More or Less
Episodes
Greece Special
10 Jul 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Is it true that Greece failed to collect 89% of taxes in 2010? Tim Harford and the More or Less team look at the numbers behind the tax system and the...
Biggest Movies
26 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The film Jurassic World broke the record for the biggest opening weekend taking $511m. It’s a record that has been broken once already this year and...
WS MoreOrLess: Horoscope Health
19 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Can your horoscope predict which diseases you’ll develop? And does cricket’s Duckworth-Lewis method need to evolve?
WS MoreOrLess: Global Footprint
13 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Global Footprint We’re often told that we consume so much that we need one and a half planets. It comes from the Global Footprint Network a think-ta...
Obesity Projections, Global Footprint, Street Value of Drugs
12 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
It's the last in the series so we're packing in the statistical goodies so that you can go into numerical hibernation until August. We're looking at t...
WS MoreOrLess: Qatar migrant worker deaths
06 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Tim Harford asks if the World Cup is to blame for migrant deaths in Qatar. And we solve the fiendish maths exam question that baffled students so much...
World Cup Migrant Deaths
05 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Tim Harford asks if the World Cup is really responsible for migrant deaths in Qatar.
WS MoreOrLess: John Nash
30 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
On 23 May, the mathematician John Nash was killed in a car crash, alongside his wife Alicia. The couple were in their 80s. Professor Nash was on his w...
Seven-day NHS
29 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
This week: Seven Day NHS. As a commitment appears in the Queen's Speech to introduce a 'truly seven day-a-week NHS' we look at David Cameron's assert...
WS MoreOrLess: Death Penalty
23 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Death Row exoneration statistics. Recently it’s been claimed that for every nine people executed in the US, one person has been exonerated. Is this ...
Female Drink Drivers
22 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The Police Federation says female drivers aren’t heeding the drink drive warnings. Tim Harford attempts to find out the numbers behind this. Plus: t...
WS MoreOrLess: Big Numbers
16 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
How computers are fooled by big numbers. Chris Baraniuk, technology journalist, talks about the simple software bug that has led to explosions, missin...
Strokes, Teachers, Confused Computers 15 May15
15 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Are stroke numbers on the rise? This was according to recent headlines. We spoke to Tony Rudd, National Clinical Director for Stroke NHS England. Plus...
WS MoreOrLess: Princess Charlotte
11 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The birth of Princess Charlotte could contribute £1 billion to the British economy, according to some newspapers. True? Plus, the statistics of sex. ...
Election and Adultery Special
08 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Tim Harford and a panel of experts discuss pre-election polls and election fact checking. Plus, is Beeston in Nottinghamshire really the most adultero...
UK election podcast 4
06 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Why don’t all the opinion polls give the same results? Plus, would Labour’s plan to introduce a rent cap work, and how boring has this election be...
WS MoreOrLess: Nuns on the rise
02 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
It was recently reported that the number of women training to become Catholic nuns in Great Britain has reached a 25-year high. What's the long-term t...
Polls, nuns and life partners
01 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
On the eve of the UK's general election, Tim Harford takes a look at what polling data can tell us about predicting elections. Is the number of Cathol...
WS MoreOrLess: Xenophobia in South Africa
25 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Are migrants ‘stealing’ jobs; does South Africa have more asylum seekers than any other country in the world? These are some of the claims we expl...
UK Election Podcast 3
24 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Are we witnessing a jobs ‘miracle’? Also under scrutiny - Scotland’s deficit; a mansion tax; and what would a Miliband-SNP pact cost us? The pod...
WS MoreOrLess: Liver Transplant.
18 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
A young listener who needs a liver transplant has received an offer from his brother to act as a living donor. What are the statistics on survival? Pl...
UK election podcast 2
17 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Fact-checking the politicians during the election campaign on NHS funding; rail fares and the railways; public spending; debt and the deficit; the Rig...
UK election podcast 1
13 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Can you trust the figures given to you by the political parties during the UK's General Election campaign period? We examine and unpick the statistics...
WS MoreOrLess: The Ignorance Test
11 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Hans Rosling - perhaps best-described as a kind of international development myth buster - delivers his Ignorance Test. Hans asked presenter...
WS MoreOrLess: Maths and Chess
03 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Is it really true that ability in mathematics and chess are somehow linked? Tim Harford pits his wits against a math-professor-turned-professional-che...
WS MoreOrLess: How safe is flying?
