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Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics in the news and in life.

World Service,732 episodes

Episodes

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Does Venezuela really have the biggest oil reserves in the world?
We investigate if there are actually 300 billion barrels of oil in Venezuela's reserves
10 Jan 2026,9 mins
Numbers of the year 2026
From passenger numbers to world cup travel, we cast our eye forwards into 2026
03 Jan 2026,9 mins
Numbers of the year 2025
From tariffs to comets, we look back at the numbers of 2025 across the world
27 Dec 2025,9 mins
The shocking world of US health costs
Can the same pill cost $3 in a pharmacy and $750 in a hospital?
20 Dec 2025,9 mins
RCP 8.5: Why did the climate change model get it wrong?
How an important climate model was too pessimistic about the future
13 Dec 2025,9 mins
Is RFK right about US sperm counts?
Do US teens have 50% lower sperm and testosterone counts than 65 year old men?
06 Dec 2025,9 mins
Richard Thaler and The Winner’s Curse
Richard Thaler on two of his most famous observations in behavioural economics
29 Nov 2025,9 mins
Is there a stock market crash coming?
Can data tell us if a stock market crash is coming?
22 Nov 2025,9 mins
Has there been a $50 trillion wealth transfer to the richest Americans?
Bernie Sanders says vast riches have moved to the wealthiest in the US. Is he right?
15 Nov 2025,9 mins
Is RFK Jr right about China's diabetes rate?
Investigating if 50% of people in China really have diabetes.
08 Nov 2025,9 mins
Halloween special: How many people did the real Dracula impale?
Looking at the math's behind the myth
01 Nov 2025,9 mins
Is your housework split sexist?
Corinne Low explains the economics of women, men and housework
25 Oct 2025,9 mins
Nobel economics prize 2025: What's the big idea?
Tim Harford explains the ideas behind the winners of the economics Nobel Prize
18 Oct 2025,9 mins
Are 72% of prison inmates in Switzerland foreign?
Donald Trump says three quarters of Swiss prisoners are not Swiss. Is he right?
11 Oct 2025,9 mins
Is the world getting less miserable?
Exploring global polling data that suggests people in more countries are "thriving"
04 Oct 2025,9 mins
The case of the missing US data
Why does it matter that US government datasets are being deleted and discontinued?
27 Sep 2025,9 mins
Is JD Vance right about left-wing violence?
Following the murder of Charlie Kirk, what is the data on political violence in the US?
20 Sep 2025,9 mins
Will the world really be 50 million workers short by 2030?
Is Nvidia boss Jensen Huang right about a looming labour shortfall?
13 Sep 2025,9 mins
Do 11,000 sharks die every hour?
Investigating if 100 million sharks are killed by fishing nets every year.
06 Sep 2025,9 mins
Are self-driving cars safer than cars with drivers?
We look at claims that fully autonomous cars are 5 or ten times safer
30 Aug 2025,9 mins
Do women feel the cold more than men?
We investigate if air conditioning is set too cold for women.
23 Aug 2025,9 mins
How weird was the Mediterranean Sea heatwave?
Did the Mediterranean experience a 1 in 216,000,000,000-year sea temperature anomaly?
16 Aug 2025,9 mins
Why it matters that Trump fired data chief
The US president fired Erika McEntarfer over job numbers. What’s the potential fallout?
09 Aug 2025,9 mins
Are abortion numbers rising in the US?
Looking at the data behind abortion in a post Dobbs America.
8 mins
Are abortion numbers rising in the US?
Looking at the data behind abortion in a post Dobbs America.
02 Aug 2025,9 mins
Does a single AI query use a bottle of water?
We investigate how much water and power are used by artificial intelligence
26 Jul 2025,9 mins
Are one in six children living through war?
A Unicef event said one in six children are living though war. What does that really mean?
19 Jul 2025,9 mins
Why Manchester United can afford to play badly
How a successful football club doesn’t always require a winning team
12 Jul 2025,9 mins
The economics of war: Vikings, Conquistadors and Vietnam
Economist and author Duncan Weldon on his new book Blood and Treasure
05 Jul 2025,9 mins
Has Russia suffered a million casualties in the Ukraine war?
Making sense of the numbers around the Russian dead and wounded.
28 Jun 2025,9 mins