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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

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

science mathematics

All Episodes

10:04

WS More or Less: Debunking guide – on a postcard

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2018/02/18

How to question dubious statistics in just a few short steps.

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28:21

UN rape claims, Stalin and Mr Darcy

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2018/02/16

How many people have UN staff raped? – (0’40’’) It was reported in a number of the newspapers this week that UN staff are responsible for 60,000 rapes in a decade. The wealth of Mr Darcy – (5’10”) The male love interest of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ is supposed to be fabulously wealthy. Is he?How many people did Stalin kill? – (10’00”) Why there are so many different figures reported.Avoid splitting the bill – (18’25”) Credit card roulette is Dan Ariely’s preferred way of ending a meal with

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6:33

WS More or Less: Has Russian Drinking Fallen by 80%...

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2018/02/11

Alcohol consumption has fallen sharply according to Russia’s health ministry

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28:06

The Dow, Tampons, Parkrun part II

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2018/02/09

Why the biggest ever fall in the Dow wasn't, and how much do women spend on tampons?

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13:02

WS More or Less: Is China On Track to End Poverty by...

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2018/02/05

A key pledge of the Chinese President Xi Jinping is that China will have eradicated poverty by 2020. It’s an extraordinary claim, but the country does have a good track record in improving the wealth of its citizens; the World Bank says China has contributed more than any other country to global poverty reduction. So how does China measure poverty? And is it possible for them to make sure, over the next few years, that no one falls below their poverty line?Photo: A woman tends to her niece amid the

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31:14

Transgender Numbers, Parkrun and Snooker

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2018/02/02

How many transgender people are there in the UK?The UK produces official statistics about all sorts of things – from economic indicators to demographic data. But it turns out there are no official figures for the number of transgender people in the UK. We explore what we do know, and what is harder to measure.Do 4% of the population drink nearly a third of the alcohol?According to recent headlines, just 4% of the population drink nearly a third of the alcohol sold in England. But can so few people

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9:04

Is the US Census Under Threat?

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2018/01/29

The survey question that could affect the accuracy of its results.The United States are due to run their next nationwide census in 2020, but already critics are warning that underfunding and proposed question about citizenship could affect the accuracy of its results. We look at the real life consequences if groups choose not to complete the 2020 census, and ask whether the recent politically charged debate is unusual in its two hundred year history. Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Kate

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23:46

A Girl's First Time, Shark's Stomachs, Prime numbers

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2018/01/26

First sexual experience - checking the facts A short film for the Draw A Line campaign has made the claim that one in three girls first sexual experience is rape. This seems shockingly high, but what is the evidence? Is it just for the UK or a global figure? We go back to the reports that were used to source the claim, and find the research has been misinterpreted.How long can a shark go for without eating? A recent episode of Blue Planet II stated that after a large meal a Sixgill shark might not

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8:58

WS More or Less: Real Lives Behind the Numbers

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2018/01/22

If you ask an economist to explain what is happening in a country’s economy. They rely on economic data points to describe what is happening – they might talk about the unemployment rate, average wages, and the numbers of people in poverty. They pull together the information available for thousands or millions of people to work out trends.But are we getting the whole picture?We speak to Rachel Schneider, co-author of the book, ‘The Financial Diaries’. It’s based on a large study in the USA. Over a

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27:47

Gender Pay Gaps and How to Learn a Language

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2018/01/19

Gender Pay Gap This week the Office for National Statistics has published analysis trying to find out why it is that on average women are paid less than men in specific industries and occupations. We examine their findings, as well as taking a look at the current discussion about equal pay at the BBC.Alcohol reaction times We take a look at a study that suggests that people's reaction speeds are affected over time by regular drinking. It recommends that official guidelines for the amount of alcohol

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9:09

WS More or Less: How Louis Bachelier Scooped...

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2018/01/15

A forgotten French mathematician is the focus of our programme. He anticipated both Einstein's theories and the application of maths to the stock market. Born in the 1870s, his work was unusual at the time. With the help of Alison Etheridge, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford, we explain how his ideas were rediscovered decades after his death.(Photo: Pocket watch. Credit: Kanyapak Lim/Shutterstock)

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28:13

Missed appointments, graduate pay, plus cocaine on...

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2018/01/12

Did missed appointments cost the NHS £1 billion last year? New figures published recently suggest that the financial cost to the NHS for missed appointments was £1 billion last year. But our listeners are curious. How has this figure been worked out? And don’t missed appointments actually ease the pressure on an overcrowded system?Graduate pay – is it always higher than non-graduates’ pay? It is often claimed that if you go to university and get a degree, you will earn more than those who do not

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8:58

WS More or Less: Just how rare is a hole-in-one?

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2018/01/07

Why it isn’t as simple to work out as you think.

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9:25

More or Less: Statistics of the Year 2017

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2017/12/31

Phones, lawn mowers and how Kim Kardashian helped the public understanding of risk.

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9:40

WS More or Less: Will Bitcoin use more electricity...

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2017/12/24

Measuring the energy used to keep the cryptocurrency secure.

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9:43

WS More or Less: Diet Coke Habit; 'Contained' Wildfires

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2017/12/18

Could the US President’s Diet Coke habit affect his health? and 'contained' wildfires

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10:21

WS More or Less: Does Eating Chocolate Make Your...

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2017/12/11

Headlines claim that eating chocolate can protect you from developing Alzheimer’s disease. The theory is that bioactives within chocolate called flavanols can help reduce the risk of heart attacks, strokes and even make your brain 30 years younger! But isn’t this all a bit too good to be true? The BBC’s Head of Statistics, Robert Cuffe, investigates whether research findings are misrepresented by funders, PR machines and the media. Presenter: Robert Cuffe Producer: Lizzy McNeill

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10:04

WS More or Less: Just how lucky are regular lottery...

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2017/12/04

Are some people just very lucky? The maths suggest that is unlikely.

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8:58

WS More or Less: How Rich was Jane Austen’s Mr Darcy?

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2017/11/26

What the Pride and Prejudice character would have earned in today’s money.

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8:58

How expensive is Italy's World Cup failure?

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2017/11/17

The Italians are calling it the apocalypse. Their team has failed to make it to the World Cup for the first time in 60 years. But it is about more than just national pride - there is a financial cost too. Some have suggested that it will cost FIFA $100m. Is this really true? We speak to sports writer Graham Dunbar who has been counting how much money football's world governing body might lose out on. Also we fact check the claim that 45% of Nigerian women marry before their 18th birthday. Presenter:

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1,087 results

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