Podcast Episodes

When are numbers like a horse at a gymkhana?

Can we teach BBC political editor Chris Mason some new maths skills? Do 60 of the UK’s richest people pay 100% tax? Have water bills fallen in real terms since 2010? When it comes to HPV and cervical…

Published on 1 year, 2 months ago

Uncertainty, probability and double yoked eggs

Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter is one of the great communicators of probability and uncertainty.

His new book, The Art of Uncertainty, explains how to approach uncertainty, luck, probability and i…

Published on 1 year, 2 months ago

Should the government target persnuffle?

Are childhood obesity rates going down? Do 35 million birds die every year in the UK after hitting windows? How much money could the Chancellor find by changing the debt rule? And Professor Sir Da…

Published on 1 year, 2 months ago

Are 672 billion pounds of corn eaten in the US every year?

National Geographic magazine recently wrote that “people in the United States eat more than 672 billion pounds of corn per year, which breaks down to more than 2,000 pounds per person annually”.

Is th…

Published on 1 year, 2 months ago

How do you breed seventeen octillion rats?

Are GPs really working less hours per week? Does Wetherspoons really pay one in every £1000 of tax in the UK? Are more people in the UK economically inactive? How long does it take two rats to produc…

Published on 1 year, 2 months ago

The puzzles you’re meant to get wrong

Why do some puzzles make us immediately leap to the wrong conclusion?

That’s the subject of Alex Bellos’ new book Think Twice, which has page after page of questions designed to deceive.

Alex sets Tim …

Published on 1 year, 3 months ago

Could the winter fuel cut cost more than it saves?

The government is encouraging pensioners to claim pension credit in order to remain eligible for winter fuel payments. Will people sign up - and might that end up costing the exchequer more than it s…

Published on 1 year, 3 months ago

Do 85% of the world’s population practice a religion?

We don’t usually do god on More or Less, but one listener got in touch to ask us to investigate a stat used by an Anglican priest on a BBC radio programme.

Speaking on the “Thought for the Day” slot,…

Published on 1 year, 3 months ago

How do you count millionaires?

Can we be sure that thousands of millionaires are leaving the UK? How much do asylum seekers cost the state? Who will win a geeky bet on private school pupil numbers? What does a string quartet teach…

Published on 1 year, 3 months ago

Nate Silver: Do risk-takers run the world?

Big stakes poker player and elections analyst Nate Silver is no stranger to a calculated risk.

In his new book, On The Edge, he makes the case that people willing to take massive calculated risks are…

Published on 1 year, 3 months ago