More or Less: Behind the Stats

BBC

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MATHÉMATIQUES
DEUX FOIS PAR SEMAINE

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

-16 H

Nobel economics prize 2025: What's the big idea?

Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt have been awarded this year’s Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. The three are sharing 11 million Swedish kronor, over a million dollars, after being recognised for their work in the area of “innovation-driven economic growth”. But why does this area matter and what did the three economists actually do? We turn the tables on our presenter Tim Harford, to explain all. If you’ve seen a number in the news you think we should take a look at, let us know: moreorless@bbc.co.uk Presenter: Lizzy McNeill Reporter: Tim Harford Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Donald MacDonald Editor: Richard Vadon Image credit: Johan Jarnestad / The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

9 min
-3 J

Are millions of people getting Motability cars for anxiety and ADHD?

Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week: The Conservative party conference has been told that millions of people are getting free cars from the government because they have ADHD and anxiety. Is that right? The chair of the Labour party says that only 3% of farmers will be affected by proposed changes to inheritance tax. Is that true? The charity Movember claim that two in five men die too young. What does that really mean? And Tim’s mid-life crisis has manifested itself in a marathon run. We ask a scientist if data can help him finish faster. If you’ve seen a number in the news you think we should take a look at, let us know: moreorless@bbc.co.uk Presenter: Tim Harford Reporter: Nathan Gower Producer: Lizzy McNeill Series producer: Tom Colls Production co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound mix: Gareth Jones Editor: Richard Vadon

29 min
11 OCT.

Are 72% of prison inmates in Switzerland foreign?

In a recent speech to the UN, US president Donald Trump set out some remarkable figures on the proportion of inmates in European prisons who were foreign nationals. Citing statistics from the Council of Europe, he references Greece, Germany and Austria, as having rates around 50%. “In Switzerland, beautiful Switzerland,” he said “72% of the people in prisons are from outside of Switzerland.” These numbers are correct, but why are the percentages so high – particularly in Switzerland? Tim Harford speaks to Professor Marcelo Aebi, a criminologist from the University of Lausanne, who wrote the prisons report for the Council of Europe. If you’ve seen a number in the news you think we should take a look at, let us know: moreorless@bbc.co.uk Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Rod Farquhar Editor: Richard Vadon

9 min
8 OCT.

Does half the UK get more in benefits than they pay in tax?

Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week: The Daily Mail says that over half of the UK population live in households that get more in benefits than they pay in tax - is it true? Do some billionaires earn more in a night than the population of Bournemouth earns in a year? New Green leader Zack Polanski seems to think so - we scrutinise the figures. Are older generations getting smarter? Have 77% of Gen-Z brought a parent along to a job interview? Really? If you’ve seen a number you think we should take a look at, email the team: moreorless@bbc.co.uk Presenter: Tim Harford Reporter: Lizzy McNeill Producer: Nathan Gower Series producer: Tom Colls Production co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound mix: Duncan Hannant Editor: Richard Vadon

27 min
4 OCT.

Is the world getting less miserable?

When you follow the news, particularly in countries like the UK and the US, it sometimes feels like people are less optimistic about their lives than they were in the past. But a new piece of analysis from polling company Gallup suggests this might just be the local view, not the global one. Using data from the Gallup World Poll, it suggests that “people in more countries are living better lives and expressing more hope for the future” than at any point in the last decade. Tim Harford speaks to Gallup’s Benedict Vigers, who wrote the report, to understand what improvements in the “global median for thriving” really means. If you’ve seen a number in the news you think we should look at, email the team: moreorless@bbc.co.uk Presenter: Tim Harford Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Bob Nettles Editor: Richard Vadon

9 min
1 OCT.

Has Donald Trump ended seven 'unendable' wars?

Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week: US President Donald Trump claims he has ended seven “unendable” wars. Is that true? Chancellor Rachel Reeves says the UK was the fastest growing economy in the G7 for the first six months of 2025. What do you need to know about that stat? The Daily Mail has described a recent scientific paper as describing a global cancer “explosion”. Is that the whole story? And why have Oxford and Cambridge dropped down a university league table? If you’ve seen a number you think we should take a look at, email the team: moreorless@bbc.co.uk Presenter: Tim Harford Producers: Nathan Gower and Lizzy McNeill Series producer: Tom Colls Production co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound mix: Gareth Jones Editor: Richard Vadon

28 min
27 SEPT.

The Case of the Missing US Data

In early February 2025, something strange started happening across US government websites. Decades of data began disappearing from webpages for agencies such as the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health and the Census Bureau. In many cases the entire website went dark. Within a few days some 8,000 government pages and 3,000 datasets had been taken down. Since then, many have been reinstated - but some have not. We speak to Professors Maggie Levenstein and John Kubale to find out why this data was taken away, and why any of it matters. If you spot any numbers or statistical claims that you think we should check out contact: moreorless@bbc.co.uk Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Lizzy McNeill Series Producer: Tom Colls Editor: Richard Vadon Production Co-Ordinator: Rosie Strawbridge Audio Mix: Neil Churchill

9 min
24 SEPT.

Was it easier to deport migrants to France before Brexit?

Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week: Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey says it was easier to deport illegal migrants to Europe when we were in the EU. Is that true? Did the governor of the Bank of England get his numbers wrong on the UK’s ageing population? Why is the price of beef up by 25% in a year? Is it possible to prove that MPs are using AI to write their speeches? If you’ve seen a number you think we should take a look at, email the team: moreorless@bbc.co.uk Presenter: Tim Harford Reporter: Lizzy McNeill Producers: Nathan Gower and Nicholas Barrett Series producer: Tom Colls Production co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound mix: Gareth Jones Editor: Richard Vadon

29 min

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