More or Less

Original version

BBC Radio 4 LW

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 FM

More or Less: Austerity Deaths, C-Sections and being struck by lightning.

Austerity deaths, C-sections, Being struck by lightening

Austerity Deaths, C-Sections and being struck by lightning.

BBC Radio 4 - More or Less, Austerity Deaths, C-Sections and being struck by lightning.

Has Austerity caused 120 thousand deaths in the UK and does God hate men?

Has Austerity caused 120 thousand deaths in the UK and does God hate men? Tim Harford and team investigate these claims and more.

During Question Time on the 19th journalist Ash Sarkar claimed that 120,000 people have been killed by austerity measures, but is this true? We speak to Mike Murphy, professor of demography at the London School of Economics to find out more. 

Loyal listener Viv emailed us after hearing a surprising statistic: ‘producing a leg of lamb releases the same amount of Co2 as a transatlantic flight’ – does this spell the end of the Easter Sunday roast or are the figures a bit woolly? 

Yet more loyal listeners Charles and Lucy emailed us wondering if we could look into how many women in China give birth in hospitals, and whether it was true that 50% of births there are delivered by caesarean section. Oh, and we also mention guts and bacteria… 

Does God hate men? Seems quite a controversial statement but when the statistics show that men are four times more likely to be struck by lightning than women you can’t help but wonder… Tim talks to Timandra Harkness to find out more. 

Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Lizzy McNeill
Editor: Richard Vadon

BBC Radio 4

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

Austerity Deaths, C-Sections and being struck by lightning.

Genres

Brand

BBC Radio 4 LW

About BBC Radio 4