More Or Less

(Photo: Seven-year-old twin sisters Seye and Sayo on their way to a party. Credit: Pius Utomi Ekpei/Getty Images)



(Photo: Seven-year-old twin sisters Seye and Sayo on their way to a party. Credit: Pius Utomi Ekpei/Getty Images)

Two claims from Nigeria are scrutinised this week. First we look at news reports stating that: ?a Nigerian senator earns 1.7 million US dollars year, far higher than the salary of the US President.?? We also hear of a popular belief going back decades which has appeared again on social media - that yam consumption has led to Nigeria?s Yoruba people having the world?s highest twin birth rate. But is there any evidence for this? We talk to the fact-checkers at Africa Check.

Two claims from Nigeria are scrutinised this week. First we look at news reports stating that: ?a Nigerian senator earns 1.7 million US dollars year, far higher than the salary of the US President.?? We also hear of a popular belief going back decades which has appeared again on social media - that yam consumption has led to Nigeria's Yoruba people having the world's highest twin birth rate. But is there any evidence for this? We talk to the fact-checkers at Africa Check.

Two claims from Nigeria are scrutinised this week. First we look at news reports stating that: “a Nigerian senator earns 1.7 million US dollars year, far higher than the salary of the US President.?? We also hear of a popular belief going back decades which has appeared again on social media - that yam consumption has led to Nigeria’s Yoruba people having the world’s highest twin birth rate. But is there any evidence for this? We talk to the fact-checkers at Africa Check.

Repeated from Friday

5/8. With Tim Harford. Repeated from Friday

Debt: A European Odyssey

On More or Less we're always looking for the perfect analogy to help clarify complicated things. And the European debt crisis is pretty complicated. The good news is that we think we've come up with exactly the right way to describe the whole sorry business - as Homer's Odyssey.

Alternative medicine and the placebo effect

Earlier in the summer a study was published which seemed to suggest that acupuncture might help some patients with unexplained symptoms. Interesting. We asked Margaret McCartney, a Glasgow GP and a blogger on medical evidence, to investigate. But Dr McCartney thinks the study tells us about more than just acupuncture - it tells us something about the whole way in which treatments are administered on the NHS.

Asking the right questions

This summer, the Office for National Statistics celebrates seventy years of its social surveys. We've been looking back at their work, some of which is a little surprising. In November 1941 the Wartime Social Survey Unit undertook a major study of women's undergarments. The reason? Steel. Britain needed to know how much metal was being used to support the country's women, rather than the war effort.

Producer: Richard Knight.

Euro debt odyssey, the placebo effect and 70 years of social surveys.

Tim Harford presents the magazine which explains the numbers behind the news.

Investigating estimates of the number of people who illegally share files on the internet.

5/6. Tim Harford gets behind more numbers in the news. Repeated from Friday

(Photo: Seven-year-old twin sisters Seye and Sayo on their way to a party. Credit: Pius Utomi Ekpei/Getty Images)

'1/6. Author, economist and Financial Times journalist Tim Harford presents the programme that investigates the numbers that are everywhere. Repeated from Friday'

Tim Harford presents the magazine which looks at numbers in the news.

Tim Harford presents the magazine which looks at numbers everywhere.

Repeated from Friday

6/8. With Tim Harford. Repeated from Friday

The National Literacy Trust said this week that one in three children does not own a book. The national media lamented, but we take a closer inspection of the report and the data collected, and find some better news.

Supermarket price wars:

Tim Harford and Anthony Reuben work out how all supermarkets can claim to be cheaper than each other, without being slapped down for false advertising.

Eurostats II:

We continue to scrutinise the enormous numbers emerging from the Eurozone crisis. Do Italian tax payers really pay 2 billion euros a year for their politicians to be chauffered around? Wesley Stephenson checks out the figures.

Amazing?

What are the odds of breaking four double-yolk eggs into your baking bowl, one after another? That's what happened to our colleague Jennifer Clarke and her friend Lynsey as they prepared profiteroles at the weekend. Tim Harford works out the probabilities for the amazed bakers...before Jennifer then breaks the remaining two eggs in the box...will they too be double yolkers?

Producer: Ruth Alexander

Editor: Richard Vadon.

The maths of supermarket price wars and odds of cracking six double-yoke eggs in a row.

Tim Harford presents the magazine which explains the numbers behind the news.

Tim Harford examines reports that the world will cool over the next two decades.

6/6. Tim Harford gets behind more numbers in the news. Repeated from Friday

Tim Harford and the team ask if claims made about energy efficient lightbulbs are true.

Repeated from Friday

2/8. With Tim Harford. Repeated from Friday

Tim Harford presents the magazine which looks at numbers everywhere.

2/6. Tim Harford investigates numbers in the news. Repeated from Friday

Tim Harford challenges a much-quoted statistic on domestic violence.

Repeated from Friday

7/8. Tim Harford presents the programme about numbers. Repeated from Friday

Higgs Boson:

In the week that scientists at the Large Hadron Collider announced that the most coveted prize in particle physics - the Higgs boson - may have been found, Tim Harford hears how everyone is getting confused about how to report statistical significance. Robert Matthew of Aston University says the meaning of 2, 3 and 5-sigma evidence is being misinterpreted by science journalists and some of the physicists themselves.

Medieval mathematics:

Tim Harford talks to author Keith Devlin about how Fibonacci revolutionised trade by introducing medieval businessmen to simple arithmetic.

How (not) to corner a market:

Performance artist Jamie Moakes is trying to corner the market in a 1980s plastic doll from cartoon series He- Man. Tim Harford explores the difficulties of Jamie's quest to push up the price of something that for many years no one has much wanted. He hears from Professor Eric Smith of the University of Essex who says that there is no saying why certain items gain value, although in this instance Jamie may struggle to achieve his goal. He also hears lessons from history from John Gapper of the Financial Times.

Producer: Ruth Alexander

~More Or Less is made in association with the Open University.

Higgs boson statistics; how to corner a market; and Fibonacci's medieval mathematics.

Repeated from Friday

Tim Harford presents the magazine which explains the numbers behind the news.

Repeated from Friday

3/8. With Tim Harford. Repeated from Friday

Tim Harford presents the magazine which explains the numbers behind the news.

An Open University co-production for BBC Radio 4.

Tim Harford and the team test the reliability of swine flu data.

Repeated from Friday

Tim Harford presents the magazine which looks at numbers in the news.

Tim Harford presents the magazine which looks at numbers everywhere, in the news, in politics and in life.

Repeated from Friday

'8/8. Author, economist and Financial Times journalist Tim Harford presents the programme that investigates the numbers that are everywhere - in the news, in politics and in life generally. Repeated from Friday'

99 v 1%:

Tim Harford asks what we do and don't know about income inequality in the UK, the US, and other countries around the world. He speaks to Professor Sir Tony Atkinson of Oxford University; Stewart Lansley, author of 'The Cost of Inequality'; and Professor Donald Boudreaux of George Mason University in Virginia.

Laughing in the face of risk:

David Spiegelhalter, the Winton Professor of the Public Understanding of Risk at Cambridge University explains what led him to take on what could be his riskiest venture to date - appearing as a contestant on BBC One's Winter Wipeout. Really.

The magic of maths:

As a special Christmas treat, we're honoured to have a guest appearance from a top professor of maths and statistics - described by magician (and loyal listener) Paul Daniels as a 'legend'. Persi Diaconis, of Stanford University in California and co-author of 'Magical Mathematics', has an enthralling story to tell of how he discovered magic as a boy, and then, as a consequence, a love of maths. And to illustrate how closely maths and magic are linked, Crossing Continents editor and the BBC's in-house magician, Hugh Levinson, performs a mathemagical card trick - see the performance below.

Producer: Ruth Alexander.

Tim Harford discusses income inequality and meets the professor appearing on TV's Wipeout.

As a special Christmas treat, we're honoured to have a guest appearance from a top professor of maths and statistics - described by magician (and loyal listener) Paul Daniels as a 'legend'. Persi Diaconis, of Stanford University in California and co-author of Magical Mathematics, has an enthralling story to tell of how he discovered magic as a boy, and then, as a consequence, a love of maths. And to illustrate how closely maths and magic are linked, Crossing Continents editor and the BBC's in-house magician, Hugh Levinson, performs a mathemagical card trick - see the performance below.

As a special Christmas treat, we're honoured to have a guest appearance from a top professor of maths and statistics - described by magician (and loyal listener) Paul Daniels as a 'legend'. Persi Diaconis, of Stanford University in California and co-author of Magical Mathematics, has an enthralling story to tell of how he discovered magic as a boy, and then, as a consequence, a love of maths. And to illustrate how closely maths and magic are linked, Crossing Continents editor and the BBC's in-house magician, Hugh Levinson, performs a mathemagical card trick - see the performance below.

Repeated from Friday

The Chancellor recently said that while he would continue to protect deserving benefit claimants, people who claimed benefits 'as a lifestyle choice' would have to stop because the money would no longer be there. What does the evidence tell us about how many people fall into that category - and how incentives work in the welfare system?

After spotting a new unit of measurement - the Prime Minister's salary (£142,500) - we create our Prime Minister Index, allowing us to calculate any individual's place on the index (or, as we like to say, work out their PMI).

The median salary in Britain is £25,800, so that's a PMI of 0.2, for example. If you jump to a PMI of 10,000, you get to the hedge fund manager John Paulson on £1.4 billion.

Last week the British Trust for Ornithology published the results of its 40th annual garden bird-feeding survey - revealing huge falls in the numbers of some species. Blue tits down 42% over 40 years. House sparrows down 70%. Song thrushes down 75%. Are cats to blame?

Last week we were examined how to adjust for age and sex to create a level playing field for two runners - a 28-year-old woman, and a 52-year-old man. Our very own 28-year-old woman and 52-year-old man entered the Great North Run half marathon to test our calculations. This week, we bring you the results.

This week: welfare numbers, pay revisited and how many birds do cats kill?

Tim Harford and the More or Less team tackle the budget, drink-driving statistics, the maths of public toilet equality and they reveal the surprising results of their 'what are you doing right now' data-gathering exercise.

Tim Harford and the More or Less team explain the numbers behind the news.

In More or Less this week:

Scottish independence

Listeners have already been in touch with us asking for clarification on the various claims made about the economic viability of an independent Scotland with the prospect of a referendum in the next five years. Is Scotland subsidised by the rest of the UK or does it more than pay its way through North Sea oil revenues? And what would have happened if an independent Scotland had to bail out RBS and HBOS?

Mobile phones and cancer

There have been some scary headlines about mobile phones and links to brain cancer recently after the WHO classified radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as possibly carcinogenic to humans. But did all the press coverage get this right? Professor Kevin McConway from the Open University explains what this development really means.

Is Tendulkar the greatest sportsman alive?

It's a question that often prompts heated discussion but can maths help us arrive at a more definitive answer? Writer Rob Eastaway makes the case for Indian cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar.

Producer: Phil Kemp.

Scottish independence, mobile phones and cancer; and is Tendulkar the greatest sportsman?

