More or Less: Behind the Stats

Would it be cheaper to send every Greek rail passenger by taxi instead? This programme was first broadcast on the BBC World Service.

Executive pay, chess and trouble on the Greek railway.

Are we witnessing a grand economic experiment being played out between Europe, trying to cut its way out of trouble, and the United States, trying to spend its way to redemption? Plus, we investigate the height of North Koreans. This programme was first broadcast on the BBC World Service.

Are we witnessing a grand economic experiment playing out between Britain and the United States? How long have travellers been waiting to get through immigration at Heathrow? Plus, are you going to destroy the economy this bank holiday weekend?

The Midas Formula - In this week's More or Less: The story of Black-Scholes, the equation that transformed Wall Street – and the arguments over whether it made the world a better place, or helped cause the financial mess we have all been dealing with for the past five years. This programme was first broadcast on the BBC World Service.

Rain and drought in numbers, the formula which changed Wall Street and then the world forever - and why Conservative MPs used to be taller than their Labour counterparts.

Is the rate of species extinction exaggerated - or even unknowable? Producer: Richard Knight This programme was first broadcast on the BBC World Service.

This podcast explores the height of North Koreans, the width of police officers, and the rate of species extinction. It discusses the challenges of estimating species extinction rates, British nationals dying abroad, height differences in Korean populations, and misleading health data of police officers. The episode emphasizes the importance of data accuracy in various sectors and commitment to facts.

Exploring surprising Eurostats like Porsche car ownership in Greece, Italian politicians' cars, youth unemployment in Spain. Debunking myths with accurate figures and shedding light on the reality behind these widely reported statistics.

The Royal Mail says UK stamp prices are still among the best value in Europe, despite an imminent steep price rise. Tim Harford finds out whether this is true, and compares the price of postal services around the world. Plus, he finds out how, after being invented by Indian mathematicians, modern numbers became established in the ancient Arab world and then journeyed on to Europe in what was essentially the first maths textbook ever written, "Liber Abaci". Its author was Leonardo of Pisa, better known as Fibonacci. Tim speaks to Keith Devlin, author of The Man of Numbers, to find out more. This programme was first broadcast on the BBC World Service.