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75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

More or Less

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

science mathematics

All Episodes

8:58

WS More or Less: Coronavirus - The Numbers

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2020/02/15

A lot has changed since our last episode covering the numbers behind the coronavirus - for a start it now has a name, Covid-19. This week news has broken that deaths are 20 per cent higher than thought, and the number of cases has increased by a third. Tim Harford talks to Dr Nathalie MacDermott, a clinical lecturer at King’s College London about what we know – and what we still don’t.

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23:18

Coronavirus, jam, AI and tomatoes

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2020/02/14

Covid-19 stats, spreading jam far and wide, cooking with AI, and James Wong on vegetables

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10:10

WS More or Less: How fast are Alligators and Hippos?

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2020/02/08

We all know that you should never smile at a crocodile, but rumour has it that alligators are great perambulators – at least that’s what a booklet about Florida’s wildlife claimed. Tim Harford speaks to John Hutchinson, Professor of evolutionary bio-mechanics to see whether he could outrun one of these reportedly rapid retiles. Also – our editor thinks he could outrun a hippo, is he right? (…probably not).

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28:24

Tracking terror suspects

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2020/02/07

Costing counter-terrorism, interrogating tomatoes, the UK's reading age, politics and GDP

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8:58

WS More or Less: Coronavirus

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2020/02/01

The WHO have declared a ‘Global Health Emergency’ as health officials are urgently trying to contain the spread of a new coronavirus in China and beyond; but not all the information you read is correct. We fact-check a particularly hyperbolic claim about its spread that’s been doing the rounds on social media.

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28:30

Coronavirus, emotions and guns.

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2020/01/31

Fact checking claims about coronavirus and whether more guns equal fewer homicides.

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9:09

WS More or Less: Dozy Science

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2020/01/25

Anxiety around sleep is widespread. Many of us feel we don’t get enough. An army of experts has sprung up to help, and this week we test some of the claims from one of the most prominent among them: Professor Matthew Walker. He plays ball and answers some of the criticisms of his bestselling book Why We Sleep.

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28:15

Netflix and Chill

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2020/01/24

The list of ways campaigners say we need to change our behaviour in response to climate change seems to grow every week. Now, streaming video is in the frame. We test the claim that watching 30 minutes of Netflix has the same carbon footprint as driving four miles. We hear scepticism about a report that sepsis is responsible for one in five deaths worldwide. Author Bill Bryson stops by with a question about guns – and gets quizzed about a number in his new book. And, how much sleep do we really

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8:58

WS More or Less: Japan’s 99% Conviction Rate

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2020/01/18

The fugitive former Nissan boss, Carlos Ghosn, has raised questions about justice in Japan. The government in Tokyo has defended its system, where 99% of prosecutions lead to conviction. Prof Colin Jones, from Doshisha Law School in Kyoto, explains what's behind this seemingly shocking statistic. And a listener asks if it’s true Canada’s is roughly the same. Toronto lawyer Kim Schofield sets them straight.

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16:12

Weighing the Cost of Brexit

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2020/01/17

Is it possible to calculate the cost of Brexit? Gemma Tetlow from the Institute for Government helps us weigh the arguments. How much does luck play into Liverpool FC's amazing season? And, crucially, how fast is an alligator?

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9:07

WS More or Less: Bushfire mystery

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2020/01/11

Have a billion animals died in Australia’s fires? And which ones are likely to survive?

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34:54

Australian Animal Deaths, Carbon Emissions, Election...

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2020/01/10

Tim Harford on animal deaths in Australia's fires, how many Labour voters went Conservative and are UK carbon emissions really down 40%. Plus: have we really entered a new decade?

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8:59

C-sections and sharks

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2020/01/04

How many women in China give birth in hospitals, and whether it was true that 50% of births there are delivered by caesarean section. Oh, and we also mention guts and bacteria…Sharks kill 12 humans a year but humans kill 11,417 sharks an hour. That’s the statistic used in a Facebook meme that’s doing the rounds. Is it true?

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8:59

Presidential candidates and dementia

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2019/12/28

We talk about the age of some of the frontrunners in the Democrat nomination race and President Donald Trump and the health risks they face.Also, More or Less listeners were surprised by a claim they read on the BBC website recently: “Pets are estimated to be consuming up to 20 percent of all meat globally.” So we – of course – investigated and will explain all.

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8:59

The Simpsons and maths

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2019/12/20

We explore the maths secrets of The Simpsons on their 30th anniversary.

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8:59

Koalas

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2019/12/13

As bushfires rage in Australia, the plight of the koala made front-page news around the world. There were warnings that fires wiped out 80% of the marsupial's habitat and that koalas are facing extinction. We check the claims with the help of National Geographic's Natasha Daly and Dr Christine Hosking of the University of Queensland. (A Koala receives treatment at the Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie after its rescue from a bushfire. Credit: Safeed Khan/Getty Images)

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27:47

Election Special (2/2)

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2019/12/10

Labour's spending plans, Conservatives claims on homelessness, the SNP's education record

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8:58

Tree Planting Pledges

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2019/12/06

The UK General Election is fast approaching, top of the agenda are the political parties green ambitions and one particular initiative is garnering a lot of attention, tree planting. The Labour Party has the most ambitious target – a whopping 2 billion trees planted by 2040. How much land would this take, how does it stack up against other party pledges and what difference will it make? Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Lizzy McNeill

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27:39

Election Special 1/2

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2019/12/03

50,000 nurses? 40 new hospitals? Big corporate tax rises? Childcare promises? Election pledges might sound good, but do they stand up to scrutiny? In the run up to the General Election on 12th December, Tim Harford takes his scalpel of truth to the inflamed appendix of misinformation. Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Neal Razzell

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8:58

Testing tomatoes

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2019/11/29

Have these saucy fruits become less healthy over time?

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