More or Less

A ‘new’ BMI calculation has been proposed by Oxford Mathematician Professor Nick Trefethen but does it really address the problem with a calculation that is over a century old. Body Mass Index was first calculated over 150 years ago and in recent years has become controversial for its imprecise nature. Ruth Alexander and Wesley Stephenson look at how it has developed and what it really tells us, if anything, about our health.

This week Ruth Alexander is looking at farmer suicides in India. But is it any more prevalent than in any other area of Indian society? Also what is the history behind the Lakh and the Crore in South Asia? It confused one contributor on the farmer suicide story and caused him to get the figures wrong by a factor of 10.

Episode 1 of Tim Harford's new series, Pop Up Economics, in which he tells a live audience short stories about fascinating people and ideas in economics.

Guest Joshua Lewis, a post-doctoral researcher, sheds light on the inaccuracies of the 50% global food waste claim. He introduces a new value system 'Valetta' for Scrabble tiles, prompting a discussion on updating the game's values with changing language. John Chew, Co-President of the North American SCRABBLE Players Association, shares his thoughts on the proposed changes.

What does a 'guess the weight of the ox' competition tells us about a bloated and dysfunctional financial system? We find out in the Parable of the Ox written by John Kay of the Financial Times. The tale is told with the help of economics writer James Surowiecki as well as John Kay himself. It also features a brand new composition from the New Radiophonic Workshop.

What does a 'guess the weight of the ox' competition tells us about a bloated and dysfunctional financial system? We find out in the Parable of the Ox written by John Kay of the Financial Times. The tale is told with the help of economics writer James Surowiecki as well as John Kay himself. It also features a brand new composition from the New Radiophonic Workshop.

A special review of the year through the interesting, informative and idiosyncratic numbers of 2012.

Explore the impact of the 80-20 finance ratio on economic recovery, the search for the Higgs boson at CERN, the scarcity of openly gay footballers in English leagues, the retirement age crisis in Brazil, the significance of number 17 in sudoku, and election campaign spending in the US, UK, and Canada.

Investigating misleading handgun death statistics, exploring the mathematics behind juggling tricks, and delving into the numerical representation of juggling patterns

Exploring US gun crime statistics, death registration delays, chocolate's impact on intelligence, median age of first-time homebuyers, deer collision risks, and the mathematics of juggling in an entertaining and informative podcast episode.