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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Nurses, flatmates and cats
Fri 3 May 2019
We look into sobering statistics about nurses and some curious claims about house-sharing
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Bernie Sanders and the cost of having a baby
Mon 29 Apr 2019
Did Bernie Sanders get the cost of giving birth right?
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Hottest Easter, Insects, Scottish villages
Fri 26 Apr 2019
Should we be surprised Easter Monday was the hottest recorded?
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The economic impact of mega sporting events
Fri 19 Apr 2019
Major sports events and the benefits to the local economy.
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Where is Scotland鈥檚 highest village?
Mon 15 Apr 2019
A battle is brewing in the Southern Scottish uplands between two rival villages.
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Rounding up the weed killer cancer conundrum
Mon 8 Apr 2019
We examine the cancer-causing potential of the weed killer glyphosate
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Chess cheats and the GOAT
Mon 1 Apr 2019
What a statistical analysis of chess moves can teach us about this ancient game.
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Is Mansa Musa the richest person of all time?
Mon 25 Mar 2019
Is the West African king, Mansa Musa, the richest person who ever lived?
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Day light saving time and heart attacks
Mon 18 Mar 2019
Does the sudden loss of an hour of sleep raise the risk of having a heart attack?
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The gender gap in tech
Sat 9 Mar 2019
Are women really less likely than men to be hired for jobs in tech?
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How To Make Your Art Work More Valuable
Fri 22 Feb 2019
Die, sell on a sunny day, place your work a third of the way through the auction.
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WS More or Less: When maths mistakes really matter
Mon 18 Feb 2019
Tim Harford talks to Matt Parker on how simple maths mistakes can cause big problems.
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Climate Change, Victorian Diseases, Alcohol
Fri 15 Feb 2019
Tim Harford on climate change, Victorian diseases, maths mistakes and alcohol consumption
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WS More or Less: From the archives: Groundhogs and Kings
Mon 11 Feb 2019
Assessing the accuracy of a Groundhog; How many English people have right royal relatives?
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Teen Suicide; Brexit Business Moves; Wood-Burner Pollution
Fri 8 Feb 2019
Tim Harford finds untrue a recent report that there is a 'suicidal generation' of teens.
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WS More or Less: You have 15,000 likes!
Mon 4 Feb 2019
A listener doubts her popularity on the dating app Tinder. We investigate the numbers.
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Holocaust Deniers; Venezuelan Hyperinflation; Tinder Likes
Fri 1 Feb 2019
Tim Harford on Holocaust deniers; food prices in Venezuela, and dating app statistics
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WS More or Less: Is Suicide Seasonal?
Sat 26 Jan 2019
Tim Harford asks which times of the year are riskiest for suicide.
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Domestic Violence, Jobs, Easter Snowfall
Fri 25 Jan 2019
Tim Harford on domestic violence, employment numbers, and the chance of a white Easter.
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WS More or Less: Close Encounters of a Planetary Kind
Sat 19 Jan 2019
Which planet is closest to Earth?
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Intersex Numbers, Fact-Checking Facebook, Jack Bogle
Fri 18 Jan 2019
Tim Harford asks whether 1.7% of people are intersex, and examines false claims about MPs
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WS More or Less: The Mathematics of Fever
Sat 12 Jan 2019
We look at the numbers behind body temperature 鈥� what is normal?
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Sugar, Outdoors Play and Planets
Fri 11 Jan 2019
Tim Harford on sugar, train fares, children's outdoors play and Earth's closest neighbour
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WS More or Less: Numbers of the Year Part 2
Fri 4 Jan 2019
Helena Merriman with numbers about water shortage, plastic recycling and American jobs.
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WS More or Less: Mission Impossible - Quantifiying Santa
Sat 22 Dec 2018
What to look out for on Christmas Eve.
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WS More or Less: Sex and Heart Attacks
Fri 30 Nov 2018
Are women more likely to die from a heart attack than men?
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WS More or Less: Are 90% of War Fatalities Civilians?
Fri 23 Nov 2018
Xavier Zapata examines what the data tells us about the deadly impact of war on civilians
