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Why medical error is not the third leading cause of death in the US Jun 08, 2024

Show notes

The claim that medical error is the third leading cause of death in the US has been zooming around the internet for years.

This would mean that only heart disease and cancer killed more people than the very people trying to treat these diseases.

But there are good reasons to be suspicious about the claim.

Professor Mary Dixon-Woods, director of The Healthcare Improvement Studies Institute, or THIS Institute, at Cambridge University, explains what’s going on.

Presenter: Tim Harford Series producer: Tom Colls Production coordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: Nigel Appleton Editor: Richard Vadon

Debate, Reform, tax evasion and ants Jun 05, 2024

Show notes

Were there any suspicious claims in the election debate between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer?

Do the claims in Reform UK’s policy documents on excess deaths and climate change make sense?

Can the Conservatives and Labour raise £6bn a year by cracking down on tax avoidance and evasion?

And do all the humans on earth weigh more than all of the ants?

Presenter: Tim Harford Reporters: Kate Lamble and Nathan Gower Producer: Beth Ashmead-Latham Series producer: Tom Colls Production coordinator: Brenda Brown Editor: Richard Vadon

Data for India Jun 01, 2024

Show notes

India’s election has been running since 19 April. With results imminent on 4th June, More or Less talks with Chennai based data communicator Rukmini S. She founded Data for India, a new website designed to make socioeconomic data on India easier to find and understand. She talks us through the changing trends to help give a better picture of the type of country the winning party will govern.

Producers: Bethan Ashmead and Nathan Gower Sound Engineer: Nigel Appleton Production Coordinator: Brenda Brown Editor: Richard Vadon

UK growth, prisons and Swiftonomics May 29, 2024

Show notes

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said that the UK economy is growing faster than Germany, France and the US, while Labour says the typical household in the UK is worse off by £5,883 since 2019. Are these claims fair? We give some needed context.

Net migration has fallen - we talk to someone who predicted it would - Dr Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford.

Is Taylor Swift about to add £1 bn to the British economy as some media outlets have claimed? The answer is ‘No’.

Why are our prisons full? We ask Cassia Rowland from the Institute for Government.

Presenter: Tim Harford Producers: Charlotte McDonald, Nathan Gower, Bethan Ashmead Latham and Ellie House Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Neil Churchill Production coordinator: Brenda Brown Editor: Richard Vadon

Is intermittent fasting going to kill you? May 25, 2024

Show notes

News stories earlier in the year appeared to suggest that time restricted eating – where you consume all your meals in an 8 hour time window – was associated with a 91% increase in the risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

But is this true? Tim Harford looks into the claim with the help of Cardiologist Dr Donald Lloyd-Jones, chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Northwestern University in the US.

Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Debbie Richford Series producer: Tom Colls Production coordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: Nigel Appleton Editor: Richard Vadon

MP misconduct, NHS waiting lists and gold (gold) May 22, 2024

Show notes

Is it going to take 685 years to clear NHS waiting lists in England?

Are 10 per cent of MPs under investigation for sexual misconduct?

How does gold effect the UKs export figures?

What does it mean to say that a woman has 120% chance of getting pregnant?

Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news.

Presenter: Tim Harford Producers: Nathan Gower and Bethan Ashmead Latham Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Neil Churchill Production coordinator: Brenda Brown Editor: Richard Vadon

Are falling marriage rates causing happiness to fall in the US? May 18, 2024

Show notes

It’s long been known that marriage is associated with happiness in survey data. But are falling marriage rates in the US dragging down the mood of the whole nation?

We investigate the statistical relationships with Professor Sam Peltzman from the University of Chicago, and Professor John Helliwell, from the University of British Columbia.

Presenter: Tom Colls Reporter: Natasha Fernandes Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: Nigel Appleton Editor: Richard Vadon

Is reading for pleasure the single biggest factor in how well a child does in life? May 11, 2024

Show notes

If a child loves reading, how big a difference does that make to their future success?

In a much-repeated claim, often sourced to a 2002 OECD report, it is suggested that it makes the biggest difference there is – that reading for pleasure is the biggest factor in future success.

But is that true? We speak to Miyako Ikeda from the OECD and Professor Alice Sullivan from University College London.

Presenter / series producer: Tom Colls Reporter / producer: Debbie Richford Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: Graham Puddifoot Editor: Richard Vadon

Do one in five young Americans think the holocaust is a myth? May 04, 2024

Show notes

Polling by YouGov made headlines around the world when it suggested 20% of young adults in the US thought the holocaust was a myth.

But polling experts at the Pew Research Centre thought the result might not be accurate, due to problems with the kind of opt-in polling it was based on. They tried to replicate the finding, and did not get the same answer.

We speak to Andrew Mercer from the Pew Research Centre and YouGov chief scientist Douglas Rivers.

Presenter /series producer: Tom Colls Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown Sound Mix: Graham Puddifoot Editor: Richard Vadon

Has Milei fixed Argentina’s inflation problem? Apr 26, 2024

Show notes

Libertarian populist Javier Milei won the presidential election in Argentina on a promise austerity and economic “shock” measures for the ailing economy.

Just a few months in, some are hailing the falling rate of inflation as showing those measures are working.

Economist Monica de Bolle, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, explains whether that thinking is correct.

Presenter/producer: Tom Colls Producer: Ajai Singh Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: Graham Puddifoot Editor: Richard Vadon.

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