More or Less: Behind the Stats

By BBC Radio 4

Business

What's More or Less: Behind the Stats about?

Tim 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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A boy meets girl meets stat...

11.25.2023

Veronica Carlin is a data scientist who loves romantic comedies. But she had a hunch about those movies, that there aren’t many women like her, women in STEM - science, technology, engineering and maths – taking the lead roles. So ...

More or Less: Behind the Stats episodes:

11.25.2023 A boy meets girl meets stats story Veronica Carlin is a data scientist who loves romantic comedies. But she had a hunch about those movies, that there aren’t many women like her, women in STEM - science, technology, engineering and maths – taking the lead roles. So ...
11.18.2023 Are women in the UK the biggest binge drinkers in the world? We check out suspect stats on boozing Brits and fishy figures on fishing fleets in the South China Sea. With the help of Professor John Holmes from the University of Sheffield's School of Medicine and Population Health and Simon Funge-Smith, ...
11.11.2023 Can maths prove the existence of aliens? Are we alone in the universe – and if not, how many other civilisations might there be? Remarkable images and data sent back to Earth by the James Webb telescope have given a new impetus to a well-worn debate. We ...
11.04.2023 Do Indian women own 11% of the world’s gold? The cultural importance of gold in India as a symbol of wealth, prosperity and safety is well known – but how much do Indians actually own? Reporter Perisha Kudhail looks at a widely circulated claim about Indian women owning 11% ...
10.28.2023 The Overlooked Mathematicians of History Conventional histories of mathematics are dominated by well-known names like Pythagoras, Leibniz or Newton. But to concentrate solely on figures from Europe gives us only a patchwork understanding of the rich and varied history of mathematical achievement around the world. ...
10.21.2023 What do windscreen splats tell us about insect decline? Do you notice fewer insect splats on windscreens than you used to? There’s a study in the UK trying to measure this ‘windscreen phenomenon’, as it’s become known. We hear more about the study and whether we can draw conclusions ...
10.14.2023 Greedy jobs and the gender pay gap Harvard professor Claudia Goldin has become only the third woman to win the Nobel Economics Prize for her groundbreaking research on women’s employment and pay. Tim Harford discusses her work showing how gender differences in pay and work have changed ...
10.07.2023 Are half the words in English from French? Are almost half the words in the English language of French origin? It’s a claim one of our loyal listeners found surprising. Tim Harford talks to Dr Beth Malory, lecturer in English Linguistics at University College London, who explains why ...
10.04.2023 Vaccine claims, Alzheimer's treatment and Tim's Parkrun times John Campbell, a YouTuber whose posts get millions of views, has made claims about excess deaths and the Covid vaccine. We show why he's incorrect. Also will a much-vaunted new treatment for Alzheimer's really change lives and how much longer ...
09.30.2023 Is the UK really ahead in cutting carbon emissions? The UK Prime Minister has announced several changes to key policies designed to help Britain reach net zero by 2050. In a major speech justifying what many see as a watering down of commitments, Rishi Sunak championed Britain’s achievements to ...
09.27.2023 NHS consultant pay, Net Zero claims and Scotland's ferry woes NHS consultants in England are striking over a pay offer of 6%. We look at whether they are paid an average of £120,000 a year and examine how much their pay compared to inflation has fallen. Also we fact check ...
09.23.2023 Which city has the longest canals? After a listener emailed More or Less to ask whether world famous Venice or the slightly less famous English city of Birmingham has more canals, Daniel Gordon decided to investigate and widen the question to the whole world – with ...
09.20.2023 Social housing, NHS workforce and Liz Truss debt claims Long: Housing minister Rachel Maclean claimed the government has built a record number of social rent homes. Tim and the team investigate. Following Lucy Letby’s conviction, we look at how sentences for murder have changed over the past few decades. ...
09.16.2023 How to approach the world through numbers How can we navigate our lives in a more efficient and satisfactory way? It’s a question Professor David Sumpter is looking to answer in his new book, Four Ways of Thinking. He talks to Tim Harford about four different approaches ...
09.13.2023 Skin cancer, London rents and your great great great granddaughter A BBC report quoted a study that said 1 in 4 men and 1 in 5 women in the UK will get skin cancer in their lifetime. Tim Harford and the team look into the detail. Also London’s Mayor Sadiq ...
