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Tim Harford explains - and sometimes debunks - the numbers and statistics used in political debate, the news and everyday life.

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Episodes (836 available)

More or Less, Did Ukrainian strikes on Russian data centres stop disinformation bots?

We investigate claims that strikes on Yandex disrupted Russian disinformation campaigns.

17 Oct 2026

9 mins

More or Less, Fact-check: Will Scottish pensioners really be funding English social care?

Tim Harford investigates Scottish pensions, maternity injuries, UK deficit and baked beans

14 Oct 2026

29 mins

More or Less, Fact-check: Is China missing a billion people?

We investigate viral claims that the population of China is really only 500 million.

10 Oct 2026

9 mins

More or Less, Is the UK state pension really the lowest in Europe?

Tim Harford investigates UK pensions, Russia’s GDP and heatwave deaths.

7 Oct 2026

29 mins

More or Less, The Uzbekistan-shaped hole in an influential climate cost paper

How a global study on the cost of climate change fell apart when one country was removed

3 Oct 2026

9 mins

More or Less, Does the UK really have nine out of the ten poorest regions in Northern Europe?

Tim Harford investigates regional inequality, migrant costs, donkey donations and honey.

30 Sept 2026

30 mins

More or Less, Trump fact-check: Do the US and Venezuela have 60% of the world’s oil?

Is Donald Trump right to say the US and Venezuela have 60% of the world’s oil?

26 Sept 2026

9 mins

More or Less, Has the UK’s productivity puzzle been solved?

Tim Harford investigates bad productivity data, AI carbon, nuns and quiet album ends.

23 Sept 2026

29 mins

More or Less, Are carrots becoming less nutritious?

Have crops lost nutrients since the 1950s? We dig into the evidence.

19 Sept 2026

9 mins

More or Less, Are bad teeth the number one reason kids go to A&E?

Tim Harford investigates kids’ teeth, Israeli drugs, NEETs and the chances AI kills us all

16 Sept 2026

28 mins

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