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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

9:22

WS More or Less: Samba, strings and the story of HIV

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2017/06/05

Trumpets are blasting in this week’s musical episode. But can medical statistics be transformed into a jazzy night out? That was the challenge which epidemiologist Elizabeth Pisani set for composer Tony Haynes. This June, his Grand Union Orchestra will be performing Song of Contagion, an evening of steel pans, saxophones and singers telling the story of diseases including Zika and AIDs.We met Elizabeth and Tony in an East London music studio, to hear Song of Contagion come together for the very

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29:17

Election Special: Tax, borders and climate

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2017/06/02

On this final programme of the series we try to give some context to some of the issues that are being discussed during the current election campaign.Who pays tax?What proportion of adults are paying income tax? How much are they paying? Where does the highest burden lay? We take a look. Also, we look at the different political parties’ tax policies. This includes corporation tax, but what about National Insurance?How do you cut migration?The Conservative manifesto again includes the aim to lower

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9:07

WS More or Less: Have 65% of future jobs not yet been...

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2017/05/28

Our entire education system is faulty, claim experts. They worry that schools don’t prepare kids for the world outside. But how could anyone prove what the future will be like?We set off on a round-the-world sleuthing trip to trace a statistic that has been causing headaches for students, teachers and politicians alike. Helping us on our quest are educators Cathy Davidson, Daisy Christodoulou and Andrew Old – plus a little bit of Blade Runner and a lot data-wrangling.Producer: Hannah Sander(Photo:

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23:59

Spies, care homes, and ending sneak peeks

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2017/05/26

Can security services follow everyone known to them?The attack on Manchester Arena took place exactly four years since the killing of Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich. Back in 2013 we broadcast an interview with the former Head of MI5, Dame Stella Rimmington, about the difficulties of monitoring people who have been flagged up to the services. We are re-visiting that interview.Chances of ending up in a care homeThere are around 11.6 million people over the age of 65 in the UK, but how many need social

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9:19

WS More or Less: Uganda’s refugees

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2017/05/22

Has Uganda been accepting more refugees on a daily basis than some European countries manage in an entire year? That is the claim from the Norwegian Refugee Council – and it is a claim we put to the test.Civil war and famine in South Sudan have forced millions to leave their homes, and this has had a colossal impact on neighbouring Uganda. We speak to Gopolang Makou, a researcher at Africa Check who has some startling figures to share.(Photo: Children wait as WFP, 'World Food Programme' prepare to

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24:01

Tax, speed dating and sea ice

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2017/05/19

Exploring the Labour manifesto's tax plans for high earners.

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23:50

Nurses' pay, Scottish seats, Penalty shootouts

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2017/05/13

What is happening to nurses pay?Amid reports of nurses using food banks, Jeremy Hunt said he doesn’t recognise claims their wages are worth less now than in 2010. He says nurses are actually paid £31,000 - more than the average person. If he’s right, why do so many nurses say they’re earning much less than that?The Great Scottish Election ConspiracyThe reporting of the Scottish council elections has caused a bit of a stir. Did the SNP lose seven seats or gain six. The media including the BBC

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9:26

WS More or Less: Is my Baby a Giant?

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2017/05/12

All over the world mothers are given numbers as their baby grows. The numbers are from ‘growth charts’ showing how a baby is developing in comparison to others. Seven month old Baby Arlo has particularly big numbers, so much so that his parents are worried he’s one of the biggest babies in America. But where do these numbers come from? Is it an average? Why do they measure a baby’s head? Reporter Jordan Dunbar sets out to find out how we get these baby numbers and just how big Baby Arlo

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9:33

WS More or Less: An urban maze

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2017/05/08

Why some parts of town are hard to navigate.

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24:03

Is Crime Rising?

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2017/05/05

It looks like homicides are on the rise - but better check the footnotes

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9:16

WS More or Less: The Maths of Dating

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2017/05/01

How to use mathematics to find your partner. And, how reliable are pregnancy due dates?

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28:01

Fact-checking Boris Johnson

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2017/04/28

Giant bombs, a war hero and the foreign secretary's stats.

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9:20

WS More or Less: The death rate of white Americans –...

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2017/04/21

Are middle-aged white Americans dying younger than other groups?

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23:33

Living standards and Kate Bush maths

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2017/04/21

Are people's incomes falling? Plus singing Pi like Kate Bush

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9:12

WS More or Less: The Ignorance Test

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2017/04/14

How much do you know about the world?

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24:01

Economics of Overbooking

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2017/04/14

Why airlines bet that not everybody will turn up for a flight.

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9:02

WS More or Less: Could North Korea Wipe out 90% of...

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2017/04/10

A single nuclear weapon could destroy America’s entire electrical grid, claims a former head of the CIA. The explosion would send out an electromagnetic pulse – resulting in famine, societal collapse and what one newspaper has called a “Dark Apocalypse”.But are hungry squirrels a greater threat to the electrical grid than North Korean weapons? We speak to senior security adviser Sharon Burke and Yoni Applebaum from The Atlantic.Presenter: Charlotte McDonald Producer: Hannah Sander

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9:01

WS More or Less: Will one in four people develop a...

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2017/03/31

The claim that “one in four” of us will suffer from a mental health problem is popular amongst campaigners, politicians and the media. But this leads you to a simple question – where is this figure from and what’s the evidence? This was exactly what neuroscientist Jamie Horder asked, and far from being simple, it led him on quite a journey. So do we really know how many people are likely to develop mental health problems – Elizabeth Cassin and Charlotte McDonald find out.Presenter: Charlotte

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9:02

WS More Or Less: Baby Boxes – are they really saving...

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2017/03/24

Ever since a BBC article highlighted the use of baby boxes in Finland they have become a bit of a phenomenon. They’re not new though Finland has been doing this for 75 years. The simple cardboard boxes are given to families for their new born babies to sleep in. Since their introduction cot death and has fallen and child health improved. Governments and individuals across the world have adopted them and companies have sprung up selling them. But think about for minute – can a cardboard box on its

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9:02

More or Less: The concrete facts about Trump’s wall...

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2017/03/17

Did China use more concrete in three years than the US in the 20th Century?

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