4/8. Tim Harford is joined by Konnie Huq and Dave Gorman. Repeated from Boxing Day at 1.30pm

Tim Harford presents the magazine which explains the numbers behind the news.

Is Britain's record on prosecuting rape is as bad as headlines suggest?

4/6. Tim Harford gets behind more numbers in the news. Repeated from Friday

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 have to eat for 'up to an entire year'. Tim Harford speaks to Dr David Ebert, a shark expert who has studied the stomach contents of Sixgills over the years. And to Professor Alex Roger, a zoologist who advised the Blue Planet team, to try and find out how accurate the claim is and why the deep sea is still a mystery.

The wonder of Prime Numbers

Oxford mathematician Vicky Neale talks about her new book - Closing The Gap - and how mathematicians have striven to understand the patterns behind prime numbers.

Multiple grannies

A Swiss mummy has recently been identified as a distant ancestor of Boris Johnson. But some people have been getting tangled up over just how many great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandmothers the Foreign Secretary might have. We tackle an email from one listener - none other than the broadcaster Stephen Fry.

Challenging the claim that one in three girls' first sexual experience is rape.

Border brouhaha

Just how long have travellers been waiting to get through immigration at Heathrow Airport? We wade into a statistical slanging match between an airline operator and a Home Office minister.

Bank holidays

What are you planning to do with the bank holiday? Paint the bathroom? Listen to old podcasts of More or Less? Or DESTROY THE ECONOMY? Could it possibly be true that cancelling all eight regular bank holidays in England and Wales would boost GDP by 1.3%?

Choral coincidence

Lister Julia Atkins wrote: 'I belong to a wonderful choir, Rock Chorus, in Milton Keynes. I discovered one evening that 3 new ladies had come along from Olney, 10 miles away. They all sat next to each other. They had never met before. But most extraordinary was that they all lived in the same road!! That's quite a combination of coincidences, I think you'll agree.' Well, we'll see.

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Richard Knight.

Austerity, border queues and bank holidays. With Tim Harford.

Could computers do a better job than humans of exposing fake news and holding politicians to account? Tim Harford interviews Mevan Babakar of the fact-checking organisation Fullfact about the software tools she and her team are building to try to automatically verify statistical claims.

The Child Poverty Action Group claims low-earning parents working full-time are unable to earn enough to provide their family with a basic, no-frills lifestyle. Tim Harford examines the numbers with the author of the group's report, Professor Donald Hirsch of the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University.

Presenter: Tim Harford.

Tim Harford on no-frills living, automated fact-checking and Lord of the Rings maths.

Do 85 people really own half the world's wealth? An advert for a BBC2 programme claims so, but More or Less listeners aren't so sure.

The media has also been full of stories about a new study, which reportedly shows that most cancers are caused by 'bad luck'. But, actually, it doesn't. Tim Harford finds out what the research really tells us about the causes of cancer, speaking to PZ Myers, a biologist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris, in the United States and Professor George Davey-Smith, clinical epidemiologist at Bristol University.

The Financial Times' Chris Giles joins Tim Harford to discuss statistical claims which are both true and unfair.

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Ruth Alexander

Programme credit: the song Bad Dream, featured in the item about cancer, was composed by Nick Thorburn.

Including NHS target data, bad luck and cancer, and statistics that are true and unfair.

In two weeks' time the Republic of Ireland is holding a referendum into whether to make changes to its strict abortion laws. We have been inundated with emails and Tweets from listeners asking us to look at some of the statistics that keep coming up during the course of the campaigns for and against changing the law. The one that has caught the most attention is a statistic which has appeared on posters saying: 'In Britain, 'Limited' abortion kills 1 in 5 babies.' We take a look at the numbers.

Superforecasting

How good are political and economic forecasts? Philip Tetlock, a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania collects forecasts from a wide range of experts to see if they come true or not. One nickname he has for some the best forecasters is the 'foxes' - not to be confused with the woeful 'hedgehogs'.

Modern Slavery

Former Crimewatch presenter Nick Ross asked us to look into the numbers of 'modern slaves' reported in the UK. We explore the definition of modern slavery and how the authorities create estimates of the size of what is largely a hidden phenomenon.

Math versus Maths

North Americans like to use the word 'math' while the Brits like to say 'maths' - but who is correct? We hear the case for both words and try work out which one is right, with the help of the Queen of Countdown's Dictionary Corner, Susie Dent.

The British abortion statistics gaining attention in Ireland's referendum debate.

In two weeks' time the Republic of Ireland is holding a referendum into whether to make changes to its strict abortion laws. We have been inundated with emails and Tweets from listeners asking us to look at some of the statistics that keep coming up during the course of the campaigns for and against changing the law. The one that has caught the most attention is a statistic which has appeared on posters saying: In Britain, Limited abortion kills 1 in 5 babies. We take a look at the numbers.

How good are political and economic forecasts? Philip Tetlock, a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania collects forecasts from a wide range of experts to see if they come true or not. One nickname he has for some the best forecasters is the foxes - not to be confused with the woeful hedgehogs.

It was also claimed that six fast-growing African countries could provide significant trade openings for the UK as it seeks to expand its trade relationships outside the EU. But how big are these African economies?

No alcohol safe to drink, global study confirms' ran a recent BBC headline about a paper published in the Lancet journal. Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter tells Tim Harford why moderate drinkers should not be alarmed.

President Trump tweeted this eye-catching claim recently: 'Over 90% approval rating for your all-time favorite (I hope) President within the Republican Party and 52% overall.' That does sound impressively high. Tim Harford asks the BBC's senior North America reporter, Anthony Zurcher whether the figures are true.

What proportion of the UK's population are immigrants? What proportion of teenage girls give birth each year? Research suggests most people get the answer to these questions, and many others about everyday facts, very wrong. Tim Harford interviews Bobby Duffy, Global Director of Ipsos Social Research Institute and author of the book, 'Perils of Perception: Why We're Wong About Nearly Everything', about our most common mistakenly-held beliefs and what they reveal about us.

Producer: Ruth Alexander.

Tim Harford fact-checks EU trade deals with Africa, and whether one drink is one too many.

Last week it was reported that more boys were getting top grades than girls in A Levels. This bucked a trend which previously showed that girls got better grades. But is it as simple as boys getting better? We find out that it really depends on what subjects you take.

Is a lack of school swimming lessons leading to more deaths by drowning?

Are more young people really drowning due to children in primary schools receiving fewer swimming lessons? That was the question posed to us by one loyal listener after she read newspaper headlines suggesting that was the case. So what do the numbers say? Tim Harford talks to Mike Dunn from The Royal Life Saving Society.

Why are dress sizes so weird?

What clothes size are you?' - the question every woman hates to be asked. Not only because it's a bit rude, but because quite frankly it's hard to know the answer. Today most shops hire a 'fit' model - a real life woman who they consider to have the dimensions of their perfect customer. They then create clothes to fit her dimensions - waste, hips and bust. More Or Less takes one size 8 fit model shopping to show how sizes differ between shops.

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Charlotte McDonald

Editor: Jasper Corbett.

Are boys getting more top A-Level grades than girls?

The government says it has identified 120,000 troubled families who are responsible for a disproportionate share of society's ills. It's set up a 'Troubled Families Team' to deal with them. But in fact the government has counted extremely deprived families and then announced that it has counted extremely disruptive families instead.

Nursing numbers

This week government ministers have been arguing with the Royal College of Nursing about job losses in the NHS in England. It seems they've also been arguing between themselves. We unravel the numbers.

The mathematical consequences of unneutered cats

If one unneutered female cat was allowed to go about her business, how many cats would she and her descendants have created in two years? Would you believe that it was as many as 370,000, as a new advertising campaign claims? Neither would we.

Greek taxis. Again.

The former Greek finance minister has said he thinks the Greek rail system is so inefficient it would be cheaper to send each passenger by taxi. We examined his idea and found it was almost - but not quite - true. But many listeners sent us their thoughts about other ways of looking at the problem. So, this week, we revisit our calculations.

Preenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Richard Knight.

Troubled families, nursing numbers and the mathematical consequences of unneutered cats.

Investigating the numbers in the news.

Greek rail

In recent editions of More or Less we've tackled a lot of 'Eurostats' - some of the wad of statistics which have emerged, with increasing frequency, as the Euro crisis has deepened. How about this one: it's said the Greek railways are so expensive to run, it would be cheaper to send all its the passengers by taxi instead. Can it possibly be true?

Chess puzzle

Forget the Olympics, the World Chess Championship match has just started. The champion is a man. His challenger is a man. In fact there is only one woman in the world's top 100 chess players. Why?

Dilnot returns

The first in a regular series of interview with former presenters of the show. Actually, it may be a short series, because there is only one: Andrew Dilnot. He's gone on to better things as the new chairman of the UK Statistics Authority. (Broadcast in the May 13 and podcast versions only.)

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Richard Knight.

Executive pay, chess and trouble on the Greek railway.

Investigating the numbers in the news.

Are natural disasters on the rise? Following the devastating hurricanes to have battered the Caribbean and the United States, the floods in Asia and the mudslides in Sierra Leone, the UN Secretary General told a press conference that the number of disasters in the world has quadrupled since the 1980s - is he right?

Police Pay

Theresa May said at Prime Ministers Question's that pay for certain police officers who started in 2010 had risen by 32%. This statement outraged the Police Federation - Tim Harford puts this claim into context and discovers that that the Prime Minister picked this particular group of officers for a reason.

Zillions

We like a specific number on More or Less but the English language isn't always so exact. It turns out that people love words that give a sense of size, but are vague about an actual number, terms like zillion and umpteenth. Helen Zaltzman is the presenter of the podcast 'The Allusionist' that looks at the way we use language. Tim has been talking to her about what are called indefinite hyperbolic numbers.

A present for a Statistically significant other.

Last series, Dave called us for help. 'What should he buy his statistics-mad partner who also loved cross-stich?' Zillions of More or Less listeners got in touch to suggest ideas - so did he take their advice?

Has the number of natural disasters really quadrupled in the last forty years?

How many cows for a fiver?

The news that products from cows have been used to make the new five pound notes has caused consternation. Vice News have tried to work out statistically how many animals must have died in order to make these new notes in circulation. It is a very low number.

Five year olds not so bad after all

‘Shocking’ stats were revealed this week by the Department of Education. School assessments showed that just under a third of five year olds were below the expected standards for children of their age. But not only are these results not that shocking there is another reason why the statistics are not all they seem.

How to wrap a football

Christmas is approaching and Tim Harford has a puzzling present-related question – what’s the best way to wrap a spherical object? Fortunately mathematician Hannah Fry has been thinking about this and gives her best thoughts on how to tackle this festive problem.

Cleaning up water

In the Desk of Good News, we look at how improving sanitation has transformed lives. We speak to Johan Norberg, author of ‘Progress: Ten Reasons to Look Forward to the Future’ about the Great Stink of 1858.

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Charlotte McDonald

Image: Danny Dyer on 'Who do you think you are?'. BBC Copyright

Tim Harford investigates the numbers in the news.