28 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The Germanwings A320 tragedy, in which 150 people died, is the latest in a series of fatal crashes over the past year. Are more planes crashing, or do...
Does Breastfeeding Increase IQ?
21 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
A major 30-year study claims to show breastfed babies become more intelligent, higher earning adults. It's not the first time we've heard that breastf...
WS MoreOrLess: Measuring World Health
14 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Babies born in Rwanda are likely to live healthier lives than those in the most deprived 10% of England, according to recent reports. But does the dat...
WS MoreOrLess: The future of food
07 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
"In the next 40 years, humans will need to produce more food that they did in the previous 10,000," claimed a recent edition of The Economist. Ruth Al...
WS MoreOrLess: Black prisoners in the US
28 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Oscar-winner John Legend said that there are more black men "under correctional control" in the United States today than were in slavery in 1850. Is h...
WS MoreOrLess: Sleeping: the 8-hour myth
21 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
It’s often said that we should all be aiming to get eight hours of sleep a night but could it actually lead you to an early grave? Ruth Alexander re...
The mathematical secrets to relationships
14 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
How maths can help you find love, and hold on to it. Plus, we hear a collection of our listeners’ favourite statistics. This programme was first bro...
WS MoreOrLess: Is strenuous jogging bad for you?
09 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Tim Harford asks whether claims that keen runners might be damaging their health are really true? And is infidelity among cruise ship passengers rife?...
Is strenuous jogging bad for you?
06 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Tim Harford on claims that keen runners might be damaging their health. Plus, tuition fees; affairs among cruise passengers; UK election safe seats; l...
WS MoreOrLess: The maths of dating
02 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
How to use mathematics to find your life partner. Plus: what are the chances that two friends, given the same due date for their babies' birth, actual...
Cameron’s 1000 jobs
30 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Fact-checking the Conservatives' employment claims; the price of milk; unhappy teachers; how to use maths to find your life partner; baby due dates; t...
WS MoreOrLess: Global Wealth
26 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Who is in the world's wealthiest elite, and where do they live? Which are the world's best and worst board-games? Oliver Roeder, a senior writer for F...
Is anti-Semitism widespread in the UK?
23 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Are the majority of hate crimes in the UK directed against Jewish people? Plus: who are the wealthiest 1% and politicians' healthcare connections exam...
WS MoreOrLess: Are 95% of Terrorism Victims Muslim?
19 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
In the wake of the Paris killings, an imam in Paris told the BBC that most terrorism victims around the world are Muslim. Is that true? Plus: The deat...
How big are the Conservatives' planned cuts?
16 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The Conservatives' plans to achieve a budget surplus by 2019-20 have led to near universal acknowledgment that big reductions in spending would be req...
WS MoreOrLess: Bad Luck and Cancer
12 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Most cancers are caused by "bad luck" according to reports of a new study. But, actually, the study doesn't say that. Tim Harford finds out what the r...
A&E waiting times
09 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The NHS in England has missed its four-hour A&E waiting time target with performance dropping to its lowest level for a decade, it's reported. Tim...
WS MoreOrLess: Numbers of the Year part 3.
04 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
What is the most important number in the world? Robert Peston tells us and Helen Joyce and Dr Hannah Fry choose their most memorable numbers from 2014...
Numbers of the Year 2014.
02 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Tim Harford and guests look back at some of the weird and wonderful numbers of 2014. Featuring contributions from Simon Singh, Sir David Spiegelhalter...
WS MoreOrLess: Numbers of the Year part 2.
27 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
How optimistic are people about the future? The BBC's Evan Davis tells More or Less as the programme looks back at the most interesting and important ...
WS MoreOrLess: Numbers of the Year part 1.
20 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
What is so special about 39,222 Mexican teachers? In the first of three episodes looking back at 2014, Mexico specialist Professor Carlos Vilalta tell...
WS MoreOrLess: Soviet World War Deaths
13 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Did almost 80% of the males born in the Soviet Union in 1923 not survive World War Two, as has been claimed online? Plus: the problem with China’s e...
WS MoreOrLess: Zimbabwe's Economy
06 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Zimbabwe’s budget provided a fascinating insight into the country’s economy last week. Ben Carter looks at what the numbers mean for the future pr...
Teenage Pregnancy
29 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
"About one-third of American girls become pregnant as teenagers” a recent article claimed. More or Less asks if this is true and looks at the long-t...
WS MoreOrLess: Caps off to Rooney
22 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
England captain Wayne Rooney made his 100th appearance last weekend but former England star Chris Waddle claims that it’s easier to win caps now tha...
