More or Less

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Are girls starting puberty earlier? Jun 04, 2022

Show notes

In the 1980s, Dr Marcia Herman-Giddens was one of the first people to notice that girls were starting puberty earlier than expected. We talk to Dr Marcia Herman-Giddens and Dr Louise Greenspan about what we know now about whether the age of girls’ puberty is falling.

(Mother and daughter in the supermarket choosing sanitary items. Getty Images)

Jubilee costs, fuel poverty and imperial measures Jun 01, 2022

Show notes

Is the government really spending a billion pounds on the Jubilee, as some have claimed? We investigate some of the facts and figures around this week’s commemorations. We also ask why energy bills are becoming so high in the UK when we actually have plenty of gas, and we unpack the mystery of measuring fuel poverty. Plus after the Texas school shooting we investigate the statistics around gun deaths in the US.

And finally we hear about the joys and perplexities of imperial measures with Hannah Fry and Matt Parker.

Produced in partnership with the Open University.

Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Charlotte McDonald Reporters: Nathan Gower, Jon Bithrey, Josephine Casserly, Lizzy McNeill. Production coordinator: Brenda Brown SM: James Beard Editor: Richard Vadon.

Noisy Decisions May 28, 2022

Show notes

Nobel memorial prize winner Daniel Kahneman is one of the world’s most famous psychologists, known particularly for his work identifying the role of cognitive bias in everyday decision making. In this edition of More or Less he talks to Tim Harford about his latest book, Noise - A Flaw in Human Judgement, in which he outlines how a multitude of often irrelevant factors influence important decisions, whether in job interviews, the courtroom or workplaces generally - and what we can do about it.

Germany’s excess deaths, Eurovision and teacher shortages May 25, 2022

Show notes

Some recent, and surprising, estimates from the World Health Organisation suggested that the UK fared better than Germany in the pandemic. But did they get it right?

At Eurovision this year an algorithm was apparently used to replace whole countries’ votes - was it responsible for the UK’s second-place finish?

The global economy has been putting the squeeze on many of us this year. Various factors have caused food, fuel and energy prices to rocket and many households are starting to feel the pinch. We speak to economist Duncan Weldon about whether this year is the worst hit to the cost of living since records began.

An unusually large contingent of children are set to hit English secondary schools just as the number of 21 year olds dips – so are we heading for a teaching crunch in England?

Produced in partnership with The Open University.

Are just 100 companies responsible for 71% of global emissions and how stressed are South Africans? May 21, 2022

Show notes

In the fight against global warming we’re constantly told to do our bit to reduce green house gas emissions. However, a claim circulating that just ‘100 companies are responsible for 71% of global emissions’ can make any individual effort seem futile. But does this claim mean what you think it means? We look into this and the claim that the pandemic pushed South African stress levels up by 56%. With guests Abbas Panjwani from Fullfact and Kirsten Cosser from Africa Check.

(Image: Power plant emitting smoke at sunset. Credit: Enviromantic/Getty)

Did the WHO get some of its excess death estimates wrong? May 14, 2022

Show notes

The World Health Organisation recently released some new estimates of the global death toll of the pandemic. But the figures for a few countries have caused controversy. Tim Harford speaks to Professor Jon Wakefield, who worked on the analysis - and Indian data journalist Rukmini S about the debate that’s erupted in India over the figures.

(man puzzled at blackboard. Credit: Getty images)

Have the oceans become 30% more acidic? May 07, 2022

Show notes

Although the climate-changing effects of Carbon Dioxide emissions are well known, they are changing our oceans too, making them more acidic. But how much?

Tim Harford explores the statistical quirks of ocean acidification, from pH to the mysteries of logarithmic scales. With Dr Helen Findlay from the Plymouth Marine Laboratory in the UK.

Sweden’s polarising pandemic response Apr 30, 2022

Show notes

When much of Europe went into lockdown at the start of pandemic, Sweden’s lighter touch strategy got lots of attention. Fans of the approach say it was a huge success that showed lockdowns were pointless. Opponents say it has been a disaster. But what do the numbers say?

In this episode of More Or Less, Tim Harford and journalist Keith Moore carve a nuanced path through one of the pandemic’s most polarising approaches.

Understanding India through Data Apr 23, 2022

Show notes

How do you go about understanding a country with a population as diverse as it is vast?

Data journalist Rukmini S is the author of Whole Numbers and Half Truths: What Data Can and Cannot Tell Us About Modern India. Tim Harford spoke to her about the power and pitfalls of using statistics to make sense of modern India, from basic questions like average income to the huge challenges of keeping track of Covid.

Subitising and simplifying: how to better explain numbers Apr 15, 2022

Show notes

Have you ever looked at a numerical claim and thought ‘what on earth does that mean?’ Complex numbers are often badly communicated, making it difficult for the public to appreciate what they signify - but dial things down too much and you’re at risk of oversimplifying important issues. It’s a tightrope walk authors Chip Heath and Karla Starr have explored in their new book ‘Making Numbers Count’. Tim Harford talks to them about how we can improve the way we communicate numbers to the general public.

Producer: Lizzy McNeill

(Image: Child in front of numbers, Credit: Getty Images)

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