957 episodes
More or Less: Behind the Stats BBC Podcasts
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4.7 • 741 Ratings
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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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Are women 14 times more likely to die in natural disasters?
The idea that women outnumber men by 14 to 1 as casualties of natural disasters has been repeated in newspapers and online for years - the UN have even used this statistic.
But when you track down the source, the research behind this claim leaves much to be desired.
Presenter: Kate Lamble
Series producer: Tom Colls
Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound mix: Nigel Appleton
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith -
Is increasing turbulence making flying more dangerous?
Is climate change making turbulence more dangerous for people taking flights around the world?
That’s what one listener asked, following a terrifying turbulence incident which left one person dead and more than 20 injured on a flight to Singapore.
We speak to turbulence expert Paul Williams, Professor of Atmospheric Science at the University of Reading, to understand what is going on.
Presenter: Kate Lamble
Producer: Nathan Gower
Series producer: Tom Colls
Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound mix: Nigel Appleton
Editor: Richard Vadon -
Federer’s 54%: Tennis stats explained
How can tennis star Roger Federer have won only 54% of the points he played, but been the best player in the world?
Jeff Sackmann, the tennis stats brain behind tennisabstract.com, explains to Tim Harford how probability works in the sport.
Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Debbie Richford
Series producer: Tom Colls
Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound Mix: Nigel Appleton
Editor: Richard Vadon -
The magic of trigonometry
You might have found it boring in school maths classes, but Matt Parker thinks we should all learn to love trigonometry.
The ‘Love Triangle’ author talks to Tim Harford about the maths used in GPS, architecture and special effects.
Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Debbie Richford
Series Producer: Tom Colls
Production Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound Mix: Nigel Appleton
Editor: Richard Vadon -
Election endings, tennis and meeting men in finance
Are Labour right about employment? Are the Conservatives right about cutting NHS managers? Are the Lib Dems right about share buyback? Are Reform UK right about their tax plans?
How do they make the exit poll so accurate?
What are the odds of meeting a very tall man in finance (with a trust fund)?
What does it mean that Roger Federer only won 54% of the points he played?
Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news.
Presenter: Tim Harford
Reporter: Kate Lamble
Producers: Nathan Gower, Beth Ashmead Latham and Debbie Richford
Series producer: Tom Colls
Production coordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound mix: Rod Farquhar
Editor: Richard Vadon -
How a tick box doubled the US maternal mortality rates.
he US has been portrayed as in the grip of a maternal mortality crisis. In contrast to most other developed nations, the rate of maternal deaths in the US has been going up since the early 2000s.
But why? With the help of Saloni Dattani, a researcher at Our World in Data, Tim Harford explores how a gradual change in the way the data was gathered lies at the heart of the problem.
Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Debbie Richford
Production Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown
Series Producer: Tom Colls
Sound Mix: Emma Harth
Editor: Richard Vadon
Customer Reviews
US maternal mortality rates — not so utterly useless
Dear Mr Harfort,
I am writing about your very interesting and solidly supported podcast —as is all the material you produce—on the US maternal-related mortality statistics,. You rightly conclude that the upward trend in the last two decades for the US results from a statistical mirage—the coverage of the more accurate new format proposed by the relevant international agency progressed piecemeal, one state at a time over two decades, accounting for the index's substantial growth. That is, the growth is only partly due to the improved accuracy of the new format and most probably due to the increasing temporal coverage of the sample.
I put together a graph showing this, together with equivalent indices for the major European countries. (Unfortunately this format does not allow attaching a picture.) The graph shows a near-constant level over time for the latter and a marked increase in the American one, as you pointed out. However, you also conclude that US information is utterly worthless, and with this, I disagree.
Although one should dismiss the growth trend, we cannot overlook the differential in the levels, which shows that even the lowest US figure (at the beginning of the period) is much higher than any other major advanced economy. Thus, in 2003, the US index, which supposedly underestimated mortality since the new format was not in place, was already about 50% higher than the highest European one. By the end of the period, when supposedly the US data becomes comparable to the European, it is 2.5 times as high. I think this finding is most revealing of the US's precarious, backward healthcare condition. And to this extent, it is not worthless.
“Math is hard”- but More or Less I love this show -Barbie
They ask the experts and that is so refreshing.
The cass review is a joke
It was revealed ahead of its release that some of those writing the report have direct links to a group that advocates for the practice of so-called ‘conversion therapy’ - something they didn't declare. Dr Hillary Cass herself met with 'Don't Say Gay' architect Ron De Santis stafferswho went on to ban trans healthcare in Florida - Trans Safety Network