More or Less: Behind the Stats

Dr Erin Miller from the Global Terrorism Database and Steven Pinker discuss the misperceptions surrounding terrorism deaths in Europe and globally. They highlight the complexities in defining and counting terrorist attacks, the importance of historical context, and the exaggeration of terrorism in the media despite a larger trend of declining violence worldwide.

The podcast discusses the rise in terrorism deaths in Europe in 2016, with a focus on Turkey. It also explores the number of deaths 'at the hands of the police' and Olympic medal predictions. Additionally, it delves into wedding gift economics and the decline in child road accident deaths over decades.

Swimming coach Rick Madge and science writer Christie Aschwanden discuss the rapid improvement of world records in swimming and make a case for the 5,000m race over the marathon. They explore the influence of technology on swimming records, the benefits of the 5k race, and the health advantages of running.

Policy Editor Chris Cook discusses the evidence behind grammar schools. Swim coach Rick Madge explains the ongoing improvements in swimming records. The podcast challenges stereotypes about teenage girls. The rise of TV and the maths behind lottery wins are also explored.

How can we use statistics to predict how many medals each nation will win? We speak to Dr Julia Bredtmann, an economist at the RWI Leibniz Institute for Economic Research. She has come up with a model to predict how many medals each country will win, along with her colleagues, Sebastian Otten, also from the Leibniz Institute, and Carsten Crede of the University of East Anglia.Some countries like the US and China have a large population and GDP, but a number of countries do very well for their size and wealth. Julia explains the different factors you have to consider to predict Olympic success.

Explore the impact of 5p fee on plastic bag usage, predict Olympic medal outcomes using statistics, analyze income inequality trends in the UK, discuss the decline in maternal mortality rates globally, and unravel the complexities of measuring coastlines with 'The Coastline Paradox'.

Brian Christian, co-author of 'Algorithms to Live by', discusses how computer science techniques can optimize everyday decision-making. He shares insights on pairing odd socks efficiently and alphabetizing books using algorithms. The podcast explores sorting strategies, including radix sort for socks and merge sort for book collections.

Debunking the 'Waitrose effect' on house prices, examining stats in the EU referendum, questioning the value hike on Antiques Roadshow, and using computer science for sock organization.

Exploring Ireland's 26% GDP growth in 2015, deemed as 'leprechaun economics' by economist Paul Krugman. The influence of multinational companies on Ireland's GDP figures and the challenge of accurately calculating economic activity. Investigating the popularity of Pokemon Go with 26 million daily active users in the US and its global impact.

Exploring the protests over police shootings in the US, focusing on incidents involving Alton Sterling and Philando Castle. Investigating the number of people killed by police annually and the fatalities of police officers. Discussing racial disparities in police shootings, particularly the high rates among minorities compared to whites.