The Thought Show

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Just How Rare is a Hole-in-One? Jan 11, 2018

Show notes

There are golfers who could go an entire lifetime without getting a hole-in-one. Recently the BBC reported a pair of amateur players who each scored one - one after the other. It was reported widely that there was a 1 in 17 million chance of this happening. We speak to maths writer, Rob Eastaway, who explains the difficulties of trying to work out the chances.

Why do people hear voices in their head - like Rachel Waddingham who hears three-year-old Blue, 11-year-old Elfie and a panel of three critical scientists. Around 2% of people claim, like Rachel, to be inhabited by voices with whom they have full blown relationships. Are they all sick? And why have some psychologists changed their minds about the dangers of colluding with the voices?

Social media has become an integral part of modern life - but what if you have been in jail for the last 30 years? Many recently released so-called juvenile lifers in the US now find themselves grappling with the mysteries of Facebook and Whatsapp, and other aspects of new technology.

(Photo: Man playing golf. Credit: Shutterstock)

Kilobyte to Brontobyte, Social Media Review and Habits Dec 28, 2017

Show notes

The numbers we need to describe the world around us are getting bigger. Maths author Rob Eastaway explains the names for successive sizes of computer storage space and makes the case for a new giant unit of measurement: the Brontobyte.

We review recent developments in social media, such as the rise of 4Chan, and look ahead to the changes we can expect to see online in 2018.

And why are we creatures of habit? Doing everyday tasks without thinking frees our brains for more complicated decision making, but what happens when we form habits beyond our control, and how do we form good habits rather than bad ones? Shiulie Ghosh investigates.

(Photo: Journalist working on his computer, August 1980, at the Agence France-Presse. Credit: Getty Images)

Diet Coke Habit, 'Milkshake Duck' and Witches Dec 21, 2017

Show notes

The New York Times claims that Donald Trump drinks ‘a dozen’ Diet Cokes a day. At 42mg of caffeine per 330ml, what impact, if any, could this have on the President’s health? Jordan Dunbar speaks to experts about the effect caffeine has on your brain and talks to a high profile self-confessed Diet Coke addict in the UK.

"Milkshake Duck" is internet slang for an ordinary person who is briefly cheered, but then swiftly turned upon. We explain why an 11 year old boy and his family are the latest victims of this phenomenon. Also, a BBC Brazil investigation has revealed that an army of so-called social media cyborgs tried to influence the country’s presidential election.

Why have so many women in so many different cultures and eras been denounced as witches? BBC Africa’s Sammy Awami visits a village in his home country of Tanzania where, just four months ago, five women were murdered after being accused of witchcraft. Sammy meets a witch doctor who believes he has met a witch and talks to a local politician who is trying to stop the killings.

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

Does Eating Chocolate Make Your Brain Younger? Twitter Bot and Crowd Power Dec 14, 2017

Show notes

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 too good to be true? The BBC’s Head of Statistics, Robert Cuffe, investigates,

How do you detect a Twitter bot? Two students in the United States have invented an online tool aimed at stopping the spread of political propaganda on Twitter. Also, how a goal celebration by the footballer Paul Pogba helped spread a massive online protest against slave auctions in Libya.

Why do we take so much courage from a crowd? At football matches, music festivals and protest marches, people become energised in groups. They can be frightening places when they erupt in violence, or peaceful forms of protest when we try to change social norms. Sandra Kanthal reports.

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

How Lucky are Regular Lottery Winners Dec 07, 2017

Show notes

Over the last decade journalists in the US have been suspicious of the number of people who seem to have won multiple prizes on scratch cards and the lottery. We hear from a reporter and statistician who poured over data across a number of states to work out the chances of multiple wins. What happens when Twitter is your favourite platform but the company then suspends or terminates your account? The new Twitter rules meant one ‘black Twitter’ user was banned – along with many of his online friends.

Coming of age rituals, hazing at universities or entrance rites into secretive organisations - initiations are present in every culture around the world. They are often secretive and can involve horrific ordeals, so why do people put up with the pain?