WS MoreOrLess: Pregnancy and Homicide
15 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The movie Gone Girl claims homicide is a leading cause of death for pregnant women. Ruth Alexander asks Dr Katherine Gold from the University of Michi...
Tracking and Tackling Ebola
08 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Hans Rosling, global health expert and data visionary, has just arrived in Liberia. He is working as an independent professor at the Health ministry t...
WS MoreOrLess: Kidney Donation
01 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The chance of a successful kidney match between two unrelated people has increased significantly in the past 10 years - why? Ruth Alexander speaks to ...
Screening for Ebola
25 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Are airport screenings for Ebola really an effective way of stopping transmission of the disease? And as the United Nations asks for another $1bn (£6...
WS MoreOrLess: Big Data
18 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Big data has been enjoying a lot of hype, with promises it will help deliver everything from increased corporate profits to better healthcare. While t...
Species in Decline?
11 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The coverage of the Living Planet Index and its claim that species populations have dropped 50% in the last 40 years aroused much suspicion among More...
WS MoreOrLess: Will Berlin see a sub-two-hour marathon?
06 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Why is Berlin the place to break the marathon world record and how long will it be before we witness someone run it in less than two hours?
WS MoreOrLess: How do we calculate the distance to the sun?
29 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Two young listeners emailed the programme to ask how we calculate the distance to the sun. We decided to invite them and their parents to More or Less...
The Barnett Formula
26 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
This week Tim explains the Barnett Formula with a bit of help from Money Box's Paul Lewis. He looks at Ed Balls sleight of hand in his speech to the L...
WS MoreOrLess: The UK vs Mississippi
22 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Is Britain poorer than every US state, except for Mississippi? Journalist Fraser Nelson calculates that’s the case. Tim Harford speaks to economist ...
Kidney donation: the chance of finding a match
19 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The chance of a successful kidney match between two unrelated people has increased significantly in the past ten years - why? Tim Harford speaks to Pr...
Shakespeare vs Rappers
15 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
It's a 'fact' beloved of English teachers around the world: that Shakespeare, the greatest playwright in English, also had the greatest vocabulary. Bu...
Scottish referendum polls
12 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Tim Harford talks to pollsters about how they are trying to gauge the political mood in Scotland, and he analyses Nigel Farage's claim that more than ...
WS MoreOrLess: To ice or not to ice?
08 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The ALS ice bucket challenge has become a viral phenomenon. People around the world have been dousing themselves in ice-cold water and in the process ...
To ice or not to ice?
05 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The ALS ice bucket challenge viral phenomenon has raised over $100m. Is this good for charitable giving overall, and should we be more choosy about th...
WS MoreOrLess: Do We Use Only 10% of Our Brains?
01 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Is it true that humans use just 10% of their brains? It’s the premise of the new film Lucy, in which the brain capacity of Scarlett Johanssonâ...
How Deadly Is Ebola?
29 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Media reports are suggesting that as many as 12,000 people may have Ebola in West Africa, but experts tell More or Less that's not the case. It's also...
WS MoreOrLess: Deaths in Gaza
25 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
As the Gaza conflict continues, the fact that there are estimated to be nearly three times as many men as women among the Palestinian civilian casualt...
Troubled families?
22 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
"Revealed: half a million problem families" reported The Sunday Times. The government's expanding its Troubled Families programme - two years after Mo...
WS MoreOrLess: Anti-Semitism
18 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Is anti-semitism on the rise? Ruth Alexander and James Fletcher look at the numbers, as media reports in the wake of the Gaza conflict suggest anti-se...
Student Loans
15 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The cost of the government's new student loan system is rising according to a recent report. Tim Harford investigates whether the rising costs should ...
WS MoreOrLess: Ebola
10 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
What do we know about how deadly the Ebola virus is, and how likely is it that there might be an outbreak of the virus in the United States or Europe?
WS MoreOrLess: Fear of Flying
02 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
After three tragic airline incidents in eight days, is flying becoming more dangerous? Wesley Stephenson looks at the statistics behind air travel to ...
WS MoreOrLess: The prevalence of paedophilia?
26 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The Pope was reported to have said that 2% of Catholic clergy were paedophiles. Is this a big number? Wesley Stephenson looks at the research on the p...
WS MoreOrLess: The Tour de France
19 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The Tour de France has reached the mountains, but what does it take to be a good climber and why are the cyclists thin and bony, while sprinters are b...