The BBC series ?Who do you think you are?? has traced the ancestors of the actor Danny Dyer, famous for parts in Eastenders and many films. The programme revealed that he is in fact related to Edward III. But how unusual is that? We look at the odds of someone with English heritage being descended from this medieval king who died in 1377.

?Shocking? stats were revealed this week by the Department of Education. School assessments showed that just under a third of five year olds were below the expected standards for children of their age. But not only are these results not that shocking there is another reason why the statistics are not all they seem.

Christmas is approaching and Tim Harford has a puzzling present-related question ? what?s the best way to wrap a spherical object? Fortunately mathematician Hannah Fry has been thinking about this and gives her best thoughts on how to tackle this festive problem.

In the Desk of Good News, we look at how improving sanitation has transformed lives. We speak to Johan Norberg, author of ?Progress: Ten Reasons to Look Forward to the Future? about the Great Stink of 1858.

The BBC series ‘Who do you think you are?' has traced the ancestors of the actor Danny Dyer, famous for parts in Eastenders and many films. The programme revealed that he is in fact related to Edward III. But how unusual is that? We look at the odds of someone with English heritage being descended from this medieval king who died in 1377.

‘Shocking' stats were revealed this week by the Department of Education. School assessments showed that just under a third of five year olds were below the expected standards for children of their age. But not only are these results not that shocking there is another reason why the statistics are not all they seem.

Christmas is approaching and Tim Harford has a puzzling present-related question - what's the best way to wrap a spherical object? Fortunately mathematician Hannah Fry has been thinking about this and gives her best thoughts on how to tackle this festive problem.

In the Desk of Good News, we look at how improving sanitation has transformed lives. We speak to Johan Norberg, author of ‘Progress: Ten Reasons to Look Forward to the Future' about the Great Stink of 1858.

What do you do with bored children on a bus? Rob Eastaway, author of 'Maths on the go,' gets three pupils to play a game on the Number 12 in south London.

Prime Minister David Cameron said this week that 22% of British Muslim women speak little or no English. He says that equates to 190,000. We look at the figures.

Plus, was the Hatton Garden Heist the biggest robbery ever? Is water more expensive than oil? And a new prime number is discovered.

Does it matter that 62 people now own as much wealth as half of the world's population?

This week there was much debate over the Treasury report which modelled how leaving the EU would affect the economy. Tim Harford speaks to the Spectator's Fraser Nelson about how the document was presented to the public, and how it was reported. Chris Giles of the Financial Times explains that there are useful points to take from the Treasury's analysis.

Hinckley Point nuclear power station

What is the most expensive 'object' ever built? The environmental charity Greenpeace has claimed it is set to be the most expensive object on Earth. But could it really cost more to build than the Great Pyramids? We take a look at some of the most costly building projects on the planet.

Chances of serving on a jury

A listener in Scotland is curious to know what the chances are of being selected for jury service. Several of his family members have received summons, but he has not. We look at who is eligible to serve, and what your odds are of receiving a summons.

European Girls Maths Olympiad

Last week we told the story of how the European Girls Maths Olympiad (EGMO) came into being. We followed the UK team on their recent journey to Romania to compete against 38 other teams from Europe and around the world.

Life expectancy of a Pope

In 2014 Pope Francis alluded to the fact he didn't expect to live more than another two or three years. A group of statisticians have taken a look at the life expectancy of popes over the centuries and decided that he may have been rather pessimistic.

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Charlotte McDonald.

Do the Treasury's Brexit numbers add up?

Do dairy farmers make a loss on each litre of milk that they produce, as is often claimed? Charlotte Smith from Farming Today talks us through the numbers.

England cricketer Stuart Broad has prompted anger after tweeting: 'I've heard if you earn minimum wage in England you're in the top 10% earners in the world. #stay #humble.' More or Less considers whether this is true or not.

The UK's unhappiest workers are retail staff and teachers, reported the Guardian this week. Really?

How to use maths to find your life partner, with Matt Parker, author of 'Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension'.

And, what are the chances that two friends, given the same due date for their babies' birth, actually do give birth on the same day? Tim discusses the reliability - or otherwise- of pregnancy due dates with Professor Jason Gardosi of the Perinatal Institute.

About one-third of American girls become pregnant as teenagers' a New York Times article claimed. More or Less asks if this is true and looks at the long-term pregnancy trends in developed countries.

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Ruth Alexander.

The Conservatives' employment claims, milk, teachers, dating and pregnancy due dates.

The Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, said this week that over the past decade, 450,000 women have accidentally not been invited for breast cancer screening because of a computer error - and that up to 270 women may have had their lives shortened as a result. But where does that number come from? We'll be checking the Health Secretary's maths.

Counting the Windrush Generation

Do we know how many who came to the UK from Commonwealth countries before 1971 are now at risk of being deported? We speak to the Migration Obvservatory at Oxford University to find out where the Windrush Generation are actually from, plus how many are missing vital documentation.

Has Nigel Farage been on Question Time too often?

The former UKIP leader has appeared on Question Time 32 times. Is that too many? Labour's Lord Adonis thinks so. We go back through the archives to look at the different times he was invited on and compare it to some other frequent panelists.

Painting a picture with an audiogram

Data journalist Mona Chalabi talks to Tim Harford about her unusual approach to analysing numbers. She has spent years making interesting visual depictions of data. Now she has turned her attention to some audio projects. We discover the correlation between men's voices and their testicles.

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Charlotte McDonald

Editor: Richard Vadon.

Calculating the benefits and risks of breast screening. Plus, patchy citizenship data.

What British Muslims really think' poll

This week many news outlets covered polling research carried out for a documentary on Channel 4. Some of the points that came out included that half of all British Muslims think homosexuality should be illegal and that 23% want Sharia Law. But how representative are these views? We speak to Anthony Wells from the blog UK Polling Report who explains the difficulties of carrying out polling.

The number of Brits abroad

Figures released this week suggested that there was an increase in the number of people coming to the UK from other parts of Europe. But many listeners have been asking - how many Brits are living in other parts of Europe? We try to find the best figures available.

European Girls Maths Olympiad

In 2012 a new international maths competition was started at the University of Cambridge. It was a chance for female students to get a chance of meeting girls from other countries and try to solve hard maths problems, as they are under represented at most other international competitions. We hear about how the competition got started in celebration of this year's competition in Romania.

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Charlotte McDonald

Short clip of Alan Rickman from Sense and Sensibility, Columbia Pictures.

Have more famous people died this year than usual?

Last week, the TUC made headlines with a new report it had published, claiming more 1 million more children from working families are living in poverty than they were in 2010. But is this because a lot more people are working today than ten years ago? Tim Harford speaks to Jonathan Cribb from the Institute for Fiscal Studies about how we define poverty, and whether things are getting worse or better

Progress 8

School league tables in England used to rank schools by the proportion of pupils who managed to achieve five A* to C grades in their GCSE's. There was an obvious problem with that: schools with lots of middle class kids might do well on the league tables, even if the actual teaching wasn't so great. And brilliant schools in deprived areas might be undervalued. So in 2016 the system was changed - instead league tables are now arranged by a measure called Progress 8. It's meant to be a fairer way to assess things. But one listener got in touch to ask - how does it work? Is it better?

How green is grass?

A listener wants to know whether a garden product can really make you grass 6 times greener so we'll be exploring the greenness of grass. Can you put a numeric value on how green a colour is? Is it possible to tell when something is six times greener than baseline with the human eye, and is there a maximum green to which all lawns should aspire?

Royal Wedding economics

In the run up to the marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, media outlets and newspapers have been musing over how much money the wedding will bring to the UK economy. We speak to Federica Cocco of the Financial Times who doesn't think there will be much impact at all.

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Charlotte McDonald

Editor: Richard Vadon

(Photo credit: Getty Images).

Are more working families in poverty? Plus exploring the new school league tables.

How big is the market, how many investors does it have and does it tell us anything about the wider Chinese economy?

Eight Million Foreigners

Are there really eight million foreigners in the UK?

What does 95% less harmful actually mean?

E-cigarettes are 95% less harmful than ordinary cigarettes according to last week's report by Public Health England. But what does this mean? The number was arrived at using something called 'multi criteria decision analysis' so how does it work - we ask the man who brought it to the UK, Professor Larry Phillips.

Thinking Like an Engineer

Guru Madhavan from America's National Academy of Scientists lifts the lid on how engineers think and argues that those making policy should ask engineers as well as economists about solving social problems.

Sprinters legs

It's may seem strange, but world class runners don't move their legs faster than average park runner. That's the claim anyway - is it true and if so what is it that means athletes like Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin run so fast?

(This programme will be blocked to users outside of the UK for rights reasons - if you want to listen to this week's programme and you are outside of the UK please download the podcast).

The Chinese markets may have crashed but was it really Black Monday? With Tim Harford.

How will they fare with questions based on a range of topical subjects including the Olympics, the EU Referendum and reindeer? Plus, friend of the programme, Rob Eastaway poses a mathematical puzzle.

Presenter: Tim Harford

Scorekeeper: Simon Maybin

Producer: Charlotte McDonald.

Tim Harford poses a tough statistical challenge.

The risks of Covid-19 for different age groups and what restrictions mean for the economy

We?ve dedicated this special episode to the numbers surrounding the Coronavirus pandemic. Statistical national treasure Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter put the risks of Covid-19 into perspective. We ask whether young people are safe from serious illness, or if statistics from hospitalisations in the US show a high proportion of patients are under 50. We try to understand what the ever-tightening restrictions on businesses and movement mean for the UK?s economy, and we take a look at the mystery of coronavirus numbers in Iran.

We've dedicated this special episode to the numbers surrounding the Coronavirus pandemic. Statistical national treasure Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter put the risks of Covid-19 into perspective. We ask whether young people are safe from serious illness, or if statistics from hospitalisations in the US show a high proportion of patients are under 50. We try to understand what the ever-tightening restrictions on businesses and movement mean for the UK's economy, and we take a look at the mystery of coronavirus numbers in Iran.

We?ve dedicated this special episode to the numbers surrounding the Coronavirus pandemic. Statistical national treasure Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter put the risks of Covid-19 into perspective. We ask whether young people are safe from serious illness, or if statistics from hospitalisations in the US show a high proportion of patients are under 50. We try to understand what the ever-tightening restrictions on businesses and movement mean for the UK's economy, and we take a look at the mystery of coronavirus numbers in Iran.

The government is encouraging pensioners to claim pension credit in order to remain eligible for winter fuel payments. Will people sign up - and might that end up costing the exchequer more than it saves?

The Office for National Statistics has downgraded the status of a new statistic aiming to measure how many people are transgender. What went wrong?

Cancer appears to be on the rise in people under 50. But are more people dying?

And try your hand at a puzzle you're likely to get wrong.

Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news.

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producers: Natasha Fernandes and Bethan Ashmead-Latham

Series producer: Tom Colls

Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison

Sound mix: Sarah Hockley

Editor: Richard Vadon

Plus, ONS transgender stats, early-onset cancer, and puzzles you're meant to get wrong.

Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics used in everyday life

[LISTEN NOW]

In a joint investigation with BBC Newsbeat and BBC Monitoring, we've analysed nearly 25,000 news articles to assess whether 2016 so far has been a unusually deadly year for terrorism. It certainly feels like it. But what do the numbers say? We estimate that, between January and July this year, 892 people died in terrorist attacks in Europe - making it the most deadly first seven months of a year since 1994. But the vast majority of those deaths have been in Turkey. The number for Western Europe is 143, which is lower than many years in the 1970s.

Dying 'at the hands of the police

This week retired footballer Dalian Atkinson died after being 'tasered' by police. His death has renewed concerns about the number of people who die after coming into contact with the police. Recently it was claimed that one person a week dies 'at the hands of the police' and that 'black people are disproportionately affected.' We take a look at the numbers.

Olympic predictions

As the Games in Rio draw to an end, we look back at the medal predictions we made before they started. Which countries have performed as expected? And which failed to meet our expectations?

The cost of a wedding gift

Can economics tell us how much to spend on a wedding gift? Our reporter Jordan is in a tight spot. He's heading to an old friend's wedding and needs to figure out how little he can get away with spending on a gift. Luckily, economist Maria Kozlovskaya is on hand to explain her findings on our 'internal exchange rate' for gift giving. Can she preserve Jordan's friendship while protecting his wallet?

What's behind the claim that 1 in 3 people born in the UK this year could get dementia?

How reliable is the science in psychology?

The Reproducibility of Psychological Science project reported recently and it made grim reading. Having replicated 100 psychological studies published in three psychology journals only thirty six had significant results compared to 97% first time around. So is there a problem with psychological science and what should be done to fix it?

One of mathematics' enigmas

He is described as one of the most charismatic mathematicians but he is also shy and enigmatic. Professor John Conway has been described as a genius whose most famous innovation is the cell automaton The Game of Life - Tim talks to Siobhan Roberts about the man and his life. Thanks to Numberphile for allowing us to use a clip of their John Conway interview in this piece. Listen to their full interview with John Conway here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8kUJL04ELA and you can see other number goodness at numberphile.com

Is it more difficult to play against ten men?

Arsene Wenger has said it, Sam Allerdyce and Steve Bruce have said it too - it's more difficult to play against ten men. It's an oft quoted footballing clich退 but is there any truth in it?

Decimate

Tim used the word in an interview last week to mean devastate rather than cut by ten percent - many listeners said this was unforgivable - was it? - We ask Oliver Kamm - Author of 'Accidence Will Happen: The Non-Pedantic Guide to English Usage'.

Tim Harford asks whether one in three people born in the UK this year will get dementia.

Arsene Wenger has said it, Sam Allerdyce and Steve Bruce have said it too - it's more difficult to play against ten men. It's an oft quoted footballing clich? but is there any truth in it?

Was an MP wrong about the number of people who pay capital gains tax?

Why is 2% the magic number for the rate of inflation?

Donald Trump says US crime figures are fake. Are they?

How do you work out how many buffaloberries a bear eats in a day?

And we fact-check a claim about the prevalence of suicide among GPs. For information and support follow this link: https://www.BBC.co.uk/actionline

Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news.

Presenter: Tim Harford

Reporters: Nathan Gower and Bethan Ashmead Latham

Series Producer: Tom Colls

Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison

Sound mix: Rod Farquhar

Editor: Richard Vadon

Plus: MP capital gains claims and grizzly bear berry habits.

Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics used in everyday life

[LISTEN NOW]

Research last month claimed to show that e-cigarettes harm your chances of quitting smoking. The paper got coverage world-wide but it also came in for unusually fierce criticism from academics who spend their lives trying to help people quit. It's been described as 'grossly misleading' and 'not scientific'. We look at what is wrong with the paper and ask if it should have been published in the first place.

A campaign of dodgy statistics

Are American presidential hopefuls getting away with statistical murder? We speak to Angie Drobnic, Editor of the US fact-checking website Politifact, about the numbers politicians are using - which are not just misleading, but wrong.

Will missing a week of school affect your GCSE results?

Recently education minister Nick Gibb said that missing a week of school could affect a pupil's GCSE grades by a quarter. We examine the evidence and explore one of the first rules of More or Less - 'correlation is not causation'. We interview Stephen Gorard, Professor of Education at Durham University.

What are the chances that a father and two of his children share the same birthday?

A loyal listener got in touch to find out how rare an occurrence this is. Professor David Spiegelhalter from the University of Cambridge explains the probabilities involved.

Tim Harford investigates whether e-cigarettes harm people's chances of quitting.

The pitfalls of fact-checking

It seems to be a burgeoning age for fact-checkers. There are websites and journalists keen to examine the truth behind what politicians and governments say. More or Less has been part of that tradition for many years. But do people always find these fact-checks persuasive? And when does fact-checking and myth-busting backfire? We take a look at some of the problems.

Humans or goldfish

Everyone knows our attention spans are getting shorter. It's just obvious. In the always-connected world of social media, smartphones and hyperlinks in the middle of everything you read, it's become that much harder to stay focused. And there are statistics too. They say that the average attention span is down from 12 seconds in the year 2000 to eight seconds now. That's less than the nine-second attention span of your average goldfish.

But the statistics are not all that they seem - and neither is the received wisdom about goldfish.

Plus, we also ask why, when children's teeth are getting healthier, so many newspapers have been reporting that tooth extractions are on the rise. And are house prices increased by a good school - we're not so sure.

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Charlotte McDonald.

Why airlines take a bet that you won't show for your flight.

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Neal Razzell

50,000 nurses? 40 hospitals? Corporate tax rises? Tim Harford looks at Election pledges.

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Neal Razzell

50,000 nurses? 40 hospitals? Corporate tax rises? Tim Harford looks at Election pledges.

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

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 net migration to tens of thousands. How has this aim fared in the last six years? And what could the Conservatives do in future years to achieve their goal? We also take a look at what impact that might have on the economy.

Taking the nations' temperature

Summer has arrived - but we cast our minds to the chilly months ahead and think about the Winter Fuel Payment. The Conservatives are proposing to change this to a means-tested system - everywhere except Scotland. Is this because Scotland is colder than the rest of the UK? BBC Weather Man Phil Avery has the answer.

Free School Meals

It's been a popular topic in party manifestos - free school meals. Jamie Oliver thinks school dinners are essential for fighting obesity - but is there really a case to be made for the health benefits of a school lunch? Emily Tanner from the National Centre for Social Research puts the case for and against Universal Free School Meals - while munching a pie and a packed lunch.

Who pays income tax, cutting migration and where in the UK is cold?

And, is Beeston in Nottinghamshire really the most adulterous town in the country?

Tim Harford and a panel of experts discuss how pre-election polls tallied with the results

Thousands of children in Greater Manchester are starting school unable to speak in full sentences or use the toilet' ran a headline in the Manchester Evening News earlier this week. The new mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham also made the claim. Can that really be true asked a loyal listener? More or Less investigates.

Will we need 10 new power plants by 2040 for the electric car revolution?

Sales of new petrol and diesel cars will be banned from 2040 in the UK. So it's expected there will be a huge increase in the number of electric vehicles on our roads. But what will happen when we all try and charge them? Newspaper headlines have quoted us as needing ten new nuclear power plants to cover it and some have even suggested we won't have enough power to charge these vehicles. So we set out to look at the numbers driving the electric car revolution.

Maths underpinning science

Professor Alison Etheridge from the University of Oxford tells the programme why maths can sometimes be overlooked. She talks about her interest in genetics and why mathematicians need to be more vocal about their work.

And we deal with a number of complaints about last week's programme.

How many people have come from the EU to live in the UK? Can we trust the numbers? And if the UK leaves the EU, what would it mean for immigration controls and the future of the economy? We tackle these questions with the help of Jonathan Porte, director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, and Matthew Pollard, Executive Director, Migration Watch.

Fire death shock

Recently the Guardian somewhat alarmingly reported that the number of fire deaths jumped 21% in one year - the biggest rise in a decade. This comes against a background of shrinking Fire Brigade budgets, and Labour says the figures show the cuts have already gone too far. But something about the story didn't smell right to us...

Simpson's Paradox

A Dutch statistician recently became suspicious by headlines in the Dutch news that women were being discriminated against when it came to getting science research funding. Professor Casper Albers of the Heymans Institute for Psychological Research, Groningen, helps explain what is known as Simpson's Paradox with the aid of a choir metaphor, performed by the BBC Singers.

Fermat's last theorem

What could connect British mathematician Sir Andrew Wiles and the makers of the Simpsons TV show? Science author Simon Singh explains that both have a love of Fermat's Last theorem. A sketch of the famous equation appears on the American cartoon, while next month Professor Wiles will go to Oslo to collect the Abel prize, widely regarded as the Nobel for mathematics, for his work in proving Fermat's Last theorem. We explore why it draws so much interest.

What will happen to migration if the UK leaves the EU?

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Charlotte McDonald.

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

This week it was claimed that only 1 percent of men are taking up the option of shared parental leave - a new provision that came into force a year ago. A number of media outlets covered the story, interviewing experts about why there was such a low take-up. But in reality the figures used are deeply flawed and cannot be used to prove such a statement.

Exponential Love

I love you twice as much today as yesterday, but half as much as tomorrow.' - This is the inscription on a card that teacher Kyle Evans once saw in a card from his father to his mother. But if that was true, what would it have meant over the course of their relationship? Kyle takes us through a musical exploration of what exponential love would look like. The item is based on a performance he gave for a regional heat of Cheltenham Festivals Famelab - a competition trying to explain science in an engaging way.

The cost of the EU

One of our listeners spotted a comparison made this week between the UK's contribution to the EU and a sandwich. One blogger says it's like buying a £3 sandwich with a £5 note, and getting over a £1,000 in change. We look at the figures on how much the UK pays to the EU, and what it gets back.

The story of 'average

In the 1600s astronomers were coming up with measurements to help sailors read their maps with a compass. But with all the observations of the skies they were making, how did they choose the best number? We tell the story of how astronomers started to find the average from a group of numbers. By the 1800s, one Belgian astronomer began to apply it to all sorts of social and national statistics - and the 'Average Man' was born.

And we set a little maths problem to solve...

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Charlotte McDonald.

Have only 1 per cent of men taken the option of shared parental leave?

Thousands of people are dying after being declared 'fit for work' by the government according to the Guardian. The figures are from a long awaited freedom of information release from the Department for Work and Pensions. But do the figures actually tell us anything? More or Less investigates.

Sugar

Sugar has had a pretty bad press over the last few months and seems to have replaced fat as the current 'evil' in our diets. We look at some of the claims that have been made about rotting teeth and the justifications for a sugar tax.

Zero-hours contracts

The latest figures show a 20% rise - but does this really mean that more people are on zero hours contracts thab=n last year?

Queuing Backwards

Britons love to queue, but have we been getting it wrong? Lars Peter Osterdal from the University of Southern Denmark discusses his theory of how to make queuing more efficient.

