Synopsis
Tim Harford and the More or Less team try to make sense of the statistics which surround us. From BBC Radio 4
Episodes
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WS More or Less: Diet Coke Habit; 'Contained' Wildfires
18/12/2017 Duration: 09minCould the US President’s Diet Coke habit affect his health? and 'contained' wildfires
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WS More or Less: Does Eating Chocolate Make Your Brain Younger?
11/12/2017 Duration: 10minHeadlines claim that eating chocolate can protect you from developing Alzheimer’s disease. The theory is that bioactives within chocolate called flavanols can help reduce the risk of heart attacks, strokes and even make your brain 30 years younger! But isn’t this all a bit too good to be true? The BBC’s Head of Statistics, Robert Cuffe, investigates whether research findings are misrepresented by funders, PR machines and the media. Presenter: Robert Cuffe Producer: Lizzy McNeill
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WS More or Less: Just how lucky are regular lottery winners?
04/12/2017 Duration: 10minAre some people just very lucky? The maths suggest that is unlikely.
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WS More or Less: How Rich was Jane Austen’s Mr Darcy?
26/11/2017 Duration: 08minWhat the Pride and Prejudice character would have earned in today’s money.
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How expensive is Italy's World Cup failure?
17/11/2017 Duration: 08minThe Italians are calling it the apocalypse. Their team has failed to make it to the World Cup for the first time in 60 years. But it is about more than just national pride - there is a financial cost too. Some have suggested that it will cost FIFA $100m. Is this really true? We speak to sports writer Graham Dunbar who has been counting how much money football's world governing body might lose out on. Also we fact check the claim that 45% of Nigerian women marry before their 18th birthday. Presenter: Ruth Alexander Producer: Xavier Zapata(Image: Alessandro Florenzi of Italy at the end of the FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifier play-off, November 13, 2017. Credit: Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
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WS More or Less: Why Albums are Getting Longer
12/11/2017 Duration: 13minChris Brown’s latest album is stuffed with so many songs it runs at a sprawling two hours and twenty minutes. It’s only the latest in a string of lengthy album releases that includes artists like Drake, The Weeknd and Lil B. More or Less speaks to Hugh McIntyre, a music journalist who has found out that a numerical change in the way the album charts are measured is tempting artists into making longer albums.We also talk to Marc Hogan, a senior writer at Pitchfork, about a number that is changing the sound of pop music. You can find more of Marc Hogan's writing on pitchfork.comPresenter: Jordan Dunbar Producer: Xavier Zapata (Chris Brown performs onstage at 2017 BET Awards. Credit: Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET)
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WS More or Less: Do Nigerian lawmakers get $1.7m and do Yams cause twins?
05/11/2017 Duration: 08minFinding out if Nigerian politicians really get paid more than the American President.
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WS More or Less: Novelists in numbers
30/10/2017 Duration: 08minCounting the favourite words of well-known authors: Stephen King, Hemingway and others
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WS More or Less: Are US millennials more politically engaged online?
20/10/2017 Duration: 08minDid the 2016 US election galvanise young people to become more engaged in politics?
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How Richard Thaler changed Economics
13/10/2017 Duration: 22minThe behavioural economist who has inspired governments around the world.
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WS More or Less: Kilobyte to Brontobyte
10/10/2017 Duration: 08minNaming the monster numbers - how the names of digital storage files evolved.
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WS More or Less: Big polluters - ships versus cars
02/10/2017 Duration: 09minDo the largest ships emit as much pollution as all the cars in the world?
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Uber; EU passports; counting domestic violence
29/09/2017 Duration: 24minIs Uber safe? The post Brexit dual nationality surge and measuring partner abuse.
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WS More or Less: Sperm - Are we going extinct?
25/09/2017 Duration: 09minHow much of a problem is falling sperm count?
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Statistics abuse, tuition fees and beer in 1887
22/09/2017 Duration: 25minForeign Secretary Boris Johnson is accused of mis-using official statistics.
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WS More or Less: How to measure a Hurricane
15/09/2017 Duration: 09minWhat’s the best way to measure a hurricane?
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Are Natural Disasters on the Rise?
15/09/2017 Duration: 25minHas the number of natural disasters really quadrupled in the last forty years?
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WS More or Less: More Horses than Tanks?
11/09/2017 Duration: 09minIs the UK the only country with more horses than tanks in its army?
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Electric cars, school-ready and feedback
08/09/2017 Duration: 25minWill we need more power stations? Plus, are children in Manchester ready for school?
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One in 500 Year Storm
04/09/2017 Duration: 06minExperts are saying that Houston just suffered a one in 500 year storm but what does that mean?