09.11.2023 Did 35,000 Americans die building the Panama Canal? The construction of the Panama Canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through Central America is considered one of the greatest engineering feats of all time. It also caused enormous human suffering and loss of life. Donald Trump claimed in ...
09.06.2023 Covid deaths, North Sea gas and Chloe Kelly's World Cup penalty Covid related deaths are rising in England and Wales - but what do the figures really tell us? Also the UK's GDP during the pandemic has been revised upwards. Tim Harford and team ask why and discuss what it tells ...
09.02.2023 What percentage of our brain do we actually use? On this week’s episode of More or Less we interrogate a widely circulated myth relating to how much of our brain power we can access and engage. Ever heard someone say, “You know we can only use 10% of our ...
08.30.2023 HS2 and electric cars, UK vs China emissions & massive maths errors Can you really buy an electric car for everybody in the UK for the cost of HS2? That claim was recently made on Radio 4's Broadcasting House programme. Also we look at a viral claim that 1 in 73 people ...
08.26.2023 How safe is the release of Fukushima nuclear plant water? Water used to cool nuclear reactors at the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan is being released into the Pacific Ocean by Japanese authorities. The move has sparked protests and concerns about safety in the region and met with ...
08.19.2023 How many butterflies are there in the world? Butterflies are a much-loved feature of summer in many parts of the world. But how many of them are there on Earth? That’s the question a young listener to More or Less wanted an answer to – and she couldn’t ...
08.12.2023 Why is it so hard to predict the outcome of competitions like the Premier League? Football competitions are kicking off all around Europe in the coming days and weeks, including the world’s most watched division: The English Premier League. We might make our predictions on who we think is going to win a sporting competition ...
08.05.2023 Are the media exaggerating how hot it is in the Mediterranean? Reports on heatwaves across the globe have dominated our newsfeeds over the last few weeks, with temperatures said to have soared over the 40C mark in many parts of Europe. But across social media, not everyone is buying it. A ...
07.29.2023 Data, extreme weather and climate change Recent global headlines have been dominated by record temperatures across Europe, North America and parts of Asia. As extreme weather events have happened for decades, how are links to climate change made? In this programme we look at how scientists ...
07.22.2023 Ukraine war: A new way of calculating Russian deaths Official information on the numbers of dead and injured in the Ukraine war has been in short supply. Little has come from either the Ukrainian or Russian sides, with estimates from western governments and intelligence agencies filling the information void. ...
07.15.2023 Are more adult nappies sold in Japan than baby ones? Japan has one of the highest rates of life expectancy and one of the lowest birth rates. But does that mean that a widely circulated claim – that more nappies aimed at adults are sold in Japan than those made ...
07.08.2023 Does it take 10,000 litres of water to make a pair of jeans? Various claims have been made about how much water is used in the production of a pair of jeans, that cornerstone of casual clothing. With growing worries over the environmental impact of denim production, More or Less decided to investigate ...
07.05.2023 Immigration: A More or Less Special Programme More than 1.2 million people came into the country to stay for more than 12 months in 2022. As only 560,000 left the country, this means net migration is at an all-time high. Both the Prime Minister and Home Secretary ...
07.01.2023 Will there be just 6 grandchildren for every 100 South Koreans? An article on the UK’s Telegraph newspaper website claimed that there would be just 6 grandchildren for every 100 South Koreans today. We ask whether that figure is correct and look at why South Korea’s birth rate has fallen to ...
06.28.2023 Halving inflation, Scottish tidal power and have 1 in 3 women had an abortion? One of Rishi Sunak's five priorities for 2023 is to halve inflation. Given prices are still rising, we discuss whether it's going be possible. Also does Scotland have more tidal power capacity than the rest of the world combined, as ...
06.24.2023 US National Debt: is $32 trillion a big number? ‘This episode was updated on 26th June to remove an error in how we quantified 32 trillion dollars’ The level of US government debt has just surpassed 32 trillion dollars. Negotiations over raising the borrowing limit once again went down ...
06.21.2023 Mortgages, birth rates and does space contribute 18% to UK GDP? Mortgage rates have risen to 6%. But are things as bad as when rates were much higher in the 1970s and 80s? We look at just how much pain today's rises mean. Also will there be just 6 grandchildren for ...