Are people dying after being declared 'fit for work' by the government? With Tim Harford.

What is the total number of possible tweets that could be created from 140 characters? In a recent programme Professor John Allen-Paulos told us that when you take into account all of the symbols available, the total number of possible tweets is Googol2.8 (which is a 1 followed by 280 zeros.) But has he missed some options?

One of our listener's questions whether Christmas Eve is really the busiest day on the roads. We take a look at the figures.

Plus - which is the bigger number? The total number of Storm Trooper toys ever made, or the number of real life soldiers serving in armies around the world?

Is there a north-south divide in the amount of money spent on flood defences in England?

With weather being the national obsession, More or Less has received a number of weather-related emails - specifically about the BBC's weather app. This was updated earlier this year, and it now includes an hour by hour breakdown telling users what chance there is of it raining wherever they are - but what does this percentage actually mean? Tim Harford speaks to meteorologist Nikki Berry from Metrogroup, which provides the BBC's weather forecast analysis.

University of Oxford admissions statistics

How diverse are the most recent undergraduates to start at one of the country's top universities? We take a look.

Waiting for the facts on Voter ID trials

In the recent local elections in England there were five authorities taking part in a trial, requiring voters to show ID for the first time when they turned up at the polling station. In the initial days after the vote it was reported that up to 4,000 people were turned away and couldn't vote because they didn't have identification. But now, Newsnight's David Grossman has collected the data from the trial areas to discover the original estimate was out by a factor of 10.

Counting teabags

How much tea do we drink? A figure that is often quoted suggests that Brits drink 165 million cups of tea a day which works out as around 60 billion a year. We take a look at what evidence is available and whether it is possible to calculate such a statistic.

Are pensioners richer than workers?

A More or Less listener heard a claim that the average income for pensioners is higher than the average income for people of working age - is that true? Jonathan Cribb from the Institute for Fiscal Studies has an answer.

How to read the weather forecast, plus measuring the amount of tea we drink.

This topic has been in the news this week after the Institute for Fiscal Studies published research showing women end up 33% worse off than their male counterparts after they have children. But earlier in the summer, Fraser Nelson wrote in the Telegraph that the pay gap is 'no longer an issue' for women born after 1975. Can both assessments be true? And could the label 'gender pay gap' be hindering our understanding of what really lies behind the numbers?

The cost of a hospital

If a politician or commentator wants to underline just how wasteful a piece of expenditure is, a common strategy is to compare it to the number of hospitals you could build instead. Of course, hospitals are positive things - we all want more, right? But just how much is a hospital? Is it really a useful unit of measurement? We speak to health economist John Appleby.

Corbyn Facts

As Labour members begin voting on the party leadership, we investigate some of the claims made on the 'Corbyn Facts' website set up by Jeremy Corbyn's campaign. Did he really give 122 speeches on the EU referendum during the campaign? Were this year's local election results as good as Labour's best performance under Ed Miliband? We look at what the numbers tell us.

Death Penalty abolition

Statistics suggest that officially about half of the countries in the world have abolished Capital Punishment, and a further 52 have stopped its use in practice. But we tell the story behind the numbers and show why the picture is more complicated. We speak to Parvais Jabbar, co-director of the Death Penalty Project.

The Holiday Desk of Good News

This week we outline a handful of statistics to make everyone feel better about the UK and their holidays.

Making sense of the difference between men's and women's pay.

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 consumed a week should be lowered. But what does the evidence show?

Bus announcements - when is too many?

Transport for London has introduced a new announcement on its buses to warn travellers that the bus is about to move. We discuss the benefit of such messages.

How many words do you need to speak a language?

Ein bier bitte? Loyal listener David made a new year's resolution to learn German. Three years later, that's about as far as he's got. Keen to have something to aim for, he asked More or Less how many words you really need to know in order to speak a language. We find out with help from Professor Stuart Webb, and put Tim through his paces to find out how big his own English vocabulary is.

Producer: Charlotte McDonald.

(Photo: Man and woman working on a car production plant. Credit: SEBASTIEN BOZON/AFP/Getty Images)

How much more are men paid than women? And how many words do you need to speak a language?

Swimming World Records

New world records are being set in swimming at a much faster rate than other sports - but why? Tim Harford speaks to swim coach and blogger, Rick Madge about the reason swimmers keep getting better results in the pool. Why do other sports, like athletics, not seem to have the same continual improvements in results?

Teenage girls aren't so bad after all

This week's Desk of Good News challenges the concept that teenage girls and young women are badly behaved. It features statistics on falling teenage pregnancy rates, drinking figures and improving educational success.

The rise of TV

Was the Queen's Coronation the event that sparked the biggest rise in TV sales ever? We take a look at the rise of television in the UK.

Lottery wins

Adam Kucharski, author of The Perfect Bet, looks at the maths behind playing the lottery or gambling.

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Charlotte McDonald.

Do selective schools improve grades and improve social mobility?

Some people were also sceptical at the numbers of fatalities being reported by the police - and then the media. Were the police being too conservative in their estimates?

A local resident emailed the programme asking us to look into the numbers. Tim Harford talks to Commander Stuart Cundy, who oversaw the Met police operation following the fire; to ask him why it is has been so hard to establish the death toll.

Houston - we have a problem

Hurricane Harvey has caused devastation in Texas and neighbouring states. Commentators have speculated that this will be one of the costliest storms in history. We explore why this might be - could the US Government's flood insurance programme be inadvertently contributing to the problem by supporting the buildings in flood plains?

How many sexual partners do we have?

Recently on the Today programme John Humphreys said: 'Thirty years ago a man would have had eight sexual partners and women three, now those averages are 12 for men and eight for women' This sparked a discussion on Twitter among our listeners. How can the number of average partners of men and women be so different? We speak to Sir David Spiegelhalter, Winton Professor of Risk at the University of Cambridge.

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Charlotte McDonald.

The difficulties of finding the true number of people who died in the fire.

Homophobic hate crime

The Home Office recently published reported crime figures showing that in England and Wales there was a big post-referendum rise in the number of racially or religiously aggravated offences. And – according to The Observer and others – there was an even higher rise in homophobic hate crime over the summer in the UK. But we’ve been talking to the LGBT anti-violence charity behind the story and they say the stats may not actually show what the headlines suggest.

The value of a royal yacht

The royal yacht was decommissioned in 1997 but, with Brexit on the horizon, there have been calls for Britannia to rule the waves again. The argument goes that the yacht would be the perfect venue to make trade deals – as happened in the Britannia’s time. But there’s been a flotilla of – sometimes contradictory - figures about how much the deals signed on the Britannia actually benefited the UK economy. With the help of a commodore, we investigate the claims.

The Queen’s Christmas Message

Mathematician Hannah Fry has analysed every Christmas broadcast that the Queen has given since her reign began. Taking each year’s message, Hannah and a colleague have compared the number of words she has used to the number of unique words used by rappers and singers in their music. Hannah also explains that she has found a way of generating her own Queen’s Christmas Speech, using a simple algorithm to suggest passages that the Queen might say judged on her previous messages.

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Charlotte McDonald

Notable deaths, Rule Britannia and creating your own Christmas speech

The Home Office recently published reported crime figures showing that in England and Wales there was a big post-referendum rise in the number of racially or religiously aggravated offences. And ? according to The Observer and others ? there was an even higher rise in homophobic hate crime over the summer in the UK. But we?ve been talking to the LGBT anti-violence charity behind the story and they say the stats may not actually show what the headlines suggest.

The royal yacht was decommissioned in 1997 but, with Brexit on the horizon, there have been calls for Britannia to rule the waves again. The argument goes that the yacht would be the perfect venue to make trade deals ? as happened in the Britannia?s time. But there?s been a flotilla of ? sometimes contradictory - figures about how much the deals signed on the Britannia actually benefited the UK economy. With the help of a commodore, we investigate the claims.

The Queen?s Christmas Message

Mathematician Hannah Fry has analysed every Christmas broadcast that the Queen has given since her reign began. Taking each year?s message, Hannah and a colleague have compared the number of words she has used to the number of unique words used by rappers and singers in their music. Hannah also explains that she has found a way of generating her own Queen?s Christmas Speech, using a simple algorithm to suggest passages that the Queen might say judged on her previous messages.

The Home Office recently published reported crime figures showing that in England and Wales there was a big post-referendum rise in the number of racially or religiously aggravated offences. And - according to The Observer and others - there was an even higher rise in homophobic hate crime over the summer in the UK. But we've been talking to the LGBT anti-violence charity behind the story and they say the stats may not actually show what the headlines suggest.

The royal yacht was decommissioned in 1997 but, with Brexit on the horizon, there have been calls for Britannia to rule the waves again. The argument goes that the yacht would be the perfect venue to make trade deals - as happened in the Britannia's time. But there's been a flotilla of - sometimes contradictory - figures about how much the deals signed on the Britannia actually benefited the UK economy. With the help of a commodore, we investigate the claims.

The Queen's Christmas Message

Mathematician Hannah Fry has analysed every Christmas broadcast that the Queen has given since her reign began. Taking each year's message, Hannah and a colleague have compared the number of words she has used to the number of unique words used by rappers and singers in their music. Hannah also explains that she has found a way of generating her own Queen's Christmas Speech, using a simple algorithm to suggest passages that the Queen might say judged on her previous messages.

Does Britain rely on imports of Danish sperm?

A listener contacted the programme to say they'd heard on BBC Radio 4's Today programme that 80% of the UK economy is services. Could that really be right, they asked. We speak to Jonathan Athow from the Office for National Statistics to find out whether the claim is correct (Clue: it is).

And are there really more statues of goats than women in the UK?

Producer: Ruth Alexander.

Tim Harford questions the usefulness of a popular heart age calculator.

In the wake of the Paris killings, an imam in Paris told the BBC that 95% of terrorism victims around the world are Muslim. Is that true? More or Less speaks to Erin Miller of the Global Terrorism Database.

The reported death toll of the Boko Haram attack in Baga, Nigeria, this month has ranged from 150 to more than 2000 people. More or Less speaks to Julian Rademeyer of Africa Check, who's been trying to get to the truth.

Which are the world's worst boardgames? Oliver Roeder, a senior writer for the website FiveThirtyEight, has done a statistical analysis of player reviews to answer this question. He's also been looking at which are considered to be the best. Tim Harford challenges Oliver to a transatlantic game of Snakes and Ladders.

And the coverage of the Living Planet Index and its claim that species populations have dropped 50% in the last 40 years aroused much suspicion among More or Less listeners. The team looks at what the figure means and how it was calculated.

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Ruth Alexander.

Post-election spending, terrorism victims, Nigeria death toll and the worst board games.

Have 25% of guide dogs in London been hit by a cyclist? Tim Harford fact-checks the numbers behind a questionable headline.

The Justice Secretary Chris Grayling has said an 'unexpected' rise in the prison population is in part driven by 700 more sex offenders being sentenced this year than last. But is this really what's driving the numbers? Tim Harford speaks to Carol Hedderman, visiting scholar in criminology at University Of Cambridge.

