More or Less

Keith Houston, author of Empire of the Sum: The Rise and Reign of the Pocket Calculator, discusses the evolution of calculators from the Arithmometer to pocket-sized devices in the 1970s and 1980s. It explores the competition between an abacus and an electromechanical calculator, the popularity of calculator watches, and the continued use of calculators in a digital age.

Investigating the low measles vaccination rate in Birmingham, the economic costs of Brexit, falling crime rates, and the success rate of contestants in identifying traitors.

Investigating Oxfam's claim of growing wealth inequality, analyzing the accuracy and implications. Exploring the impact of COVID-19 on wealth distribution and global income inequality trends.

Topics discussed include the rise in the cost of the weekly shop, disruptions in international shipping, frequent attendees in healthcare consultations, wind chill and its effects on temperature, and a critical analysis of a report on global wealth and poverty.

Discover the mind-boggling number of possible chess games and the influential work of mathematicians. Explore how Claude Shannon estimated the immense number of possible chess games and the challenges of creating a computer that can play perfectly. Learn about the finite nature of the observable universe and how it compares to the vastness of chess possibilities.

Paul Lewis, economist and financial journalist, discusses the low percentage of people who pay inheritance tax. The podcast also explores the impact of COVID-19 and flu on the NHS, analyzes the decline in UK life expectancy, and investigates the feral cat population in Australia.

The podcast explores the validity and origins of the claim that we see 10,000 ads per day, debunking common beliefs and highlighting the lack of scientific evidence. It also delves into the estimates of advertisement clutter, debunking the myth of 5,000 ads per day and discussing various forms of marketing messages. The history and exaggeration of the claim that people see 1500 ads per day are also explored.

The podcast investigates the truth behind various statistics such as a 2500% increase in gun crime in London, high taxes in the UK, excess deaths from Covid, and the claim that three cats go missing every second in the UK. They question the credibility of the reported increase in gun crimes, discuss the rising tax burden and its impact on public services, compare excess death rates in the UK to other countries, and expose flaws in the calculation of missing cat numbers.

An examination of the 'Ndrangheta mafia, their criminal activities, and their reported annual turnover surpassing McDonald's and Deutsche Bank combined. The podcast discusses the skepticism surrounding the revenue estimates, analyzes the reliability of estimates for the illegal drug trade in the EU, and explores the scale of the wider criminal economy and the portion connected to the mafia.

In this podcast, Hannah Ritchie and Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter discuss the numbers of the year 2023, including China's low carbon electricity output, renewable energy growth in the UK and rising electricity demand in China, regression to the mean in football, the AI program Chat GPT, and concerns about AI biases and population statistics.