Shortened

BBC Radio 4 FM

BBC Radio 4 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced BBC Home Service.

BBC Radio 4

Radio 4

Radio 4 (FM)

More or Less

Magazines & Reviews

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics used in everyday life

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

BBC Radio 4 LW

More or Less: A&E Waiting Times

Factual

A&E Waiting Times

09/01/2015

BBC Radio 4 - More or Less, A&E Waiting Times

Including NHS target data, bad luck and cancer, and statistics that are true and unfair.

Series that investigates numbers in the news. Tim Harford examines NHS performance data, bad luck and cancer, and statistics that are true and unfair.

It's been reported that the NHS in England has missed its four-hour A&E waiting time target with performance dropping to its lowest level for a decade. Tim Harford takes a closer look at the numbers with John Appleby, chief economist of the independent health think tank the King's Fund.

Do 85 people really own half the world's wealth? An advert for a BBC2 programme claims so, but More or Less listeners aren't so sure.

The media has also been full of stories about a new study, which reportedly shows that most cancers are caused by 'bad luck'. But, actually, it doesn't. Tim Harford finds out what the research really tells us about the causes of cancer, speaking to PZ Myers, a biologist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris, in the United States and Professor George Davey-Smith, clinical epidemiologist at Bristol University.

The Financial Times' Chris Giles joins Tim Harford to discuss statistical claims which are both true and unfair.

Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Ruth Alexander
Programme credit: the song Bad Dream, featured in the item about cancer, was composed by Nick Thorburn.

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

More or Less

A&E Waiting Times

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC Radio 4 FM

About BBC Radio 4