Internet rumours abound that 10,600 people have died within six weeks of being pronounced fit to work. But the numbers are not quite all they seem. Tim Harford takes a close look at them with Tom Chivers of The Daily Telegraph.

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Ruth Alexander.

Tim Harford scrutinises claims made about the outbreak. Plus guide dogs, prisons and ATOS.

Sepsis - do 44,000 people die of it a year? Is it the country's second biggest killer? We speak to Dr Marissa Mason about the difficulties of knowing the numbers.

Dan Bouk tells the story of a statistician who crept around graveyards in South Carolina at the turn of the century recording how long people lived - all to help out an insurance firm.

It's from his book 'How our days became numbered' - looking at how data from insurance company has shaped knowledge about our lives.

Have refugees caused a gender imbalance in Sweden or is there something funny going on? It has been reported that there are 123 boys for every 100 girls aged between 16 and 17 in Sweden. In China, the ratio is 117 boys to 100 girls. We explore if the numbers add up and why this might be.

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Charlotte McDonald.

Are there problems with the way we judge the harms from alcohol? Tim Harford finds out.

On the 20 September 2017, Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, where residents are United States citizens. George Washington University has published a report – commissioned by the Puerto Rican government – claiming that the hurricane accounted for nearly 3,000 deaths in Puerto Rico. President Trump disputed these official figures, tweeting that the Democrats were inflating the death toll to 'make me look as bad as possible'. So, who is right, and how do you determine who died as a result of a natural disaster? Tim Harford speaks to the lead investigator of the George Washington University report, Dr Carlos Santos-Burgoa.

The shadow chancellor John McDonnell recently claimed 'for the first time shareholders now take a greater share of national income than workers'. But is it true? Tim Harford speaks to The Financial Times’ economics editor Chris Giles.

Loyal listener David from Sheffield has been in touch to query a claim he heard on BBC Radio 4’s Start the Week that more people visit museums than attend football matches. Ruth Alexander finds out if we really do favour culture over the nation’s game.

Plus, what is the most dangerous sport? Tim Harford thinks he has the definitive answer.

Producer: Ruth Alexander

Tim Harford on child carers, shareholder income, football, museums and dangerous sports.

On the 20 September 2017, Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, where residents are United States citizens. George Washington University has published a report – commissioned by the Puerto Rican government – claiming that the hurricane accounted for nearly 3,000 deaths in Puerto Rico. President Trump disputed these official figures, tweeting that the Democrats were inflating the death toll to make me look as bad as possible. So, who is right, and how do you determine who died as a result of a natural disaster? Tim Harford speaks to the lead investigator of the George Washington University report, Dr Carlos Santos-Burgoa.

On the 20 September 2017, Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, where residents are United States citizens. George Washington University has published a report ? commissioned by the Puerto Rican government ? claiming that the hurricane accounted for nearly 3,000 deaths in Puerto Rico. President Trump disputed these official figures, tweeting that the Democrats were inflating the death toll to 'make me look as bad as possible'. So, who is right, and how do you determine who died as a result of a natural disaster? Tim Harford speaks to the lead investigator of the George Washington University report, Dr Carlos Santos-Burgoa.

The shadow chancellor John McDonnell recently claimed 'for the first time shareholders now take a greater share of national income than workers'. But is it true? Tim Harford speaks to The Financial Times? economics editor Chris Giles.

Loyal listener David from Sheffield has been in touch to query a claim he heard on BBC Radio 4?s Start the Week that more people visit museums than attend football matches. Ruth Alexander finds out if we really do favour culture over the nation?s game.

On the 20 September 2017, Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, where residents are United States citizens. George Washington University has published a report - commissioned by the Puerto Rican government - claiming that the hurricane accounted for nearly 3,000 deaths in Puerto Rico. President Trump disputed these official figures, tweeting that the Democrats were inflating the death toll to 'make me look as bad as possible'. So, who is right, and how do you determine who died as a result of a natural disaster? Tim Harford speaks to the lead investigator of the George Washington University report, Dr Carlos Santos-Burgoa.

The shadow chancellor John McDonnell recently claimed 'for the first time shareholders now take a greater share of national income than workers'. But is it true? Tim Harford speaks to The Financial Times' economics editor Chris Giles.

Loyal listener David from Sheffield has been in touch to query a claim he heard on BBC Radio 4's Start the Week that more people visit museums than attend football matches. Ruth Alexander finds out if we really do favour culture over the nation's game.

HOW TO REDUCE EXAM REVISION WITH MATHS

A self-confessed lazy student has asked for help with his exams - what's the minimum amount of revision he needs to do in order to pass? Rob Eastaway from Maths Inspiration does the sums.

A BILLION DEAD BIRDS?

It's claimed that a billion birds in America die each year by flying into buildings. Where does this number come from and how was it calculated - and is it remotely correct?

LONDON v NEW YORK CITY

It was reported earlier this year that London's murder rate was higher than New York City's for the first time - but how do the two cities compare a few months down the line, and is there any value in making these snapshot comparisons?

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Richard Fenton-Smith

Editor: Richard Vadon.

Tim Harford explains how maths can help lazy students reduce their revision workload.

Ed Balls

Did the former MP get more votes at a general election or performing on the BBC show Strictly Come Dancing? We wanted badly to answer our listener’s question but we struggled to get to the truth.

Is modern life really killing our children?

Earlier in the year there were many headlines about cancer in children and young people having risen 40%. The Telegraph headlined their piece ‘Modern Life is Killing Our Children’ stating that air pollution, powerlines, pesticides and poor diets were possible causes of the rise. The piece was based on work by a charity Children with Cancer UK. But as we’ve discovered the numbers are deceptive and they’ve been dismissed as scaremongering. Is modern life killing our children? – no, more like it’s saving them.

The economics of dining couples

Imagine you’re out to dinner with a date. You’re looking at the menu thinking about what you will have. Now you may not immediately think that economics could play a part in explaining what happens next, but Megan McArdle has been thinking about just that. She’s the author of The Upside of Down and a columnist at Bloomberg View. She says that couples – and indeed she and her husband – go through four stages of how they choose their food.

How risky is the contraceptive pill?

Many of the potential side effects of the pill, such as blood clots, have been well documented since its release in the 1960s. And now, a study has claimed to have established a link between depression and the pill. But perhaps the main risk women face is poorly interpreted statistics.

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Charlotte McDonald

Image: Tourists in Parliament Square, Westminster/Credit Getty

The economic doom that never was; childhood cancer figures and Ed Balls

Did the former MP get more votes at a general election or performing on the BBC show Strictly Come Dancing? We wanted badly to answer our listener?s question but we struggled to get to the truth.

Earlier in the year there were many headlines about cancer in children and young people having risen 40%. The Telegraph headlined their piece ?Modern Life is Killing Our Children? stating that air pollution, powerlines, pesticides and poor diets were possible causes of the rise. The piece was based on work by a charity Children with Cancer UK. But as we?ve discovered the numbers are deceptive and they?ve been dismissed as scaremongering. Is modern life killing our children? ? no, more like it?s saving them.

Imagine you?re out to dinner with a date. You?re looking at the menu thinking about what you will have. Now you may not immediately think that economics could play a part in explaining what happens next, but Megan McArdle has been thinking about just that. She?s the author of The Upside of Down and a columnist at Bloomberg View. She says that couples ? and indeed she and her husband ? go through four stages of how they choose their food.

Did the former MP get more votes at a general election or performing on the BBC show Strictly Come Dancing? We wanted badly to answer our listener's question but we struggled to get to the truth.

Earlier in the year there were many headlines about cancer in children and young people having risen 40%. The Telegraph headlined their piece ‘Modern Life is Killing Our Children' stating that air pollution, powerlines, pesticides and poor diets were possible causes of the rise. The piece was based on work by a charity Children with Cancer UK. But as we've discovered the numbers are deceptive and they've been dismissed as scaremongering. Is modern life killing our children? - no, more like it's saving them.

Imagine you're out to dinner with a date. You're looking at the menu thinking about what you will have. Now you may not immediately think that economics could play a part in explaining what happens next, but Megan McArdle has been thinking about just that. She's the author of The Upside of Down and a columnist at Bloomberg View. She says that couples - and indeed she and her husband - go through four stages of how they choose their food.

After the Brexit vote in June, so many Britons applied for Irish passports that Ireland's foreign minister had to ask them to stop - pointing out that the UK remains, for now, in the EU. If some of the figures that have been quoted are correct, the Irish passport service may find itself completely inundated in future. But does one in four Britons really have Irish heritage? We reveal the dubious history of that number and attempt to estimate the number of Britons who are actually entitled to dual nationality with Ireland.

Do women's periods sync?

It is a commonly held belief that if women spend time together, their bodies start to sync and they will have their periods at the same time. But where does this idea come from? And is it really true? We look at the evidence and wonder - could it be down to chance?

Numbers in music

Marcus du Sautoy takes us on a journey through some of his favourite musical pieces, pointing out the interesting mathematical patterns hidden in the compositions.

Dangerous algorithms

Cathy O'Neil, a data scientist and activist, has written a new book, 'Weapons of Math Destruction.' She is concerned about the proliferation of certain kinds of algorithms - that help make important decisions, but that could be based on unfair statistics with hidden biases. She explains how to look out for them, and what we can do to protect ourselves.

Desk of Good News - organ donations

We look at the trends for organ donations and transplants.

Do one in four Brits claim Irish ancestry?

Who is in the global 1% of wealthiest people, and where do they live?

More than 200 of the MPS voting on the 2012 NHS reform have recent or current financial connections to private healthcare, a recent editorial in the British Medical Journal claimed. Richard Vadon and Keith Moore explain why it's not true.

Sixty bodies in 6 years - is a serial killer stalking the canals of Great Manchester? Hannah Moore investigates a theory first raised by the Star on Sunday's crime editor Scott Hesketh.

Plus the programme hears from Professor Carlos Vilalta from the University of California San Diego and Steven Dudley from Insight Crime about claims that '98% of homicides in Mexico are unsolved.' A shocking statistic, but is it true?

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Ruth Alexander.

Tim Harford asks if the majority of hate crime in the UK is directed against Jewish people

Help for number-phobes

The term 'maths anxiety' has become more popular in recent times, people who are scared of or hate numbers. We found an organisation that is determined to help. Citizen Maths is a free online course designed to help adults become more confident with maths in both work and everyday life. To test this out we found a digit dodging colleague willing to give the course a try. Noel-Ann Bradshaw from Citizen Maths spoke to us about the state of maths in Britain today.

When is a cut not a cut?

This week Jeremy Corbyn sent out a Tweet stating that if elected, Labour would stop Conservative cuts of £22 billion to the NHS. The NHS is certainly facing funding difficulties over the coming years with a rising and ageing population. But we explain how it's not correct to suggest that funding is being cut.

The mathematics of mazes

Children love a maze. Adults love a maze. And it seems mathematicians love them too. We send Jordan Dunbar to Crystal Palace with maze expert Dr Ruth Dalton, to put some classic mathematical methods to the test.

But can a wooden die, some office post-it notes and a thorough understanding of mathematical probability really save Jordan when he gets lost amidst the hedges?

