Tim Harford and the More or Less team try to make sense of the statistics which surround us. From BBC Radio 4 More
Available Episodes
5 of 300
A short history of data
We live in a world where data is everywhere – informing if not governing our lives. But this wealth of data didn’t just turn up overnight. Tim Harford talks to academics Chris Wiggins and Matthew Jones, whose new book How Data Happened aims to explain how the world we know today has been shaped by not just technological developments but battles around how emerging sources of data should be utilised.
3/06/2023
9:48
Food prices, net migration and beef about beef
Does Britain really have the most affordable food in Europe? That's a recent claim of the President of the National Farmers' Union. We ask if it's true and look in detail at what is driving rising food prices in the UK. We also try and make sense of the latest net migration figures, ask if dating apps are making Gen Z more single and explain why a correction to a correction on Radio 4's Farming Today wasn't quite right.
31/05/2023
30:02
Are young people more single than ever before?
What’s the definition of being single – and how easy is it to measure? There’s a perception that young people today are more single – in a relationship sense - than ever, and dating apps are to blame. But how true is that? Ellie House investigates, with the help of Marina Adshade of the Vancouver School of Economics.
Presenter: Ellie House
Producers: Ellie House, Jon Bithrey
Editor: Richard Vadon
Sound Engineer: Rod Farquhar
Production Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown
28/05/2023
8:58
NHS waiting lists, Voter ID and measuring divorce
The government has trumpeted a big fall in those waiting over 18 months for hospital treatment in England. But total numbers on waiting lists have hit a new high. Also we look at how much impact the introduction of Voter ID had on turnout in May's English local elections. We ask whether Portugal really has a divorce rate of 94%. And we remember mathematician Dr Vicky Neale of Oxford University, who has died at the age of 39.
The government has trumpeted a big fall in those waiting over 18 months for hospital treatment in England. But total numbers on waiting lists have hit a new high. Also we look at how much impact the introduction of Voter ID had on turnout in May's English local elections. We ask whether Portugal really has a divorce rate of 94%. And we remember mathematician Dr Vicky Neale of Oxford University, who has died at the age of 39.
Presenter: Tim Harford
Series Producer: Jon Bithrey
Reporters: Josephine Casserly, Octavia Woodward, Ellie House
Sound Engineer: James Beard
Production Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown
24/05/2023
28:35
Detecting Bad Science with Data
For more than a decade there’ve been longstanding concerns about the credibility and reliability of science research. This “bad science” has often stemmed from poor data practice or worse. But statistics can also help us identify and understand some of what’s going wrong, whether that’s selective data-slicing or outright fabrication.
Tim Harford talks to writer and broadcaster Michael Blastland about his new BBC radio documentary ‘The Truth Police’, which hears from the outsiders who are calling out fraud, malpractice and incompetence in science.
Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Nathan Gower
Editor: Richard Vadon
Programme Coordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound Engineer: James Beard