More or Less

Investigating the claim that Russia spends 40% of its budget on the military. Analyzing Russian government budget allocation to defense. Comparing Russia's military expenditure to global powers. Exploring Ukraine's higher military budget compared to Russia.

A deep dive into the fear of public speaking, challenging its status as the top fear. Experts debunk the claim dating back to the 1970s. Comparison of public speaking fear with other common fears like government corruption and health concerns.

Exploring the surprising findings on gender differences in ultra marathon pacing, where women overtake men in races over 195 miles. Highlighting female success in ultra marathons with instances of women surpassing male competitors like Jasmine Paris and Camille Herron. Discussing the challenges of gender disparities in participation and preparation levels in ultramarathon racing.

Investigating discrepancies in school funding levels, changes in excess death calculations during the pandemic, the rise in shoplifting incidents, and the influx of billions of animals at Heathrow Airport. Tim Harford delves into these intriguing numbers and trends.

Delving into the impact of height in NBA success, the podcast explores height vs. skill in basketball. It compares scoring records and height-adjusted performance, and discusses AI tools for data analysis and creativity.

Exploring UK's per capita GDP, government's alleged spending on energy bills, challenges in obtaining accurate information from the Treasury, analyzing UK's supposed savings from not joining the EU's COVID recovery scheme, breakdown of the EU budget and COVID recovery package

Ben Goldacre, Director of the Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science at Oxford, explains the use of OpenSAFELY to unlock medical data. They discuss the balance between research benefits and privacy concerns with large medical datasets, pseudonomization techniques, and the importance of accessing health records for analysis, including insights from COVID-19 research efforts.

Government's fiscal rule on national debt, the impact of international students on UK universities, the distinction between affordable rent and social rent in social housing, and the truth about shark being sold in fish and chip shops.

The podcast explores the trend of young men and women dividing by gender on their politics, with women leaning liberal and men leaning conservative. They discuss the influence of higher education, the Me Too movement, and social media on this global gender split. The South Korean gender divide is highlighted as one of the most extreme. The frustrations of young men in politics and the impact of gender policies on their views are also examined.

This podcast delves into the discrepancies in council tax payments between houses in Westminster and houses in Hartlepool. It exposes the regressive nature of the council tax system in England and the unfairness of outdated property valuations. The podcast also explores the UK population projections and the factors influencing them, including migration. Additionally, it discusses the difficulties in estimating the cost of junior doctor strikes in England.