Instant Genius

How to understand statistics in the news and when to trust them

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In this week's episode of the Science Focus Podcast, editor Daniel Bennett speaks to Tom Chivers and David Chivers.

Tom is a veteran science journalist and author and David is lecturer in economics at the University of Durham. As well as a surname, they share a passion for statistics, or more precisely for the way that numbers are used and presented in the media. Together they’ve written a new book: How to Read Numbers: A Guide to Statistics in the News and Knowing When to Trust Them.

They talk to Daniel about how to understand the sometimes confusing stats surrounding health and risk, how to spot a suspicious claim when you see one, and how to think about the current concerns surrounding the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.

Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.

  • Subscribe to the Science Focus Podcast on these services: Acast, iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, Overcast
  • Read the full transcription of this episode [this will open in a new window]

    Listen to more episodes of the Science Focus Podcast:

    • Sir David Spiegelhalter: There's no such thing as Blue Monday
    • Matt Parker: What happens when maths goes horribly, horribly wrong?
    • Hannah Fry: How much of our lives is secretly underpinned by maths?
    • Prof Linda Scott: Why is there still economic inequality between men and women?
    • Hannah Fry: What's the deal with algorithms?
    • Robert Elliott Smith: Are algorithms inherently biased?

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