Skip to content

EscapePod Podcasts

Shows worth your time, picked up where you left off.

MO

Society & Culture

More or Less

BBC Radio 4

Tim Harford explains - and sometimes debunks - the numbers and statistics used in political debate, the news and everyday life.

300 episodes

The Uzbekistan-shaped hole in an influential climate cost paper 3 Oct 2026 · 9 min How much could climate change cost the global economy? That would be a very useful thing to know, and scientists have developed statistical models that they think can help give a…

Does the UK really have nine out of the ten poorest regions in Northern Europe? 30 Sept 2026 · 30 min Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week: (00:40) Does the UK account for nine out of ten of the poorest regions in Northern Europe? It’s a classic stor…

Trump fact-check: Do the US and Venezuela have 60% of the world’s oil? 26 Sept 2026 · 9 min US president Donald Trump has claimed in a speech to the UN that the US and Venezuela combined now have 60% of the world’s oil. 100% of the team on More or Less were confused. Wha…

Has the UK’s productivity puzzle been solved? 23 Sept 2026 · 29 min Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week: (00:42) Frustrated economists have been left rending their garments and howling in the streets after the UK’s…

Are carrots becoming less nutritious? 19 Sept 2026 · 9 min Are fruit and vegetables less nutritious than they used to be? And is declining soil quality to blame? Loyal listener Sarah got in touch to ask us to investigate an interesting qu…

Are bad teeth the number one reason kids go to A&E? 16 Sept 2026 · 28 min Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week: (00:33) Are crumbling teeth the number one reason children attend A&E? We drill down into the dental health of…

Could this be the strongest El Niño in 1,000 Years? 12 Sept 2026 · 9 min Every year, climate scientists keep a close eye on data coming out of a particular area of the Pacific Ocean. They’re trying to measure the scale of a climate phenomenon - the El…

Why are so many ex-prisoners being sent back to prison? 9 Sept 2026 · 29 min Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week: (00:38) The number of people being recalled to prison after early release in England and Wales is rising sharp…

Is every card shuffle unique? 5 Sept 2026 · 9 min Can it really be true that every shuffle of a deck of cards is unique? Mathematician and stand-up comedian Matt Parker claims that every time you do a shuffle, the cards have neve…

Bonus podcast: Norman Numbers 4 Sept 2026 · 7 min What's this, an extra podcast? Has Christmas come early? No, the Bayeux Tapestry has instead returned to England for the first time in almost 1000 years. To mark the occasion, we'…

Do Germans really take 19.5 days of sick leave per year? 29 Aug 2026 · 9 min How do different countries compare, in terms of the amount of time that workers take as sick leave? Loyal listener Dave got in touch to ask us to look at a surprising statistic he…

How much of the world isn’t owned by anyone? 22 Aug 2026 · 9 min Sometimes world events of massive practical significance lead our minds towards some lovely impractical thoughts. So it was for loyal listener, Nigel. Pondering the conflict in Ir…

14 million deaths or zero deaths? The impact of the USAID cuts 15 Aug 2026 · 9 min As part of their mandate to stop 'waste, fraud and abuse' in federal government spending, DOGE, the department of Government Efficiency, made large cuts to the amount of money the…

How much of all the money in the world does Elon Musk have? 8 Aug 2026 · 9 min Earlier this year, South African-born tech tycoon Elon Musk briefly became the world’s first dollar trillionaire. This prompted loyal listener Stephen to email the More or Less te…

Would you take £50,000 or a 50/50 chance of £1m? 1 Aug 2026 · 9 min If you had a choice between instantly receiving £50,000 or a 50% chance to win £1m, which would you pick? When YouGov asked exactly that question to people in the UK, 73% said the…

The mistake in Trump’s tariff formula 30 Jul 2026 · 30 min What is the error in the calculation Donald Trump used to work out his new tariffs? What happened when the government ordered a recount of bobbies on the beat? When is a tax freez…

Is crime in London ‘through the roof’? 25 Jul 2026 · 9 min The crime rate in London has been cropping up regularly on social media and in political discussions - US president Donald Trump has claimed that crime in the city is ‘through the…

How much luck do you need to win the World Cup? 18 Jul 2026 · 9 min As the 2026 World Cup approaches its end, what is the biggest factor in who wins? Is it extraordinary moments of attacking magic? Gritty defensive organisation? Or is it all just…

Does playing tennis make you live 9.7 years longer? 11 Jul 2026 · 9 min Recently a post did the rounds on Twitter, claiming that people who play tennis live on average 9.7 years longer than people who play other sports. The figure comes from a recent…

Does the average teacher really earn £54,000? 8 Jul 2026 · 28 min Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week: (00:32) A government minister has informed the nation that average teacher pay in England is around £54,000. R…

Does a full moon make crime rates go up? 4 Jul 2026 · 9 min The Moon is one of the most captivating features of our night's sky, and apparently, one of the most suspicious.... For thousands of years, people have blamed the full moon for st…

Examining the numbers behind Andy Burnham’s ‘Manchester Miracle’ 1 Jul 2026 · 28 min Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week: (00:23) Andy Burnham may not be Prime Minister yet, but he’s setting out his economic agenda, and its based on…

Benefits v minimum wage: Which pays more? 24 Jun 2026 · 28 min Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week: (00:42) Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir Jeremy Hunt argues that you can earn far more on out of work be…

Is the US worse than North Korea for malnutrition deaths? 20 Jun 2026 · 9 min This surprising claim was spotted circulating on social media: 'The United States has surpassed China and North Korea in deaths from malnutrition’. The claim used analysis from th…

Does Europe suffer more heat deaths than the US? 17 Jun 2026 · 29 min Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week: (00:31) Claims have circulated on the internet that Europe sees a particularly high number of deaths from heat…

Andrew Ross Sorkin: What can the Great Crash of 1929 tell us about today? 13 Jun 2026 · 9 min The financial journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin on the numbers behind the 1929 crash.The Great Crash of 1929 has faded into history, but financial journalist and author Andrew Ross So…

Education, Education, Education (and Immigration) 10 Jun 2026 · 29 min Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week: (00:32) The internet is abuzz with the claim that twenty-seven young migrants are hired for every British youn…

Factchecking claims that 400 churches were burned to the ground in France 6 Jun 2026 · 9 min In certain corners of the internet some suspicious numbers are cropping up again and again. People claiming that 400 churches have been burnt to the ground or attacked in an assor…

Debunking the claim that migrants will get half of new homes 3 Jun 2026 · 29 min Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week: (00:42) The Daily Express claims that ‘Migrants will get half of all new homes’, based on a calculation from t…

The known unknowns of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 30 May 2026 · 9 min On the 17th of May the World Health Organisation declared a new outbreak of Ebolavirus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as an International Emergency. Ebola virus is an ext…