The Cass Review is an independent report on the state of gender identity services for under-18s in England’s NHS.It found children had been let down by a lack of research and "remarkably weak" evidence on medical interventions in gender care.B

Tackling The Three-Body Problem

13 days ago 10m 58s

Netflix has a big new show named after and inspired by a classic problem in astrophysics, 'The Three Body Problem', where predicting the course and orbits of three or more celestial bodies proves near impossible.But how faithful is the Netflix

Is loneliness as bad for you as smoking?

20 days ago 11m 23s

Is loneliness as bad for you as smoking 15 cigarettes per day? That’s the claim circulating on social media.We trace this stat back to its source and speak the scientist behind the original research on which it is based, Professor Julianne Holt

Remembering Daniel Kahneman

27 days ago 9m 41s

Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel prize-winning behavioural economist and More or Less hero, has died at the age of 90. Tim Harford explains his ideas and influence. Presenter: Charlotte McDonaldSeries producer: Tom CollsSound mix: Hal HainesProduct

Bonus episode: Daniel Kahneman on Thinking, Fast and Slow

29 days ago 9m 20s

In an episode of More or Less from 2012, Daniel Kahneman – the Nobel prize-winning behavioural economist who has died at the age of 90 – explains the big ideas in his book Thinking, Fast and Slow.

What's happening to Arctic ice?

Mar 25th, 2024 10m 32s

The area of ice covering the Arctic ocean has been in a state of long decline, as climate change takes effect. But recent fluctuations in the ice have been seized on by climate change sceptics, who say it tells a different story.We speak to pol

Does the Russian government really spend 40% of its budget on the military?

Mar 16th, 2024 10m 36s

According to the head of the British military, the Russian government spends 40% of its budget on its war machine. But is it true? With the help of Professor Bettina Renz from Nottingham University and Dr Richard Connolly from The Royal Unit

Is public speaking really our biggest fear?

Mar 9th, 2024 10m 59s

For over 50 years it’s been widely reported that speaking before a group is people’s number one fear. But is it really true? With the help of Dr Karen Kangas Dwyer, a former Professor in the School of Communication at the University of Nebras

Ultramarathons: Are women faster than men?

Mar 2nd, 2024 10m 44s

As running races get longer, the gap between male and female competitors seems to close. Tim Harford and Lucy Proctor investigate the claim that when the race is 195 miles long, women overtake men to become the fastest runners. Presenter: Ti

School spending, excess deaths and billions of animals at Heathrow

Feb 28th, 2024 32m 53s

Is school funding at record levels as the education secretary claimed? Why did the ONS change how they measure excess deaths? Is there a shoplifting epidemic? Did 6.5bn creatures arrive in the UK by plane last year?Tim Harford investigates some

NBA basketball: Is height more important than skill?

Feb 24th, 2024 9m 54s

In the NBA, the US professional basketball league, the average player is a shade over 6ft 6 inches tall. So just how much does being very tall increase a man’s chances of becoming a professional player? Tim Harford talks to data scientist Seth

Per capita GDP, MP claims and the entire EU budget

Feb 21st, 2024 28m 23s

What does per capita GDP tell us about the UK economy? Did the government spend £94bn helping with rising energy prices? Was Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg right about the cost of the EU covid recovery scheme? How did Ben Goldacre persuade scientists to p

The digital ‘robots’ unlocking medical data

Feb 17th, 2024 11m 14s

Big medical datasets pose a serious problem. Thousands of patients’ health records are an enormous risk to personal privacy. But they also contain an enormous opportunity – they could show us how to provide better treatments or more effective h

Debt, students, shark and chips

Feb 14th, 2024 31m 24s

What is the government’s fiscal rule on the national debt? Are international students stealing places from the UK’s young people? How much social housing is really being built? Do 90% of chip shops sell shark and chips?Tim Harford investigates

The global gender split in young people’s politics

Feb 10th, 2024 9m 42s

In a surprising new trend, young men and women around the world are dividing by gender on their politics and ideologies. Whilst young women are becoming more liberal, young men are becoming more conservative. Tim Harford speaks to John Burn-Mur

Council tax weirdness: Hartlepool vs Westminster

Feb 7th, 2024 30m 33s

Do you really pay more in council tax on a semi in Hartlepool than a mansion in Westminster? How do the Office for National Statistics work out how much the UK population is going to grow by? How much do junior doctor strikes cost? Is home grow

A pocket-size history of the calculator

Feb 3rd, 2024 9m 55s

How was the calculator invented? How did it go from something the size of a table to something that could be carried in your pocket, the must-have gadget of the 1970’s and 80’s? Tim Harford unpicks the history of the calculator with Keith Ho

Measles, Traitors and the cost of Brexit

1 Jan 31st, 2024 31m 12s

Was there really a 5% measles vaccination rate in Birmingham? Has Brexit already cost 6% of the UKs economy? For how long has crime been falling? And are contestants on the reality gameshow any good at finding traitors?Tim Harford investigates

Is Oxfam right about the world’s richest and poorest people?

Jan 27th, 2024 12m 4s

We investigate Oxfam’s claim that “since 2020, the five richest men in the world have seen their fortunes more than double, while almost five billion people have seen their wealth fall”. With the help of Johan Norberg, Historian and Author of

Shopping, shipping and wind chill-ing

Jan 24th, 2024 31m 23s

Was Labour shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves wrong about the increase in the price of the weekly shop? What has the violence at sea done to the cost of shipping? Why did YouGov feel the need to correct an analysis of their polling? Are there 30 m

Are there more possible games of chess than atoms in the universe?

Jan 20th, 2024 10m 50s

We investigate how the vast possibilities in a game of chess compare to the vastness of the observable universe.Dr James Grime helps us understand the Shannon number – a famous figure on the chess side of the equation - and astronomer Professor

Life expectancy, inheritance tax and the NHS vs winter

Jan 17th, 2024 26m 46s

We report on the state of the NHS as it struggles through a double wave of Covid and flu infections.We report on the state of the NHS as it struggles through a double wave of Covid and flu infections.Do only 4% of people pay inheritance tax? Pa

Do we see 10,000 adverts per day?

Jan 13th, 2024 10m 52s

How many adverts does the average person see in a day? If you search for this question online, the surprising answer is that we might see thousands – up to 10,000.However, the idea that we see thousands of adverts is a strange and confusing one

Deaths, taxes and missing cats

Jan 10th, 2024 31m 36s

Did London see a 2500% increase in gun crime? Are taxes in the UK the highest since the 1950s? Did the UK have high excess deaths from Covid, compared to the rest of Europe? Do three cats go missing every second in the UK? Tim and the team inve

How much money do the ‘Ndrangheta mafia make?

Jan 6th, 2024 10m 56s

The ‘Ndrangheta are one of Italy’s biggest and most dangerous criminal gangs. One piece of research suggested they have an annual turnover of €53bn - more than McDonalds and Deutsche Bank combined.But is that number realistic? Professor Anna Se