Podcast Episodes

Does a single AI query use a bottle of water?

We’re living through boom-times for Artificial Intelligence, with more and more of us using AI assistants like ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Grok and Copilot to do basic research and writing tasks.

But what is …

Published on 4 months, 3 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

Does a single AI query use a bottle of water?

We’re living through boom-times for Artificial Intelligence, with more and more of us using AI assistants like ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Grok and Copilot to do basic research and writing tasks.

But what is …

Published on 5 months ago

Are one in six children living through war?

In the midst of the television coverage of Soccer Aid, a celebrity soccer match organised by Unicef, the audience was told that “one in six children around the world are currently living through war”…

Published on 5 months, 1 week ago

Why Manchester United can afford to play badly

Manchester United are terrible, even according to their own manager. Last season saw their worst ever performance in Premier League history.

But at the same time, according to Forbes magazine, they’re…

Published on 5 months, 2 weeks ago

Can drinking one less bottle of coke a day halve obesity?

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

Is the secret to halving obesity rates really just a matter of cutting back on one fizzy drink a day?

How many new babie…

Published on 5 months, 2 weeks ago

The economics of war: Vikings, Conquistadors and Vietnam

How does economics help us understand conflicts through history?

That’s the question that economist and journalist Duncan Weldon tries to answer in his new book, Blood and Treasure.

Tim talks to Dunc…

Published on 5 months, 3 weeks ago

Is the UK seeing a Christian revival?

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

Is church-going making a comeback in the UK?

Is it true that every day, 1000 people begin claiming personal independence pay…

Published on 5 months, 3 weeks ago

Has Russia suffered a million casualties in the Ukraine war?

It’s been over three years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the human toll is growing on both sides.

Recently, politicians and journalists have declared a grim milestone, one million …

Published on 5 months, 4 weeks ago

Why is data on grooming gangs so bad?

Tim Harford looks at some of the numbers in the news and in life. In this episode:

Why is the data on the ethnicity of grooming gangs of such poor quality?

Iran has apparently enriched uranium to 60%, …

Published on 6 months ago