954

The magic of trigonometry

#953

Election endings, tennis and meeting men in finance

#952

How a tick box doubled the US maternal mortality rates.

#951

Election claims and erection claims

#950

Do ‘pig butchering’ cyber scams make as much as half Cambodia’s GDP?

#949

Worse mortgages, better readers, and potholes on the moon

#948

Shakespeare’s maths

#947

Leaflets, taxes, oil workers and classrooms

#946

Why medical error is not the third leading cause of death in the US

#945

Debate, Reform, tax evasion and ants

#944

Data for India

#943

UK growth, prisons and Swiftonomics

#942

Is intermittent fasting going to kill you?

#941

MP misconduct, NHS waiting lists and gold (gold)