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Charlotte McDonald.

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

Oliver Hart interview

The Nobel memorial prize in economics was recently awarded to Oliver Hart. He talks to Tim Harford about his work on incomplete contracts. He explains how people drawing up a contract to work together can never foresee every eventuality – and what can be done about it.

The chocolate muffin puzzle

Last week we set a puzzle for listeners. Two members of the team ate a chocolate muffi More Or Less

During the election for the leadership of the Labour Party in the UK Jeremy Corbyn has whipped up unprecedented support among grass roots activists pushing him into a surprising lead. Bernie Sanders the left-wing Democratic candidate has done the same energised grass roots support in the United States in a similar way. Their supporters believe in both cases they can shake up the political mainstream and convince non-voters to turn out at the ballot box. But is this a wise strategy?

The latest on deaths for people admitted at a weekend?

Reports suggested 11,000 are dying in hospital after being admitted at the weekend but what does the report actually say?

Too dense

Is the UK already more densely populated than other places in Europe and is this a good argument against taking more refugees.

How many houses do we need?

We're told that we need to build 200,000+ houses a year to meet housing need in this country. We talk to Kate Barker the woman who first came up with this number about where it comes from and what it means.

How many bananas will kill you?

There's a belief among some people that too many bananas will kill you. Eat too many and you will overdose on potassium and die. But how many bananas would you need to eat?

Can the left rely on non-voters to get them into power? Tim Harford looks at the numbers.

Has the new tuition fees regime saved money? Newsnight's Chris Cook talks Tim through the numbers.

Is infidelity among cruise ship passengers rife?

How many political seats are genuinely safe? David Cowling, editor of BBC Political Research, looks at the numbers.

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Ruth Alexander.

Tim Harford looks at claims that keen runners might be damaging their health.

Donations to the Manchester Dogs' Home have exceeded £1m in the wake of a fire, which killed more than 50 dogs. The large sum raised caused Today presenter Justin Webb to comment that it often seems easier to raise money for animals than humans who are in need. Is it true that we give more generously to animals? Ben Carter reports.

Is Britain poorer than every US state, except for Mississippi? Journalist Fraser Nelson calculates that's the case. Tim Harford speaks to economist Chris Dillow about why he's right.

An edition of BBC Four's Wonder of Animals states that there are 14,000 ants to every person on earth, and that were we to weigh all of these ants they would weigh the same as all the people. Can this be true? Tim Harford and Hannah Moore investigate with the help of Francis Ratnieks, professor of at the University of Sussex.

Friday, September 19 is Huntrodds' Day - a chance to celebrate coincidence and the extraordinary tale of Mr and Mrs Huntrodds. As Michael Blastland explains, they shared their birthday and day of death.

A complaint has been held up against a BBC programme for calling Eritrea 'tiny'. Can any country rightly be described this way?

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Ruth Alexander.

Tim Harford on kidney donation, charity-giving, Huntrodds' Day, ants and tiny countries.

A recent Guardian front page suggested that sexual harassment at British universities is at 'epidemic levels'. We looked at the data cited and we are not so sure the evidence backs that up.

Maths teacher and performer Kyle Evans takes us on a mathematical journey of some of his favourite songs. He checks the Beatles, Bob Dylan and Kate Bush for the accuracy of their lyrics.

Do the Conservatives really have a 20 point lead over Labour in the opinion polls? We have been sceptical in the past of the accuracy of polling. We speak to Matt Singh about whether we need to be worried again now.

Recent headlines suggested that returning to blue passports once we leave the EU may cost half a billion pounds. We discover this is not at all what it seems.

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Charlotte McDonald.

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

Back to school, and there's good news: apparently more and more children are in schools rated 'good' or 'outstanding'. But our loyal listeners wonder if the improvement is real and we think they're right to ask the question. While there is evidence of genuine progress, that's not the only thing going on. Tim Harford discusses the statistics with education journalist Laura McInerney.

Are female tennis players treated unfairly by umpires? After Serena Williams' outburst at the US Open and her claim that she was judged more harshly by the umpire because she was a woman, we look at what the statistics can tell us about whether men are treated more favourably than women when they break the rules.

Are you more chimp or Neanderthal? We're talking about DNA, not spirit animals. We often hear scientists talking about how we are related but what's the difference between 96% similarity and sharing 20% of our DNA, and do some of us literally have pieces of Neanderthal within us? Tim speaks to Professor Peter Donnelly to help answer this genetic generation game.

And the results of the great goat statue count are in.

Producer: Ruth Alexander.

Tim Harford on what statistics tell us about suicide, good schools and sexism in tennis.

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. But is that always true? We take a look to see if there are occasions when having a degree makes little difference or whether the benefit of a degree has changed over time.

How much cocaine is on a bank note?

Tim Harford speaks to Richard Sleeman who works for a firm, Mass Spec Analytical, that specialises in working out how much cocaine can be found on bank notes across the country. Do some parts of the country have more cocaine on their notes than others? Is it true that 99% of bank notes in London have cocaine on them?

Is it true that one in five can't name an author of literature?

Last year the Royal Society of Literature made this claim - but what was it based on? It turns out a polling company found that 20 percent questioned failed to name a single author. Should we be surprised? We took a look at the data.

Diet Coke Habit

The New York Times claims that Donald Trump drinks 'a dozen' Diet Cokes a day. With each can of 330ml containing 42mg of caffeine - what impact, if any, could this have on the President's health?

Do missed appointments cost the NHS £1 billion? And do you always earn more with a degree?

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. But is that always true? We take a look to see if there are occasions when having a degree makes little difference or whether the benefit of a degree has changed over time.

How much cocaine is on a bank note?

Tim Harford speaks to Richard Sleeman who works for a firm, Mass Spec Analytical, that specialises in working out how much cocaine can be found on bank notes across the country. Do some parts of the country have more cocaine on their notes than others? Is it true that 99% of bank notes in London have cocaine on them?

Is it true that one in five can't name an author of literature?

Last year the Royal Society of Literature made this claim - but what was it based on? It turns out a polling company found that 20 percent questioned failed to name a single author. Should we be surprised? We took a look at the data.

Diet Coke Habit

The New York Times claims that Donald Trump drinks 'a dozen' Diet Cokes a day. With each can of 330ml containing 42mg of caffeine - what impact, if any, could this have on the President's health?

Do missed appointments cost the NHS \u00a31 billion? And do you always earn more with a degree?

Counting the favourite words of well-known authors



Stephen King once said that wannabe authors should avoid using adverbs which end with ‘ly’ but does he follow his own advice? Data journalist Ben Blatt decided to find out. He also analysed texts written by some of the best known authors to discover the words they use obsessively, and why. Elmore Leonard whose book inspired the film Jackie Brown loved exclamation marks, while Vladimir Nabokov who wrote Lolita was keen on the colour ‘mauve.’

Presenter: Tim Harford

(Photo: American novelist Ernest Hemingway in 1954 on safari in Africa. Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Stephen King once said that wannabe authors should avoid using adverbs which end with ‘ly' but does he follow his own advice? Data journalist Ben Blatt decided to find out. He also analysed texts written by some of the best known authors to discover the words they use obsessively, and why. Elmore Leonard whose book inspired the film Jackie Brown loved exclamation marks, while Vladimir Nabokov who wrote Lolita was keen on the colour ‘mauve.

Stephen King once said that wannabe authors should avoid using adverbs which end with ?ly? but does he follow his own advice? Data journalist Ben Blatt decided to find out. He also analysed texts written by some of the best known authors to discover the words they use obsessively, and why. Elmore Leonard whose book inspired the film Jackie Brown loved exclamation marks, while Vladimir Nabokov who wrote Lolita was keen on the colour ?mauve.?

Contributors include: Professor Jane Green, Helen Arney, Paul Lewis, Andrew Samson, Leonard Doyle , Peter Cunliffe-Jones, Farai Chideya, Claire Melamed and Professor John Allen Paulos.

Tim Harford looks back at some of the most interesting numbers behind the news in 2015.

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 Conspiracy

The 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 reported that they had lost seats, the many SNP supporters are sure that this isn't a fair representation of their performance. This all hinges on how you look at the results last time around and how you account for the major boundary review that took place between elections. Tim tries to get to the bottom of what has happened with Professor David Denver from Lancaster University.

Penalty shootout maths

What do coffee, stew and nerve-biting football finales have in common? Maths whizz and football aficionado Rob Eastaway explains all.

UEFA, European football's governing body, is currently trialling a new system for penalty shootouts. But what is the maths behind the new system - and could a century-old Scandinavian mathematical sequence offer a better approach?

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Charlotte McDonald.

Are nurses paid more than the national average? We take a look.

We'll also be looking at claims that those of us who aren't binging on drugs are binging on biscuits instead. Apparently much of the UK and almost the entire population of Ireland is going to be obese before long. But how have such alarming forecasts fared in the past?

We're often told that we consume so much that we need one and a half planets - and not just to provide room for all those obese people. What does that number even mean, and is it helpful?

Tim Harford looks at how recent obesity projections were calculated.

In Philip Hammond’s Autumn Statement he said that: “We will meet our pledge to our country’s pensioners through the triple lock.” This should ensure that the state pension continues to rise. However, are pensioners the ones struggling with stagnant incomes? We speak to the Institute for Fiscal Studies about who has a higher income – the retired or those working.

Predicting Norovirus outbreaks

The Food Standards Agency has been using Twitter to predict outbreaks of the ‘winter vomiting bug’. They want to warn the public as cases of Norovirus start to rise, rather than after they have seen a peak in lab reports. Dr Sian Thomas explains how social media can help.

Finding friends at a club

Have you ever been in a nightclub or festival and lost your friends? One PhD student has been modelling your options on finding them. Nathan Cunningham explains whether you should actively search for them, or stay put. We send out one of the team to try it out.

Air pollution deaths

Are 40,000 people dying a year in the UK from air pollution? Is breathing the air in London the equivalent of smoking 15 cigarettes a day? These are a couple of claims that have been in the news and shared online recently. We speak to Professor Anthony Frew from the Royal Sussex County Hospital about understanding the risks of air pollution.

Image: Pensioner playing the slot machines in a casino. Credit: John Moore/Getty

High-rolling pensioners, predicting norovirus, finding friends, and air pollution.

In Philip Hammond?s Autumn Statement he said that: ?We will meet our pledge to our country?s pensioners through the triple lock.? This should ensure that the state pension continues to rise. However, are pensioners the ones struggling with stagnant incomes? We speak to the Institute for Fiscal Studies about who has a higher income ? the retired or those working.

The Food Standards Agency has been using Twitter to predict outbreaks of the ?winter vomiting bug?. They want to warn the public as cases of Norovirus start to rise, rather than after they have seen a peak in lab reports. Dr Sian Thomas explains how social media can help.

In Philip Hammond's Autumn Statement he said that: `We will meet our pledge to our country's pensioners through the triple lock.` This should ensure that the state pension continues to rise. However, are pensioners the ones struggling with stagnant incomes? We speak to the Institute for Fiscal Studies about who has a higher income - the retired or those working.

