More or Less: Behind the Stats BBC Podcasts

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)

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)

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)

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

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)

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)