Podcast Episodes

Numbers of the year 2025

We look back at some stand out numbers of 2025. How significant were Trump’s import tariffs? China sets the pace for solar power installation across the globe. We also look upwards to a particularly …

Published on 17 hours ago

Were there really Three Wise Men?

The surprising things we learn when we count everyone - a tour of the UK census through time.

We also figure out just how many parking officers there are versus soldiers in the British army.

Who real…

Published on 3 days, 13 hours ago

The shocking world of US health costs

A loyal listener wrote in to question this claim made by neuroscientist Dr Daniel Levitin: "Here in the US valium in a pharmacy might be $3 that same pill in a hospital setting might be $750."

Our lis…

Published on 1 week ago

Do we really have ‘superflu’?

The NHS is warning of an unprecedented flu season - we check what the numbers say.

Is there really a mass exodus of Brits leaving the UK due to Labour tax policies? We look at the latest emigration fi…

Published on 1 week, 3 days ago

RCP 8.5: Why did the climate change model get it wrong?

Whether we like it or not, global warming is happening. The global temperature has already gone up, and it’s going to go up more, because the atmosphere is already full of carbon dioxide and other gr…

Published on 2 weeks ago

Is RFK right about US sperm counts?

Around the world, many countries are concerned about tackling the decline in birth rates and total fertility rates. The US is no exception. To tackle this issue the US government announced that …

Published on 3 weeks ago

Richard Thaler and The Winner’s Curse

In the later part of the 20th century, a pioneering group of economists started shaking up their academic field.

These “behavioural economists” used findings from experimental psychology and everyday …

Published on 4 weeks ago

Is there a stock market crash coming?

For months, the share prices of tech companies have marched seemingly-ever upward, driven by fevered excitement about the potential of Artificial Intelligence. But many are now voicing fears that thi…

Published on 1 month ago

Has there been a $50 trillion wealth transfer to the richest Americans?

Bernie Sanders says a vast amount of wealth - $50 trillion - has moved from 90% of the population to the wealthiest Americans since the 1970s. The figure comes from a study by Carter Price, a senior…

Published on 1 month, 1 week ago

Is RFK Jr right about China's diabetes rate?

The US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr is on a mission to make America healthy again. One of his health-promotion ideas is to reduce chronic illness, specifically diabetes. And has part of hi…

Published on 1 month, 2 weeks ago