300 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
    • 4.7 • 730 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

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

    Does endurance sport harm your heart?

    Does endurance sport harm your heart?

    Exercise is good for you in all kinds of ways, there is no medicine like it to prevent a whole range of illnesses. But for some endurance athletes, exercise also comes with increased risk of a heart condition called atrial fibrillation.
    We look for the right way to think about the risks around exercise.
    Reporter: Paul Connolly
    Series Producer: Tom Colls
    Sound Engineer: Graham Puddifoot
    Editor: Richard Vadon
    (Picture: A cyclist training in the mountains
    Credit: anton5146/Getty Creative)

    • 8 min
    Will there be a billion climate refugees?

    Will there be a billion climate refugees?

    Former Vice President Al Gore has said that climate change is predicted to lead to a billion climate refugees. But where do these predictions come from and are they realistic? We investigate the idea that floods, droughts, storms and sea level rise will cause a mass migration of people across borders.
    Reporter and Producer: Tom Colls
    Sound Mix: James Beard
    Editor: Richard Vadon
    (Photo: Floods in central Somalia
    Credit: Said Yusuf - WARSAME/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

    • 9 min
    A boy meets girl meets stats story

    A boy meets girl meets stats story

    Veronica Carlin is a data scientist who loves romantic comedies. But she had a hunch about those movies, that there aren’t many women like her, women in STEM - science, technology, engineering and maths – taking the lead roles. So she set out on a maths quest to find out what’s what.
    Presenter: Kate Lamble
    Series Producer: Tom Colls
    Editor: Richard Vadon
    Sound Engineer: Graham Puddifoot
    (Picture: A young couple with a heart-shaped balloon on the street
    Credit: Cultura RM Exclusive/Spark Photographic / Getty)

    • 8 min
    Are women in the UK the biggest binge drinkers in the world?

    Are women in the UK the biggest binge drinkers in the world?

    We check out suspect stats on boozing Brits and fishy figures on fishing fleets in the South China Sea.
    With the help of Professor John Holmes from the University of Sheffield's School of Medicine and Population Health and Simon Funge-Smith, a senior fishery officer at the FAO.
    Presenter and producer: Charlotte McDonald
    Series Producer: Tom Colls
    Editor: Richard Vadon
    Sound Engineer: Graham Puddifoot

    • 8 min
    Can maths prove the existence of aliens?

    Can maths prove the existence of aliens?

    Are we alone in the universe – and if not, how many other civilisations might there be? Remarkable images and data sent back to Earth by the James Webb telescope have given a new impetus to a well-worn debate. We ask how far mathematics – and in particular a famous equation called the Drake Equation – can be used to answer one of the most fundamental questions we face. Paul Connolly investigates with the help of Catherine Heymans, Astronomer Royal for Scotland and Professor at the University of Edinburgh and Bill Diamond, President and CEO of the SETI Institute in California.
    Presenter: Paul Connolly
    Producers: Paul Connolly and Jon Bithrey
    Editor: Richard Vadon
    Production Co-ordinator: Katie Morrison
    Sound Engineer: David Crackles
    (Image: : A cluster of young stars, surrounded by clouds of interstellar gas and dust, in a nebula, located in the constellation Carina. Credit: Reuters)

    • 10 min
    Do Indian women own 11% of the world’s gold?

    Do Indian women own 11% of the world’s gold?

    The cultural importance of gold in India as a symbol of wealth, prosperity and safety is well known – but how much do Indians actually own? Reporter Perisha Kudhail looks at a widely circulated claim about Indian women owning 11% of the world’s gold, with the help of Delhi based journalist Mridu Bhandari and Joshua Saul, CEO of the Pure Gold Company.

    Presenter: Ben Carter
    Reporter and Producer: Perisha Kudhail
    Series Producer: Jon Bithrey
    Editor: Richard Vadon
    Sound Engineer: James Beard
    (Image: A saleswoman shows gold bangles to a customer at a jewellery showroom in Kolkata. Credit: Reuters/Rupak De Chowdhuri/File Photo)

    • 8 min

Customer Reviews

4.7 out of 5
730 Ratings

730 Ratings

PeterPottery ,

“Math is hard”- but More or Less I love this show -Barbie

They ask the experts and that is so refreshing.

moving on-missu ,

This is the good stuff!

You did miss out on the central question re natural gas- will there be a world where it is not part of the energy solution- not by 2030, I doubt by 2050 so the question is do we need the supply not if it is polluting. A side from this,

More or Less brings the research to the questions of the day! This is the good stuff and what you wish your politicians did.

takinite ,

Not Dismal

The way ‘economics’ should be taught.

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