For over 50 years it’s been widely reported that speaking before a group is people’s number one fear.  But is it really true?  With the help of Dr Karen Kangas Dwyer, a former Professor in the School of Communication at the University of Nebraska-Omaha and Dr Christopher Bader, Professor of Sociology at Chapman University,  Tim Harford tracks the source of the claim back to the 1970’s and explores whether it was true then, and whether it’s true today.   Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Debbie Richford
Production Co-ordinator: Katie Morrison
Series Producer: Tom Colls
Sound Mix: Neil Churchill
Editor: Richard Vadon Picture Credit: vchal via Getty

Is public speaking really our biggest fear?

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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Polling by YouGov made headlines around the world when it suggested 20% of young adults in the US thought the holocaust was a myth. But polling experts at the Pew Research Centre thought the result might not be accurate, due to problems with the kind of opt-in polling it was based on. They tried to replicate the finding, and did not get the same answer. We speak to Andrew Mercer from the Pew Research Centre and YouGov chief scientist Douglas Rivers. Presenter /series producer: Tom Colls 
Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound Mix: Graham Puddifoot
Editor: Richard Vadon

Do one in five young Americans think the holocaust is a myth?

Libertarian populist Javier Milei won the presidential election in Argentina on a promise austerity and economic “shock” measures for the ailing economy.  Just a few months in, some are hailing the falling rate of inflation as showing those measures are working.  Economist Monica de Bolle, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, explains whether that thinking is correct.  Presenter/producer: Tom Colls
Producer: Ajai Singh 
Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound mix: Graham Puddifoot 
Editor: Richard Vadon.

Has Milei fixed Argentina’s inflation problem?

The Cass Review is an independent report on the state of gender identity services for under-18s  in England’s NHS. It found children had been let down by a lack of research and "remarkably weak" evidence on medical interventions in gender care. But before it was even released, claims were circulating online that it ignored 98% of the evidence in reaching its conclusion.  Is that claim true? We speak to Dr Hilary Cass, the author of the review, Professor Catherine Hewitt of York University, who analysed the scientific research, and Kamran Abbasi, editor in chief of the British Medical Journal. Presenter: Kate Lamble
Producer: Tom Colls
Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound Mix: James Beard
Editor: Richard Vadon

98%: Is misinformation being spread about a review of trans youth medicine?

Netflix has a big new show named after and inspired by a classic problem in astrophysics, 'The Three Body Problem', where predicting the course and orbits of three or more celestial bodies proves near impossible. But how faithful is the Netflix show - and original novel - to the actual physics?
Dr Anna Lisa Varri from the University of Edinburgh explains what we can and can't say about the complex and beautiful motions of planets, stars and moons, and brings a dose of scientific facts to science fiction. Presenter: Kate Lamble
Producer: Nathan Gower
Sound Engineer: Graham Puddifoot
Editor: Richard Vadon

Tackling The Three-Body Problem

Is loneliness as bad for you as smoking 15 cigarettes per day? That’s the claim circulating on social media. We trace this stat back to its source and speak the scientist behind the original research on which it is based, Professor Julianne Holt-Lunstad. Presenter / series producer: Tom Colls
Reporter: Perisha Kudhail 
Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound Mix: Graham Puddifoot
Editor: Richard Vadon

Is public speaking really our biggest fear?

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