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**More or Less**

Tim Harford explains – and sometimes debunks – the numbers and statistics used in political debate, the news and everyday life.

Latest Episodes:

Fantasy Football - How to win Aug 28, 2017

Show notes

Figuring out the best strategy as a wannabe team manager.

A-levels, drowning and dress sizes Aug 25, 2017

Show notes

Are boys getting more top A Level grades than girls? Plus why are dress sizes so weird?

The Trump Bump Aug 20, 2017

Show notes

During a recent press conference President Trump said: “I’ve created over a million jobs since I’m president. The country is booming. The stock market is setting records. We’ve got the highest employment numbers we have ever had I the history of our country.” This is not the first time the American President has taken credit for a booming economy. But is that fair? We take a look at the numbers.

Are there 15,000 transgender people serving in the US military? Aug 14, 2017

Show notes

President Trump says transgender individuals cannot serve, but how many do already?

Why is Kenya’s election so expensive? Aug 07, 2017

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On Tuesday Kenyans go to the polls to elect members of parliament and the next president. A report in Quartz Africa has estimated that the cost of putting on the election by the Government works out at around $25 per head – $480 million in total. It also estimated that it cost Rwanda $1 a head, and Uganda $4 a head to lay on elections. Recently an expert on this programme estimated that the UK General election cost about $4 a head. We explore why there is such a difference in the amounts spent.

More boys than girls in Sweden? Jul 31, 2017

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Exploring if an influx of teenage boys claiming asylum skewed the population’s sex ratio

Maryam Mirzakhani – A Genius of Maths Jul 24, 2017

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Celebrating the only woman to win the biggest prize in mathematics.

Calling the shots at Wimbledon Jul 17, 2017

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Using statistics to prove or disprove the wisdom of tennis is the theme this week. In this digital age we are used to information at our fingertips. This week More or Less finds out how every rally, every shot at this tennis championship is counted and makes its way to our phones, desktops and TV screens. And once you have this information – what can you do with it? Is it useful for players and coaches? Traditionally, players will take a risk on their first chance to serve, and hit the ball as fast as they can, knowing that they have a second chance. On their second attempt, players tend to serve more slowly and carefully to make sure it goes in. But could the statistics show they might as well take a risk again?

(Venus Williams plays a backhand during the Ladies Singles first round match against Elise Mertens at Wimbledon. Credit: Getty Images)

Is Steph Curry cheap and how random is random? Jul 10, 2017

Show notes

Are top basketball players underpaid?

The American basketballer Stephen Curry has just signed the biggest contract in NBA history. The new deal will pay him $200 million over 5 years but amazingly, according to fellow superstar player Lebron James, he’s probably being underpaid. It may sound ridiculous but economists agree. How can this be true? We look at the economics of superstar sports salaries.

The mystery of Ryanair’s seat allocation

Ryanair carries more international passengers a year than any other airline. The European budget carrier is renowned for its low cost seats. If you want to guarantee seating next to people you book with, you have to pay extra. Otherwise, Ryanair says it will allocate seats randomly. We speak to statistician Dr Jennifer Rogers from the University of Oxford about her doubts over the ‘random’ nature of the seat allocation.

Presenter: Charlotte McDonald Producer: Charlotte McDonald and Richard Vadon

In Search of Woodall Primes Jun 30, 2017

Show notes

It’s the 100 year centenary of an obscure type of prime number – the Woodall Primes. To celebrate, stand-up mathematician Matt Parker is calling on listeners to search for a new one. Ordinary citizens can already help search for Mersenne Prime numbers by lending computer processing power to GIMPS – the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search. Matt explains to Tim Harford what a Woodall Prime is, and why it deserves more attention.

Also - Making penalty shoot-outs fairer - 60% of penalty shoot-outs are won by the team going first, can this unfairness be overcome?

(image Matt Parker / photographer: Steve Ullathorne)

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