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

Radio 4,364 episodes

Episodes

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The Stats of the Nation
The Economy
Tim Harford explores the numbers that help explain the state of the UK economy.
05 Jan 2026,28 mins
The Stats of the Nation
Health
Tim Harford explores the numbers that help explain the state of health and the NHS.
06 Jan 2026,28 mins
The Stats of the Nation
Sex, Drugs and Empty Homes
Tim Harford explores the numbers that help explain fertility, pharmaceuticals and crime.
07 Jan 2026,28 mins
The Stats of the Nation
Older People, Education, Prisons and the Weather
Tim Harford explores the stats on pensioners, exams, justice and climate change.
08 Jan 2026,28 mins
The Stats of the Nation
Immigration, Benefits and Inequality
Tim Harford explores the stats on some of the UK’s most potent political debates.
09 Jan 2026,28 mins
Numbers of the Year 2025
A plethora of interesting numbers you may not know about.
31 Dec 2025,28 mins
Were there really Three Wise Men?
From counting people to measuring housework - we explore.
24 Dec 2025,28 mins
Do we really have ‘superflu’?
The NHS is warning of an unprecedented flu season - we check.
17 Dec 2025,28 mins
Are millions of people getting Motability cars for anxiety and ADHD?
Farm tax, ADHD benefits, Movember claim and Tim’s marathon.
15 Oct 2025,28 mins
Does half the UK get more in benefits than they pay in tax?
UK benefits, Zack Polanski’s billionaire claim and Gen Z job interviews.
08 Oct 2025,28 mins
Has Donald Trump ended seven 'unendable' wars?
Trump’s peace deals, Labour’s GDP claim and university league tables
01 Oct 2025,28 mins
Was it easier to deport migrants to France before Brexit?
Migrant returns, ageing mistakes, beef prices and AI MP speeches.
24 Sep 2025,28 mins
Is it true that out-of-work benefits have almost doubled?
Out-of-work benefits, French pensioners, surprising salmon and the truth about senses.
17 Sep 2025,28 mins
Are Afghan nationals more likely to be convicted of sexual offences?
National debt, Afghan crime, menopause retirement and literal snail pace.
10 Sep 2025,28 mins
Can drinking one less bottle of coke a day halve obesity?
Plus, the UK’s expensive electricity, church counts and babies in the City of London.
09 Jul 2025,28 mins
Is the UK seeing a Christian revival?
Plus: PIP claims, immigrant returns and spotting golf balls on the moon.
02 Jul 2025,28 mins
Why is data on grooming gangs so bad?
Plus, nuclear enrichment numbers, Curtice on Curtis and Viking economics.
25 Jun 2025,28 mins
Are 4% of young women in the UK on OnlyFans?
Plus, asylum seeker hotel bill, Scottish water use and 1950s childcare claim.
18 Jun 2025,28 mins
How do you make something 10-times more lethal?
Plus, the Sycamore Gap tree, pensioner-worker ratios and yoga v fishers.
11 Jun 2025,28 mins
Does the average American have fewer than three friends?
Plus, skilled migrants, preventing Alzheimer’s and Robert Prevost on God and probability.
04 Jun 2025,28 mins
The mistake in Trump’s tariff formula
Also, counting bobbies, freezing tax and electrocuting redheads
09 Apr 2025,28 mins
Is one in four people in the UK disabled?
Plus, what has Canada done to Donald Trump? Is Rachel Reeves chasing the model?
02 Apr 2025,28 mins
Could a 2% wealth tax raise £24bn?
Plus, did trillions disappear from UK pensions? Why does the UK have a lot of old housing?
26 Mar 2025,28 mins
Why are more people claiming disability benefits?
Plus, UK v Russia on free speech and the collapse of the Labour Force Survey.
19 Mar 2025,28 mins
How did lockdown impact children?
Five years on, Tim Harford looks at the data on the effect of lockdown.
17 Mar 2025,42 mins
DOGE, apples and irregular migrants
Fact-checking government efficiency claims in the US.
12 Mar 2025,28 mins
Defence Spending, Rare Earths and Trunk Truths
The numbers behind Ukraine’s rare earth worth and the UK’s defence spending ambitions.
05 Mar 2025,28 mins
Are older drivers more dangerous?
Plus, winter fuel deaths, prison sentence maths and leaves on railway tracks.
30 Oct 2024,28 mins
Do US crime statistics miss out the most violent cities?
Plus: MP capital gains claims and grizzly bear berry habits.
23 Oct 2024,28 mins
When are numbers like a horse at a gymkhana?
Plus: the taxes of 60 very rich people, water bill spreadsheets, and is 0 a small number?
16 Oct 2024,28 mins