WS MoreOrLess: Golden Ticket
12 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
In Roald Dahl’s novel "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", Charlie Bucket wins a golden ticket to visit Willy Wonka’s factory. But one of our youn...
Will we die before our parents?
05 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Obesity may mean children have a shorter lifespan than their parents, it has been claimed, but is this true? Ruth Alexander looks at the data and expl...
WS MoreOrLess: Is this the greatest world cup ever?
28 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
As we reach the end of the group stage are we really witnessing the greatest world cup ever? Ruth Alexander casts a sceptical eye over the statistics....
WS MoreOrLess: Money for nothing?
21 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to aid, what works best – giving people food, shelter, medicine, or just handing over cash and letting them spend it how they like? On...
WS MoreOrLess: Heads Or Tails?
16 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Freakonomics guru Steven Levitt joins us to talk about an unusual experiment – getting people to agree to make major life decisions based on the tos...
Faith and Charity?
13 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
"Religion Makes People More Generous"- according to The Daily Telegraph's interpretation of a new BBC poll on charitable giving. Tim Harford investiga...
WS MoreOrLess: 'Spurious Correlations'
09 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Is the divorce rate in the US state of Maine linked to margarine consumption? It's one of many pairs of statistics featured on the 'Spurious Correlati...
What's Scottish Independence Worth?
06 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Scottish independence - yes or no? Which will line your pocket more? The Scottish government says a Yes vote will leave Scots £1,000 each better off;...
WS MoreOrLess: The Piketty Affair
02 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Did 'rock-star' French economist Thomas Piketty get his numbers wrong? His theories about rising inequality and the increasing importance of capital h...
The Piketty Affair
30 May 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Did 'rock-star' French economist Thomas Piketty get his numbers wrong? His theories about rising inequality and the increasing importance of capital h...
WS MoreOrLess: Risk Savvy
26 May 2014
Contributed by Lukas
A famous probability puzzle is discussed involving goats and game shows with German psychologist Gerd Gigerenzer. Is he right to suggest in his new bo...
Romanian Crime
23 May 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Are the statistics put forward by UKIP accurate, and are Romanians responsible for more crime than other nationalities? Plus: Gerd Gigerenzer on the f...
WS MoreOrLess: Did global poverty halve overnight?
19 May 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Did the number of people around the world living in extreme poverty fall by half a few weeks ago? That's one interpretation of newly released figures ...
Tax Dodgers and Benefits Cheats
16 May 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Does the government have lots of people chasing the relatively small amounts lost to benefits cheats, while massive amounts of tax evasion are barely ...
WS MoreOrLess: Brazil’s Maths Superstar
12 May 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The Man Who Counted, a book of 'Arabic' mathematical tales written by Middle Eastern scholar Malba Tahan was published in Brazil in the 1930s. It beca...
Food Bank Britain
09 May 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Food banks are being used by a million people in Britain according to recent newspaper reports. But what do we really know about how many people are u...
Sir Roger Bannister's ‘impossible’ feat
05 May 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Sir Roger Bannister became the first man to run a mile in under four minutes 60 ago. It's one of the most famous records of the 20th Century, one that...
British Law - Made in Brussels?
02 May 2014
Contributed by Lukas
How much British law is made in Brussels - 75% as UKIP say, or 7% as Nick Clegg says? And how might the ideas of an 18th century minister help find th...
Killed for being female?
26 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Are 100 million women missing from the world? A listener asks More or Less to explore this powerful statement - "More girls were killed in the last 50...
Magic Numbers
19 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Do you have a favourite number - one you love, one you think stands out from all the others? Author Alex Bellos joins us to talk about his quest to fi...
Nigeria - rich or poor?
12 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Nigeria's bureau of statistics has overhauled the way it calculates the country's GDP figures. With GDP now estimated at around $510 billion, it has s...
Freedom in Numbers
05 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
How many people in the world live in freedom? The BBC's Freedom 2014 season got Tim Harford and the More or Less team wondering about this. It's actua...
Is London France’s sixth largest city?
29 Mar 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Are there really be 300,000 French people in London and would they really want to leave France for the UK anyway? The Mayor of London, British journal...
Missing planes
22 Mar 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Could Bayesian statistics find Flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing? This niche form of statistical modelling has been used to find everything fr...
Mailbox edition
15 Mar 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Your questions answered - Do the Maasai in Africa number one million? Is it true that a quarter of Americans do not know the Earth goes round the sun?...