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Does your jewellery contain stolen Brink’s-Mat gold?
The Brink’s-Mat robbery remains to this day one of Britain’s biggest and most audacious heists. Six armed men stole diamonds, cash and three tonnes of gold bullion from a warehouse close to London’s …
Published on 2 years, 9 months ago
UK vs European energy prices, falling excess deaths and is 5 grams of cocaine a lot?
Does the UK really have by far the highest domestic energy bills in Europe? We debunk a viral social media claim suggesting just that. Also the number of excess deaths has been falling in the UK - ho…
Published on 2 years, 9 months ago
Do 29,000 coffee pods really go to landfill every minute?
How environmentally destructive is our thirst for coffee? Tim and the team investigate a claim that 29,000 coffee pods end up in landfill globally every minute with the help of Dr Ying Jiang, a seni…
Published on 2 years, 10 months ago
Reoffending rates, Welsh taxes and the menopause
The Justice Secretary Dominic Raab says crime reoffending rates in England and Wales have fallen significantly since the Conservatives came to power. We ask whether he’s right and look more broadly a…
Published on 2 years, 10 months ago
Florence Nightingale and how she visualised data
Florence Nightingale became one of the icons of Victorian Britain for her work as a nurse during the Crimean War and the public health improvements she successfully campaigned for later on. Tim Harfo…
Published on 2 years, 10 months ago
Nurses' pay, ambulance times and forgotten female economists
How much do nurses in the UK earn compared with those elsewhere in Europe? Tim Harford and the team investigate. Also we have an update on ambulance response times, which were the worst on record in …
Published on 2 years, 10 months ago
Spreadsheet disasters
The UK’s Office for National Statistics recently published some dramatically incorrect data - all because of a spreadsheet slip-up. But that’s just the most recent in a long list of times when spread…
Published on 2 years, 10 months ago
The IMF and the UK economy, NHS staff shortages and British vs English
The International Monetary Fund says the UK will be the only major economy to shrink in size this year. We ask how much faith we should put in the IMF’s forecasts and look at some of the big economic…
Published on 2 years, 10 months ago
Hannah Fry on using shopping data to detect ovarian cancer
A new study led by Imperial College in London suggests that data from loyalty card spending in supermarkets and pharmacies could be used as a way of detecting ovarian cancer much earlier. Tim Harford…
Published on 2 years, 10 months ago
Brexit and trade, pensioner millionaires and Hannah Fry on loyalty cards and cancer
Has trade with the EU increased since Britain left the European Union? Tim Harford and the team look at a claim suggesting just that. There’s a row over the renaming of a street in North London previ…
Published on 2 years, 10 months ago