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BBC Radio 4

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

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1,133 episodes
Updated Saturday

Episodes1133

Newest first

Dec 10, 2022 · 8 min
Why are data so important in determining how we live?
How good policies depend on the availability of reliable statistics
Dec 3, 2022 · 10 min
The World Cup: how many migrant workers have died?
Examining the wildly varying estimates of deaths in the run-up to the tournament in Qatar
Nov 26, 2022 · 8 min
When do food shortages become a famine?
With Somalia in crisis, we ask how data is used to officially declare a famine
Nov 19, 2022 · 8 min
A $220 billion World Cup?
Has hosting the FIFA football World Cup really cost Qatar $220bn?
Nov 14, 2022 · 14 min
Bonus Episode: Understand the Economy
Tim Harford brings you the first episode of his new podcast and explains inflation
Nov 12, 2022 · 8 min
Improving the numbers in the news
Tim Harford discusses the role statistics should play in the reporting of the news
Nov 5, 2022 · 8 min
Lula’s “zero deforestation” plan for the Amazon
How much of the rainforest has been lost? And can Brazil’s new president save it?
Oct 29, 2022 · 8 min
Can China’s GDP data be trusted?
Are China’s most recent figures for economic growth wrong?
Oct 22, 2022 · 8 min
Do half of new books really sell fewer than twelve copies?
We look into a claim that 50% of new books in the US sell just a handful of copies.
Oct 15, 2022 · 10 min
Ben Bernanke and the magic of banking
Tim Harford explains the work of this year’s Nobel Economics Prize winners
Oct 8, 2022 · 8 min
Catching Chess Cheats with Data
A cheating scandal is rocking the world of chess - and data is at its heart
Oct 7, 2022 · 28 min
Teens and antidepressants, stamp duty savings and earthquake probabilities
We debunk a claim that a third of British teenagers have been prescribed antidepressants
Oct 1, 2022 · 9 min
NASA’s asteroid collision: how many asteroids are really out there?
As NASA rams an asteroid to try and alter its course, how many are yet to be discovered?
Sep 28, 2022 · 29 min
Falling pound, the Queen’s funeral and is 0.5 on the Richter scale a big number?
How worried should we be about the steep falls in the pound?
Sep 24, 2022 · 10 min
Ukraine’s progress in numbers
We ask how much progress Ukraine has really made in recapturing territory from Russia.
Sep 22, 2022 · 28 min
Ukraine offensive, weak pound & how much do women really exercise
We ask how much progress Ukraine has really made in recapturing territory from Russia
Sep 17, 2022 · 8 min
How bad is fashion for the environment?
Does fashion really account for 10% of greenhouse gas emissions?
Sep 14, 2022 · 28 min
Energy crisis plan, imperial measures survey, gardens v national parks
How much will the UK government’s plan to limit energy price rises end up costing?
Sep 10, 2022 · 8 min
Is a third of Pakistan really under water?
We investigate a widely reported claim as Pakistan deals with devastating flooding
Sep 7, 2022 · 28 min
Pakistan flooding, UK power prices and Boris’s broadband claim
The scale of the disaster is huge, but is a third of Pakistan really under water?