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MATHEMATICS
EVERY TWO WEEKS

Tim Harford explains - and sometimes debunks - the numbers and statistics used in political debate, the news and everyday life

17 HR AGO

Has there been a $50 trillion wealth transfer to the richest Americans?

Bernie Sanders says a vast amount of wealth - $50 trillion - has moved from 90% of the population to the wealthiest Americans since the 1970s. The figure comes from a study by Carter Price, a senior mathematician at nonprofit research institute the RAND Corporation. Tim Harford speaks to Carter to understand how he calculated his figures and what they really mean. If you’ve seen a number in the news you think we should take a look at, email moreorless@bbc.co.uk Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Nicolas Barrett Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Giles Aspen Editor: Richard Vadon

9 min
8 NOV

Is RFK Jr right about China's diabetes rate?

The US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr is on a mission to make America healthy again. One of his health-promotion ideas is to reduce chronic illness, specifically diabetes. And has part of his campaign he said that: "a typical pediatrician would see one case of diabetes in his lifetime, over a 40 or 50 year career. Today, 1 out of every 3 kids who walks through his office door is prediabetic or diabetic. Twenty years ago, there was no diabetes in China, today 50% of the population is diabetic' Diabetes does carry a huge burden of health, but are his numbers right and how much of a problem is diabetes in the US and around the globe? We speak to diabetes expert and co-author of the Diabetes Atlas, Professor Dianna Magliano to find out more. Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Lizzy McNeill Series Producer: Tom Colls Studio Manager: Rod Farquhar Editor: Richard Vadon

9 min
31 OCT

Halloween special: How many people did the real Dracula impale?

Vlad III Dracula, the Wallachian Prince who became Bram Stokers inspiration behind his famous vampire 'Count Dracula,' was a brutal ruler. So brutal that history dubbed him 'Vlad the Impaler' due to his penchant for that particularly gruesome form of execution. Which, without going into too much detail, involved driving a large stake or pole through someone's body - often vertically. Chroniclers and historians claim that he impaled over 20,000 people during his reigns which, if true is a very, very big number. But is it true? We speak to Historian Dénes Harai whose paper: 'Counting the Stakes: A Reassessment of Vlad III Dracula’s Practice of Collective Impalements in Fifteenth-Century South-eastern Europe' attempts to set the record straight. Let's travel back to 1431 to separate the math's from the myth. Presenter/Producer: Lizzy McNeill Series Producer: Tom Colls Sound Mix: Neil Churchill Editor: Richard Vadon

9 min
25 OCT

Is your housework split sexist?

Do you ever have fights with your partner about who does more of the housework and whether it’s fair? Well data might have the answer. Corinne Low is an associate professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She analyses surveys of how people spend their time, particularly in terms of “home production” - that is things like cooking and cleaning, and “market work”, that is, paid work. If you’re the male half of a heterosexual couple, then she’s got some stats you should hear. Tim sat down to talk it all over while Corinne was in the UK to promote her new book on the subject - titled Femonomics in the UK, and Having It All in the US. Presenter: Tim Harford Series producer: Tom Colls Production co-ordinator: Janet Staples Sound mix: Giles Aspen Editor: Richard Vadon

9 min
18 OCT

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
15 OCT

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

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The latest business and finance news from around the world, on the BBC.

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BUSINESS NEWS
They steal billions: Cyber Hack investigates the alleged cyber gangs and the heists and hacks they’re accused of carrying out. No one is said to be safe. From Hollywood studios, to international banks, from crypto exchanges to small businesses and health care companies, law enforcement agencies say they cause chaos around the globe. Who will be next? And where is the money going? Latest season: Evil Corp. The Russian Evil Corp is accused of being a family crime gang, responsible for stealing hundreds of millions of dollars. Law enforcement agencies say they are “the most pervasive cybercrime group to ever have operated”. No one is off limits – not even a group of nuns in Chicago. Previously on Cyber Hack: The Lazarus Heist. This hacking group is said to be behind the biggest crypto heist in history, stealing billions of dollars in the process. Investigators blame North Korea’s state-backed hackers The Lazarus Group, and say the stolen money is being used to finance its nuclear weapons and missile development programs. Pyongyang denies involvement. Among the Lazarus Group’s many targets are Hollywood’s Sony Entertainment and the Bank of Bangladesh. ATMs are cleaned out of money, while its operatives live double lives in a hacker hotel. But where does the money trail lead?

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TRUE CRIME
The daily drama of money and work from the BBC.

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BUSINESS
Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to leading scientists about their life and work, finding out what inspires and motivates them and asking what their discoveries might do for us in the future

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SCIENCE
How the nuclear bomb shaped world history. The scientists who raced to build weapons, the spies who stole the technology and the superpowers who grappled with deployment. In Season 3, nuclear war is terrifyingly close. Can the superpowers of the Soviet Union and the USA prevent apocalypse? Nina Khrushcheva and Max Kennedy, relatives of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and US President John F Kennedy, tell the story of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Season 2 is about Klaus Fuchs, the brilliant young physicist from a pacifist German family whose spying for Russia changed history. Season 1 tells the story of Leo Szilard, and the scientist’s discovery of the lethal potential for nuclear weapons in the race to beat Nazi Germany.

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HISTORY
A weekly programme that illuminates the mysteries and challenges the controversies behind the science that's changing our world.

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SCIENCE