936 episodes

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

More or Less: Behind the Stats BBC Podcasts

    • Business
    • 4.6 • 2.7K Ratings

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

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

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

    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

    • 11 min
    Tackling The Three-Body Problem

    Tackling The Three-Body Problem

    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

    • 8 min
    Is loneliness as bad for you as smoking?

    Is loneliness as bad for you as smoking?

    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

    • 8 min
    Remembering Daniel Kahneman

    Remembering Daniel Kahneman

    Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel prize-winning behavioural economist and More or Less hero, has died at the age of 90.
    Tim Harford explains his ideas and influence.
    Presenter: Charlotte McDonald
    Series producer: Tom Colls
    Sound mix: Hal Haines
    Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown
    Editor: Richard Vadon

    • 8 min
    Bonus episode: Daniel Kahneman on Thinking, Fast and Slow

    Bonus episode: Daniel Kahneman on Thinking, Fast and Slow

    In an episode of More or Less from 2012, Daniel Kahneman – the Nobel prize-winning behavioural economist who has died at the age of 90 – explains the big ideas in his book Thinking, Fast and Slow.

    • 9 min
    What's happening to Arctic ice?

    What's happening to Arctic ice?

    The area of ice covering the Arctic ocean has been in a state of long decline, as climate change takes effect. But recent fluctuations in the ice have been seized on by climate change sceptics, who say it tells a different story.
    We speak to polar climate scientist Professor Julienne Stroeve to better understand how to read the ice data.
    Presenter / producer: Tom Colls
    Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown
    Sound mix: Neil Churchill
    Editor: Richard Vadon

    • 9 min

Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5
2.7K Ratings

2.7K Ratings

Evil_Pumba ,

Informative

I often end up finding myself correcting friends and colleagues using knowledge from this podcast. Everyone should listen to something like this and read and watch news and other media through the same critical lens taken on this show. Thank you!

NewModelNo122 ,

Disgusting anti-trans propaganda

Shameful for the BBC to be platforming Dr Cass, who collaborated with anti-trans lobbyists in the U.K. and US to create a sham of a document that is now being used to deny trans people healthcare. No trans people were interviewed for the episode either. Reaching new low every day at the BBC.

lost but hopinv to be found ,

Much needed ray of light on the murky area of false statistics.

So many claims that don’t seem right are made, even in reputable newspapers these days, not to mention the internet. This programme redresses the balance and calls out the false statements. Manages to be so entertaining too.

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