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Latest Episodes:

Gender Pay Gaps and How to Learn a Language Jan 19, 2018

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Gender Pay Gap 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)

WS More or Less: How Louis Bachelier Scooped Economists by Half a Century Jan 15, 2018

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A forgotten French mathematician is the focus of our programme. He anticipated both Einstein's theories and the application of maths to the stock market. Born in the 1870s, his work was unusual at the time. With the help of Alison Etheridge, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford, we explain how his ideas were rediscovered decades after his death.

(Photo: Pocket watch. Credit: Kanyapak Lim/Shutterstock)

Missed appointments, graduate pay, plus cocaine on bank notes Jan 12, 2018

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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?

WS More or Less: Just how rare is a hole-in-one? Jan 07, 2018

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Why it isn’t as simple to work out as you think.

More or Less: Statistics of the Year 2017 Dec 31, 2017

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Phones, lawn mowers and how Kim Kardashian helped the public understanding of risk.

WS More or Less: Will Bitcoin use more electricity than the United States? Dec 24, 2017

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Measuring the energy used to keep the cryptocurrency secure.

WS More or Less: Diet Coke Habit; 'Contained' Wildfires Dec 18, 2017

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Could the US President’s Diet Coke habit affect his health? and 'contained' wildfires

Diet Coke Habit Dec 15, 2017

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The State of California has seen 8,871 wild fires this year but what is the difference between a contained fire and a controlled one and how do you know it’s safe to approach an area that has been on fire? Peter Rogers of the Forestry Commission explains.

And

The New York Times claims that Donald Trump drinks ‘a dozen’ Diet Coke’s a day, at 42mg of caffeine per 330ml what impact, if any, could this have on the Presidents health? Jordan Dunbar speaks to experts about the effects caffeine has on your brain and chats to someone whose own Diet Coke habit could put the President’s to shame.

Presenter: Jordan Dunbar Producer: Lizzy McNeill

(image: Donald Trump enjoying his Diet Coke at a Foundation Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria, New York. Photo Credit: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)

WS More or Less: Does Eating Chocolate Make Your Brain Younger? Dec 11, 2017

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Headlines claim that eating chocolate can protect you from developing Alzheimer’s disease. The theory is that bioactives within chocolate called flavanols can help reduce the risk of heart attacks, strokes and even make your brain 30 years younger! But isn’t this all a bit too good to be true? The BBC’s Head of Statistics, Robert Cuffe, investigates whether research findings are misrepresented by funders, PR machines and the media. Presenter: Robert Cuffe Producer: Lizzy McNeill

Does Eating Chocolate Make Your Brain Younger? Dec 10, 2017

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Presenter: Robert Cuffe Producer: Lizzy McNeill

(Image: Large chunks of chocolate. Credit: Shutterstock)