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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

Feb 9, 2022 · 28 min
The prime minister in statistical bother
Boris Johnson has been ticked off for misleading Parliament on jobs and on crime.
Feb 6, 2022 · 8 min
Can you fool your brain?
Looking at the power of expectations
Feb 2, 2022 · 28 min
Does the UK have the fastest growing economy in the G7?
How fast is our economy growing? And what is happening with Omicron reinfections?
Jan 30, 2022 · 8 min
Fertility rates: baby boom or bust?
Fertility rates around the world
Jan 26, 2022 · 28 min
Should you follow the 5 second rule? And does inflation hit the poorest harder?
Does inflation hit poor households harder and how many people have died of Covid?
Jan 23, 2022 · 10 min
Are female patients more likely to die if the surgeon is male?
Should women be worried about having a male surgeon?
Jan 19, 2022 · 28 min
Are women 32% more likely to die after operation by a male surgeon?
Surgery death risks, Test and Trace costs in the UK and Germany, and podcast plans
Jan 16, 2022 · 8 min
QAnon: Did 365,348 children go missing in the US in 2020?
Fact checking a QAnon claim
Jan 12, 2022 · 27 min
Omicron, pandemic birth rates and boosters
An Omicron update, pandemic birth rates and the booster drive.
Jan 9, 2022 · 8 min
How much plastic is in the Ocean and can Mr Beast make a difference?
Looking at Mark Rober and Mr Beast’s plastics pledge.
Jan 2, 2022 · 8 min
Will the population of Nigeria be larger than Europe’s?
Will Nigeria’s population really reach 600million?
Dec 26, 2021 · 8 min
Numbers of 2021
The most significant numbers of the year
Dec 19, 2021 · 8 min
The psychological economics of gift giving
How to buy gifts people actually want.
Dec 12, 2021 · 8 min
Does catching covid give you more immunity than being vaccinated?
Infection vs injection: Could prior infection provide 27 times more protection?
Dec 5, 2021 · 8 min
Does wearing a mask halve your chances of getting Covid-19?
Is it true wearing a mask reduces Covid-19 incidence by 53%?
Nov 28, 2021 · 8 min
Simpson’s Paradox: How to make vaccinated death figures misleading
A tricky statistical phenomenon at play.
Nov 21, 2021 · 8 min
A TikTok tale
How a well-meaning TikTok disrupted 4,600 studies
Nov 14, 2021 · 8 min
The carbon cost of breakfast at COP26
Can a vegan croissant really be worse for the environment than a bacon roll?
Nov 7, 2021 · 8 min
Same data, opposite results. Can we trust research?
Why the same data can produce different conclusions.
Oct 31, 2021 · 8 min
The art of counting
Tim Harford talks to author Deborah Stone about her book which explores counting.