06.17.2023 Is breastfeeding the key to exam success? A new study by researchers at Oxford University has linked better exam results at school with being breastfed as a baby. But how much faith can we put in the findings? Tim Harford speaks to Emily Oster, professor of economics ...
06.14.2023 Electric vehicles, 600 million bottles and does oral sex cause cancer? There's been a lot of coverage about the risks electric cars may pose to infrastructure like bridges and car parks. We look at how much heavier EVs are. Plus we look at a new study that suggests a link between ...
06.10.2023 Counting Hunger in India How prevalent is hunger and malnutrition in India? With Indian data journalist Rukmini S, we interrogate recent claims that hunger has worsened dramatically in recent years, and explore how malnutrition affects child mortality in the world’s most populous country. Presenter: ...
06.07.2023 Lib Dem ambulance claims, affordable rent and goat meat The Liberal Democrats say 120 people a day in England died last year whilst waiting for an ambulance. We investigate whether the claim stands up to scrutiny. Also Rishi Sunak's pandemic-era scheme Eat Out To Help Out is back in ...
06.03.2023 A short history of data We live in a world where data is everywhere – informing if not governing our lives. But this wealth of data didn’t just turn up overnight. Tim Harford talks to academics Chris Wiggins and Matthew Jones, whose new book How ...
05.31.2023 Food prices, net migration and beef about beef Does Britain really have the most affordable food in Europe? That's a recent claim of the President of the National Farmers' Union. We ask if it's true and look in detail at what is driving rising food prices in the ...
05.28.2023 Are young people more single than ever before? What’s the definition of being single – and how easy is it to measure? There’s a perception that young people today are more single – in a relationship sense - than ever, and dating apps are to blame. But how ...
05.24.2023 NHS waiting lists, Voter ID and measuring divorce The government has trumpeted a big fall in those waiting over 18 months for hospital treatment in England. But total numbers on waiting lists have hit a new high. Also we look at how much impact the introduction of Voter ...
05.20.2023 Detecting Bad Science with Data For more than a decade there’ve been longstanding concerns about the credibility and reliability of science research. This “bad science” has often stemmed from poor data practice or worse. But statistics can also help us identify and understand some of ...
05.13.2023 Do 94% of marriages in Portugal really end in divorce? Portugal has a divorce rate of 94% and India just 1%, according to a social media post about divorce in 33 countries that has gone viral. But how are these figures calculated and what do they really tell us about ...
05.06.2023 Why is life expectancy falling in the USA? The average life expectancy of Americans is shrinking at an alarming rate. Between 2019 and 2021, a staggering 2.7 years has been shaved off, leaving the revised figure at 76.1 years - the lowest it’s been in more than two ...
04.29.2023 How much is the Coronation crown worth? Consisting of 2 kilograms of gold and 444 gemstones, the iconic St Edward’s Crown will play a central role in the coronation of King Charles III, as it has for many of his predecessors. There has been much speculation as ...
04.22.2023 The Pentagon Leaks and Fox News The leaking of US intelligence documents and the arrest of a 21 year old airman who authorities believe to be responsible has caused a media and diplomatic storm. We look at how the leaks were reported by primetime Fox News ...
04.15.2023 How accurate is baby's due date? Paul Connolly is expecting his second child, and the due date is just under two weeks away. In hopes of easing his anxiety every time the phone rings , he is joined by Professor Asma Khalil, Professor Chris Pettker and ...
04.08.2023 How to better understand and explain numbers The covid-19 pandemic has brought the use of statistics into everyday life in a way never seen before. Tim Harford talks to Professor Oliver Johnson, author of Numbercrunch: A Mathematician’s Toolkit for Making Sense of Your World, about his visual ...
04.01.2023 A groundbreaking new proof for Pythagoras’ Theorem? Pythagoras’ Theorem, explaining the relationship between the three sides of a right angled triangle, is one of the most famous in maths. It’s been studied and put to use for thousands of years. Now two US high school students say ...
03.25.2023 Covid vaccines and false claims about miscarriage Misinformation around covid-19 and vaccines is rife and as the data available increases, so do often misleading and even wild claims. This week More or Less examines multiple viral claims that the Covid 19 mRNA vaccines increase the risk of ...
03.18.2023 Silicon Valley Bank: a very modern bank run After the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank sent jitters through the financial system, Duncan Weldon explains how it’s just the latest in the long history of bank runs. He talks to financial analyst and former banking regulator Dan Davies - ...