The Food Standards Agency has been using Twitter to predict outbreaks of the ‘winter vomiting bug'. They want to warn the public as cases of Norovirus start to rise, rather than after they have seen a peak in lab reports. Dr Sian Thomas explains how social media can help.

Olympic Medals at Rio 2016

The Olympic Games are with us again. So how can we use statistics to predict how many medals each nation will win? We speak to Dr Julia Bredtmann, an economist at the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research.

Income inequality

Politicians and commentators often claim that the rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer. But what do the numbers actually tell us about income inequality in the UK? Tim Harford interviews Jonathan Cribb of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the co- author of a comprehensive analysis of Living Standards, Income Inequality and Poverty in the UK.

Desk of Good News - Maternal mortality rates

The number of women dying in childbirth is falling around the world. In 1990, maternal mortality rates were 385 deaths per 100,000 live births

Today there are 216 deaths per 100,000 live births. This means the death rate is down by nearly half.

The Coastline Paradox

Why is it so difficult to measure coastlines? The further you zoom into the detail of a coastline, the longer it becomes. This is referred to as 'The Coastline Paradox'. We speak to Mairi Walker, a mathematician at the University of Edinburgh, and Danny Hyam, from The Ordnance Survey - the UK government agency responsible for mapping our coastlines.

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Charlotte McDonald.

Has a 5p charge caused a drop in the use of carrier bags?

On the eve of the UK's general election, Tim Harford takes a look at what polling data can tell us about predicting elections.

Plus, Matt Parker the stand-up mathematician is invited back to the programme to respond to a listener's query about his theory on the best way to find a life partner.

Is the number of Catholic nuns on the up? And Tim Harford explores polling data.

The second piece of questionable research comes from reports that a quarter of a million UK students are getting money from 'sugar daddies' they met online. The story came from a sugar daddy website. They claim around 225,000 students have registered with them and have met (mostly) men for what they call 'mutually beneficial arrangements'. We explain our doubts over the figures.

There were reports recently that there will more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050. The report comes from The Ellen MacArthur Foundation. But, as we discover, there's something fishy about these figures.

Away from advertising, studies have shown that children born in the summer do not perform as well as children born earlier in the academic year. For this reason schools are being encouraged to be sympathetic to parents that want their summer-born children to start a year later. But what should parents do? Is this a good option? We speak to Claire Crawford, Assistant Professor of Economics at the University.

Gemma Tetlow from the Institute for Fiscal Studies explains how some areas of public spending having fallen to similar levels seen in 1948. She explains how spending has changed over time, and what might happen in the future.

And friend of the programme, Kevin McConway, explains some of the statistical words that non-statisticians do not understand.

Women take selfies for five-and-a-half hours a day. Really? Tim Harford on junk surveys.

As a commitment appears in the Queen's Speech to introduce a 'truly seven day-a-week NHS' we look at David Cameron's assertion that mortality rates are 16% higher for people admitted on a Sunday over those admitted on a Wednesday. And is seven day working really about saving lives.

Productivity?

We're told we have a productivity problem in the UK. What is it, how is it measured and why is it so low in the UK compared to other economies. We get an economist to explain the answers to a listener.

Animal Slaughter

How many animals are killed each day for food? One claim suggested it was half a billion worldwide, which sounds like a lot to us. Are we really pigging out to such an extent? Are we all so hungry we could all eat a horse? Or is this just a load of bull?

John Nash

The mathematician and scientist, Nobel Laureate and subject of the film a beautiful mind was killed in car accident earlier this month. We look at why he was so important to game theory with the economist Peyton Young.

Tim Harford asks if people admitted to hospital at weekends are more likely to die.

We heard earlier this week that there had been a 60% rise in the number of cases of diabetes in the last ten years. But is there actually some good news in these figures?

Odd (attempted) burglaries

Police in Leicestershire have been sending forensic teams only to attempted burglaries at houses with even numbers. The papers reported it as a scandal driven by money-saving. But was it in fact a sensible attempt to work out how best to deploy tight resources?

Men who pay for sex

Do one in 10 men regularly pay for sex, as a Channel 4 Documentary claimed recently?

Loop

The ancient Greeks saw magic in the geometry of an ellipse and now mathematical writer Alex Bellos has but this to use in a new variant of pool.

Diabetes cases are soaring, but is this down to new diagnoses? Tim Harford investigates.

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 home

There are around 11.6 million people over the age of 65 in the UK, but how many need social care services? A listener got in chances to say that he was 72 - what are the chances that he will need social care services in his lifetime? We look at the numbers of people in both residential care and receiving formal care services in the home currently.

Penalty shoot outs update

A few weeks ago we explained UEFA's new procedure for carrying out penalty shoot outs. We bring news of how that system is playing out, and how a loyal listener has spotted a famous pattern in Blur's song, 'Girls and Boys'.

Stop sneak peak access

For years statisticians have been calling for an end to the practice of allowing ministers and officials to see official numbers before everyone else. Why does it matter? We tell the strange tale exploring whether economic data is leaked to City traders before its official publication. Could pre-release access to Government statistics be behind strange movements on financial markets? With help from Mike Bird of the Wall Street Journal, and Alex Kurov of the University of West Virginia, we take a look at the evidence.

Also - a tribute to Sir Roger Moore.

Monitoring threats, chances of needing care plus who sees official stats first.

Boris Johnson has made the claim again that when the UK leaves the EU it will gain control of £350 million a week. The UK Statistics Authority has written to the Foreign Secretary to tell him it is a mis-use of official statistics to make this assertion. We take a look at why they have taken this action.

Disadvantaged students going to university

We look at two claims - is Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn correct to say that there are fewer students from disadvantaged backgrounds going to university now. Plus - is it true that disadvantaged students from England are twice as likely to go to university than those from Scotland.

Spanish vets

Is it true that British vets train for seven years while in Spain it only takes a year to qualify?

The value of Half a Crown from 1887

A loyal listener and a friend were recently discussing a Half Crown coin that they found at a sale. They wanted to know how much it would be worth in today's money. The answer is not as straight forward as you might think.

Foreign secretary Boris Johnson is accused of misusing official statistics.

How much difference will a ban on straws really make to the amount of plastic in our seas? Some say it could be just a drop in the ocean.

Women on boards

Why do people quote the number of women on FTSE 100 boards? Is it telling us something useful about the glass ceiling? We explore whether the proportion of female executives has changed over time, and what it tells us about women in business.

Using personal data for the public good

Recent headlines surrounding Facebook and Cambridge Analytica have kick started a debate about who should access our data. Hetan Shah, the Executive Director of the Royal Statistical Society, shares a plan he's had to make sure social media details are used for the public good.

The number of animals born each day

A ten year old listener got in touch to ask 'how many animals are born every day?' We set off on a hunt to the coast of Chile (well a simulated version at Penguin beach in London Zoo) to find the answer.

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Charlotte McDonald

Editor: Richard Vadon.

Measuring plastic pollution, female FTSE directors and counting animal offspring.

The rise of the giants

Are rugby players really getting biger and bigger?

Living Blue Planet Index

Populations of marine mammals, birds, fish and reptiles have declined by 49% since 1970, a report says. But what does this actually mean?

Bean counter

The Office for National Statistics is much maligned whether it's its data revisions, the fact that some of it statistics have been deemed not fit for purpose or that we still haven't worked out why UK productivity is so low. So George Osborne has launched a review of the economic statistics spewed out by the ONS to see where improvements can be made. Tim talks to Professor Sir Charles Bean who is conducting the review.

Banana Equivalent dose

Following on from our revelation that bananas can't kill you even if you eat seven we look deeper into their radioactivity and the 'banana equivalent dose'.

Tim Harford asks are strikes on the rise, rugby players bigger and sea life in decline?

Are 40 percent of teachers leaving their jobs after their first year in post? Based on figures put out by a teaching union, newspapers reported the dire state of teacher retention. But we show how these figures include graduates who did not start jobs in teaching.

Big numbers do not just confuse most people - many computers struggle to process them too. Tim Harford talks to Chris Baraniuk who explains how a simple software bug afflicts computers controlling planes, spacecraft and has led to explosions, missing space probes and more.

In the aftermath of the general election, many people are calling for an overhaul of the electoral system to make it more representative of the number of votes that each party received. We take a look at how a different system may have affected the outcome. Plus - what questions might improve the quality of opinion polls asking for voter intentions?

Are strokes among working-age people on the rise? Presented by Tim Harford.

We also examine whether it's true that one tonne of ore produces one gram of gold, but one tonne of mobile phones contains 300 grams of gold and ask whether it means we're all walking around with tiny goldmines in our pockets.

The Pope sparked a global debate recently when he reportedly said that 2% of priests are paedophiles. We ask whether that claim is true. How would we know? What does it mean to say that someone is a paedophile? And is two per cent higher or lower than the population at large?

And machine learning is a buzzword of the moment, part of the technology behind things like Google translate and Microsoft's Kinect. Anthony Goldbloom from the website Kaggle explains how machine learning works, and talks about the next step - deep learning.

(Image: Education Costs - Mortar Board Graduation Cap Full of Coins. Credit: Thinkstock).

Tim Harford examines why the cost of the government's new student loan system is rising.

Does domestic violence increase by 30% when England loses a World Cup match? It’s a claim that’s often made and has most recently heard on the Freakonomics podcast. But is it true?

Is the tonic wine Buckfast really linked to 40 per cent of arrests in Scotland, as the website LADbible claims? Jordan Dunbar discovers the numbers are much exaggerated.

A listener noticed something rather strange while tucking into a bowl of his favourite cereal: “Sainsbury's Blueberry Wheaties purport to contain 72% wheat and 35% blueberry filling. This makes 107%. When I put this to Sainsbury's, I am met with incomprehension. ‘What's wrong?’ they say,' he emails. We investigate, and find out the supermarket is not making a mathematical mistake.

And, has there been a rapid resurgence in the number of babies being named Ian?

Producer: Ruth Alexander

Tim Harford on Spitfire pilots, and whether football triggers violence in the home.

A listener noticed something rather strange while tucking into a bowl of his favourite cereal: “Sainsbury's Blueberry Wheaties purport to contain 72% wheat and 35% blueberry filling. This makes 107%. When I put this to Sainsbury's, I am met with incomprehension. ‘What's wrong?’ they say, he emails. We investigate, and find out the supermarket is not making a mathematical mistake.

From the 10th July to the 31st of October 1940 the skies above Britain were a battle zone. The German Luftwaffe launched large scale attacks aiming to reach London, they were held back and ultimately defeated by the Royal Air Force which included many nationalities. The bravery of the pilots ? known as ?The Few? - cannot be disputed but is it really true that the average life expectancy of a spitfire pilot during the Battle of Britain was just four weeks, as is often claimed. Tim Harford and Lizzy McNeill look into the statistics and consider which of the armed forces had the highest death rate.

Does domestic violence increase by 30% when England loses a World Cup match? It?s a claim that?s often made and has most recently heard on the Freakonomics podcast. But is it