Podcast Episodes

Is JD Vance right about left-wing violence?

On September the 10th 2025, right-wing political activist and media personality Charlie Kirk was assassinated while speaking at an event in Utah. In the aftermath, his friend JD Vance, the US Vice Pr…

Published on 3 months, 1 week ago

Is it true that out-of-work benefits have almost doubled?

Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week:

Nigel Farage says 6.5 million people are on out-of-work benefits – with some benefits up 80% since 2018. Are those numbers right?

Do…

Published on 3 months, 1 week ago

Will the world really be 50 million workers short by 2030?

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says the world faces a severe labour shortage – 50 million workers by the end of the decade. The boss of the world’s most valuable company thinks humanoid robots will be neede…

Published on 3 months, 2 weeks ago

Are Afghan nationals more likely to be convicted of sexual offences?

Tim Harford looks at some of the numbers in the news. This week:

Is it true that interest payments on the UK’s national debt are equivalent to £240 per month for everyone in the country?

Reform UK clai…

Published on 3 months, 2 weeks ago

Do 11,000 sharks die every hour?

Hollywood has given sharks a terrible reputation. But in reality, the finned fish should be far more scared of us, than we of them.

Millions of sharks are killed in fishing nets and lines every year.

O…

Published on 3 months, 3 weeks ago

Are self-driving cars safer than cars with drivers?

Fully autonomous cars are here. In a handful of cities across the US and China, robotaxis are transporting human passengers around town, but with no human behind the wheel.

Loyal Listener Amberish wro…

Published on 3 months, 3 weeks ago

Do women feel the cold more than men?

Are office temperatures set too low in the summer for women to be comfortable? This idea has featured in news headlines and comedy videos which describe the summer as a “women’s winter”. But is ther…

Published on 4 months ago

How weird was the Med Sea heatwave?

In early July, the Mediterranean Sea experienced a marine heatwave. The surface of the water reached temperatures of 30 degrees in some places. A social media post at the time claimed that some of t…

Published on 4 months, 1 week ago

Why it matters that Trump fired data chief

On Friday 1st August the US Bureau of Labor Statistics put out their job report data for August. It included revisions to their estimates for the jobs created in May and June which stated there were …

Published on 4 months, 2 weeks ago

Are abortion numbers rising in the US?

In June 2022 the United States Supreme Court passed what became known as ‘the Dobbs decision’. In doing so they overturned the long standing constitutional right for women to access abortion in the U…

Published on 4 months, 3 weeks ago