More or Less: Behind the Stats

Exploring global wealth inequality, the podcast questions if 62 billionaires owning as much as half the world is truly telling. They also discuss UK's educational initiatives, language proficiency among Muslim women, and the discovery of a massive prime number. Engaging children in mathematical activities on a bus adds a fun twist to the episode.

One of our 2015 ‘Numbers of the Year’ predictions might have come to pass. There is great excitement over rumours that one of the predictions Einstein made in his theory of General Relativity has finally been observed. But it’s not the first time it’s been reported that ‘gravitational waves’ have been discovered, and the last time proved to be an equipment test.What is the total number of possible tweets that could be created from 140 characters? In a recent programme Professor John Allen-Paulos told us that when you take into account all of the symbols available, the total number of possible tweets is Googol^2.8 (which is a 1 followed by 280 zeros.) But has he missed some options?

The podcast delves into debunking Health Secretary's claims about weekend stroke deaths, exploring premium bonds luck, dissecting election polling failures, unraveling misconceptions about alcohol-related A&E admissions, discussing Einstein's theory confirmation, and addressing Beijing's severe air pollution impact.

Author Farai Chideya, ex-footballer Graeme le Saux, and cricket stat Andrew Samson dive into topics like American creativity barriers, English Premier League tax impact, skepticism around sports figures, and unique cricket innings analysis.

Exploring flood defense spending disparities in England, debunking myths about Christmas Eve traffic, calculating tweet combinations, and comparing Storm Trooper toys to real-life soldiers.

How healthy is the Nigerian economy and how many possible tweets are there? Tim Harford looks back over some of the numbers that made the news in 2015. Guests include: Peter Cunliffe-Jones from Africa Check, Professor John Allen Paulos and Dr Andrew Pontzen

Explore the numbers behind the news in 2015 with guests discussing asylum applications in EU countries, zero inflation in Nigeria, America's work culture, tweets impact, cricket numbers significance, and the chaos of leap seconds in time synchronization.

Guests Leonard Doyle and Claire Melamed discuss the European migrant crisis and asylum seeker numbers in 2015. They explore the stark difference between Germany and the UK, the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, and the challenges of monitoring development goals with reliable data.

Exploring the world of Star Wars stormtroopers, from toy figures to their inefficiency in battles. Drawing parallels to historical events and comparing the number of Lego stormtroopers to Earth's armies

Exploring the historical Paris flood of 1910, the role of engineer Edmund Mayé, and the impact of accurate flood prediction. Investigating the unpredictability of 100-year floods and their connection to climate change. Comparing pollution levels in Beijing to smoking habits.