(Photo: A customer purchasing lottery tickets at a store in San Lorenzo, California. Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Mr Darcy’s Wealth Nov 30, 2017

Show notes

Mr Darcy, the male love interest in Jane Austen’s 19th Century English novel Pride and Prejudice is supposed to be fabulously wealthy on an income of £10,000 a year, but two hundred years later, it’s not clear how rich he really is. As Tim Harford discovers, you need to do more than adjust the amount for inflation.

A BBC Trending investigation finds that part of YouTube's system for reporting sexualised comments left on children's videos has not been functioning correctly for more than a year, according to volunteer moderators inside YouTube’s “Trusted Flagger” programme.

What can we learn about politics from the power struggles within chimpanzee groups? Professor James Tilley explores the parallels between our political world and that of other primates.

(Photo: Colin Firth as Mr Darcy and Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet in the BBC adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice 1995)

Italy's Football Failure, Russia's Blogger for President Nov 23, 2017

Show notes

Italy’s failure to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 60 years will damage more than national pride. It will also carry a big financial cost – one estimate says Fifa stands to lose $100m. Is this really true? Also, we fact check the claim that 45% of Nigerian women marry before their 18th birthday.

For the second in our special series from Russia, we trace how opposition leader Alexei Navalny has used social media to move from writing LiveJournal blogs about corruption to trying to run for president.

Also, how true are beliefs about the differences between the way men and women speak, such as women apologise more and men interrupt more? Catherine Carr speaks to leading linguists, who have studied thousands of conversations and gathered data to find out what’s going on.

(Photo: Alessandro Florenzi of Italy at the end of the Fifa 2018 World Cup Qualifier play-off, 2017. Credit: Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Pop Albums, the Russian Web and Dubbing Movies Nov 16, 2017

Show notes

We discover how a numerical change in the way the pop music album charts are measured is causing artists to make ever longer albums.

The first of two special reports into the Russian internet. For years it provided an open platform for news and discussion with vastly different content to the news presented on the largely state-run television channels. We hear how over the last few years government regulation has been building up, and the authorities have started to curtail the kind of material that can be posted and seen online.

Why are so many films dubbed into another language? Rhianna Dhillon discovers the artistic, social and political reasons why many countries including Italy, France and Spanish speaking countries have opted to dub rather than subtitle movies.

(Image: Chris Brown performs onstage at 2017 BET Awards. Credit: Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET)

Nigerian Lawmakers, 'Calexit' Hashtag, Dark Tourism Nov 09, 2017

Show notes

Two statistics from Nigeria: do lawmakers really get paid $1.7 m – much more than the American President and does eating yams give Yoruba communities a record number of twins? We talk to the fact checkers at Africa Check.

We investigate connections between Moscow and “Calexit” groups that want to break up the United States. Also, the list of "sexual predator" professors that has sparked an online debate in India.

Millions of people every year visit sites of death, tragedy and destruction, from nuclear disaster zones to genocide memorials. Is it an effort to understand the darker parts of our history, or are we just indulging our morbid curiosity? Mary-Ann Ochota investigates dark tourism.

(Photo: Seven-year-old twin sisters Seye and Sayo on their way to a party in the south-western Nigerian town of Igbo-Ora. Photo credit: Pius Utomi Ekpei/Getty Images)

Novelists in Numbers Nov 02, 2017

Show notes

Stephen King once said that wannabe authors should avoid using adverbs which end with ‘ly’ but does he follow his own advice? Data journalist Ben Blatt decided to find out. He also analysed texts written by some of the best known authors to discover the words they use obsessively.

This year has seen a sharp rise in the number of confrontations in America between far right white supremacists and a group known as antifa – the anti fascists. We look at these two groups in traditionally liberal towns like Berkeley, California and Portland, Oregon and ask who is winning and what they are fighting for.

Do you ever feel like a fraud? Do you think that you don’t deserve your success and one day you’ll be found out? If so, you may suffer from Imposter Syndrome. It can afflict both men and women and people who belong to minority groups of whom there are stereotypes about competence also commonly experience imposter feelings. Afua Hirsch reports.

(Photo: American novelist Ernest Hemingway in 1954 on safari in Africa. Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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