Older episodes

More or Less: Behind the Stats

What's More or Less: Behind the Stats about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

More or Less: Behind the Stats episodes:

A boy meets girl meets stats story

Are women in the UK the biggest binge drinkers in the world?

Can maths prove the existence of aliens?

Do Indian women own 11% of the world’s gold?

The Overlooked Mathematicians of History

What do windscreen splats tell us about insect decline?

Greedy jobs and the gender pay gap

Are half the words in English from French?

Vaccine claims, Alzheimer's treatment and Tim's Parkrun times

Is the UK really ahead in cutting carbon emissions?

NHS consultant pay, Net Zero claims and Scotland's ferry woes

Which city has the longest canals?

Social housing, NHS workforce and Liz Truss debt claims

How to approach the world through numbers

Skin cancer, London rents and your great great great granddaughter

Did 35,000 Americans die building the Panama Canal?

Covid deaths, North Sea gas and Chloe Kelly's World Cup penalty

What percentage of our brain do we actually use?

HS2 and electric cars, UK vs China emissions & massive maths errors

How safe is the release of Fukushima nuclear plant water?

How many butterflies are there in the world?

Why is it so hard to predict the outcome of competitions like the Premier League?

Are the media exaggerating how hot it is in the Mediterranean?

Data, extreme weather and climate change

Ukraine war: A new way of calculating Russian deaths

Are more adult nappies sold in Japan than baby ones?

Does it take 10,000 litres of water to make a pair of jeans?

Immigration: A More or Less Special Programme

Will there be just 6 grandchildren for every 100 South Koreans?

Halving inflation, Scottish tidal power and have 1 in 3 women had an abortion?

US National Debt: is $32 trillion a big number?

Mortgages, birth rates and does space contribute 18% to UK GDP?

Is breastfeeding the key to exam success?

Electric vehicles, 600 million bottles and does oral sex cause cancer?

Counting Hunger in India

Lib Dem ambulance claims, affordable rent and goat meat

A short history of data

Food prices, net migration and beef about beef

Are young people more single than ever before?

NHS waiting lists, Voter ID and measuring divorce

Detecting Bad Science with Data

Do 94% of marriages in Portugal really end in divorce?

Why is life expectancy falling in the USA?

How much is the Coronation crown worth?

The Pentagon Leaks and Fox News

How accurate is baby's due date?

How to better understand and explain numbers

A groundbreaking new proof for Pythagoras’ Theorem?

Covid vaccines and false claims about miscarriage

Silicon Valley Bank: a very modern bank run

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