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Is increasing turbulence making flying more dangerous? Jul 20, 2024

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Is climate change making turbulence more dangerous for people taking flights around the world?

That’s what one listener asked, following a terrifying turbulence incident which left one person dead and more than 20 injured on a flight to Singapore.

We speak to turbulence expert Paul Williams, Professor of Atmospheric Science at the University of Reading, to understand what is going on.

Presenter: Kate Lamble Producer: Nathan Gower Series producer: Tom Colls Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: Nigel Appleton Editor: Richard Vadon

Federer’s 54%: Tennis stats explained Jul 13, 2024

Show notes

How can tennis star Roger Federer have won only 54% of the points he played, but been the best player in the world? Jeff Sackmann, the tennis stats brain behind tennisabstract.com, explains to Tim Harford how probability works in the sport.

Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Debbie Richford Series producer: Tom Colls Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown Sound Mix: Nigel Appleton Editor: Richard Vadon

The magic of trigonometry Jul 06, 2024

Show notes

You might have found it boring in school maths classes, but Matt Parker thinks we should all learn to love trigonometry.

The ‘Love Triangle’ author talks to Tim Harford about the maths used in GPS, architecture and special effects.

Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Debbie Richford Series Producer: Tom Colls Production Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown Sound Mix: Nigel Appleton Editor: Richard Vadon

Election endings, tennis and meeting men in finance Jul 03, 2024

Show notes

Are there too many managers in the NHS or too few?

What are the odds of meeting a very tall man in finance (with a trust fund)?

What does it mean that Roger Federer only won 54% of the points he played?

Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news.

Presenter: Tim Harford Reporter: Kate Lamble Producers: Nathan Gower, Beth Ashmead Latham and Debbie Richford Series producer: Tom Colls Production coordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: Rod Farquhar Editor: Richard Vadon

How a tick box doubled the US maternal mortality rates. Jun 29, 2024

Show notes

he US has been portrayed as in the grip of a maternal mortality crisis. In contrast to most other developed nations, the rate of maternal deaths in the US has been going up since the early 2000s.

But why? With the help of Saloni Dattani, a researcher at Our World in Data, Tim Harford explores how a gradual change in the way the data was gathered lies at the heart of the problem.

Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Debbie Richford Production Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown Series Producer: Tom Colls Sound Mix: Emma Harth Editor: Richard Vadon

Election claims and erection claims Jun 26, 2024

Show notes

Are Labour right about the Liz Truss effect on mortgages? Are the Conservatives right about pensioners? Are Plaid Cymru right about spending? Are the Lib Dems right about care funding? Is Count Binface right about croissants?

Why are MRP polls coming up with such different numbers?

Do erections require a litre of blood?

Tim Harford investigates the numbers in the news.

Presenter: Tim Harford Reporter: Kate Lamble Producers: Simon Tulett, Nathan Gower, Beth Ashmead Latham and Debbie Richford Series producer: Tom Colls Production coordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: Rod Farquhar Editor: Richard Vadon

Do ‘pig butchering’ cyber scams make as much as half Cambodia’s GDP? Jun 22, 2024

Show notes

So-called “pig butchering” scams take billions of dollars from people around the globe. But do the cyber scams run from compounds in Cambodia really take an amount of money equivalent to half that country’s GDP? We investigate how the scale of these criminal operations has been calculated.

Presenter: Tim Harford Reporter: Tom Colls Production coordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: Andrew Garratt Editor: Richard Vadon

Worse mortgages, better readers, and potholes on the moon Jun 19, 2024

Show notes

Will Conservative policies raise mortgages by £4800, as Labour claim?

Are primary school kids in England the best readers in the (western) world, as the Conservatives claim?

Are there more potholes in the UK than craters on the moon?

Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news.

Presenter: Tim Harford Reporter: Kate Lamble Producers: Nathan Gower, Simon Tullet, Beth Ashmead-Latham and Debbie Richford Production coordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: James Beard Editor: Richard Vadon

Shakespeare’s maths Jun 15, 2024

Show notes

AWilliam Shakespeare might well rank as the most influential writer in the English language. But it seems he also had a knack for numbers.

Rob Eastaway, author of Much Ado about Numbers, tells Tim Harford about the simple maths that brings Shakespeare’s work to life.

Presenter: Tim Harford Readings: Stella Harford and Jordan Dunbar Producer: Beth Ashmead-Latham Series producer: Tom Colls Production coordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: James Beard Editor: Richard Vadon

Leaflets, taxes, oil workers and classrooms Jun 12, 2024

Show notes

What’s going on with the dodgy bar charts that political parties put on constituency campaign leaflets?

What’s the truth about tax promises?

Are 100,000 oil workers going to lose their jobs in Scotland?

Will class sizes increase in state schools if private schools increase their fees?

Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news.

Presenter: Tim Harford Reporter: Kate Lamble Producers: Nathan Gower, Beth Ashmead-Latham, Debbie Richford Production coordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: Neil Churchill Editor: Richard Vadon

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