Are Hollywood films ignoring women? As this is the 90th year of the Academy Awards - we find out how many ‘Best Picture’ winners pass the Bechdel Test. This is a light-hearted way of challenging whether a film meets a low standard of female representation. They have to fulfil three criteria: are there at least two named female characters in the cast? Do those two women speak to each other? And do they have a conversation about something other than a man? In collaboration with the BBC’s 100 Women...
Mar 05, 2018•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast What’s the most successful nation? (0’40”) We look at population, GDP per capita and ski areas of the countries with the most medals. How do you judge a country’s ‘best’ performance? (3.45”) What are the chances of dead heat in a race? (6’35”) The two-man bobsleigh event ended in a dead heat with both Canada and Germany achieving a time of three minutes 16.86 seconds. Is this the coldest winter games? (8’41”)
Feb 25, 2018•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast How to question dubious statistics in just a few short steps.
Feb 18, 2018•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast How many people have UN staff raped? – (0’40’’) It was reported in a number of the newspapers this week that UN staff are responsible for 60,000 rapes in a decade. The wealth of Mr Darcy – (5’10”) The male love interest of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ is supposed to be fabulously wealthy. Is he? How many people did Stalin kill? – (10’00”) Why there are so many different figures reported. Avoid splitting the bill – (18’25”) Credit card roulette is Dan Ariely’s preferred way of ending a meal with friends...
Feb 16, 2018•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Alcohol consumption has fallen sharply according to Russia’s health ministry
Feb 11, 2018•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Why the biggest ever fall in the Dow wasn't, and how much do women spend on tampons?
Feb 09, 2018•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast A key pledge of the Chinese President Xi Jinping is that China will have eradicated poverty by 2020. It’s an extraordinary claim, but the country does have a good track record in improving the wealth of its citizens; the World Bank says China has contributed more than any other country to global poverty reduction. So how does China measure poverty? And is it possible for them to make sure, over the next few years, that no one falls below their poverty line? Photo: A woman tends to her niece amid...
Feb 05, 2018•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast How many transgender people are there in the UK? The UK produces official statistics about all sorts of things – from economic indicators to demographic data. But it turns out there are no official figures for the number of transgender people in the UK. We explore what we do know, and what is harder to measure. Do 4% of the population drink nearly a third of the alcohol? According to recent headlines, just 4% of the population drink nearly a third of the alcohol sold in England. But can so few p...
Feb 02, 2018•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast The survey question that could affect the accuracy of its results. The United States are due to run their next nationwide census in 2020, but already critics are warning that underfunding and proposed question about citizenship could affect the accuracy of its results. We look at the real life consequences if groups choose not to complete the 2020 census, and ask whether the recent politically charged debate is unusual in its two hundred year history. Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Kate Lamble...
Jan 29, 2018•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast First sexual experience - checking the facts A short film for the Draw A Line campaign has made the claim that one in three girls first sexual experience is rape. This seems shockingly high, but what is the evidence? Is it just for the UK or a global figure? We go back to the reports that were used to source the claim, and find the research has been misinterpreted. How long can a shark go for without eating? A recent episode of Blue Planet II stated that after a large meal a Sixgill shark might ...
Jan 26, 2018•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast If you ask an economist to explain what is happening in a country’s economy. They rely on economic data points to describe what is happening – they might talk about the unemployment rate, average wages, and the numbers of people in poverty. They pull together the information available for thousands or millions of people to work out trends. But are we getting the whole picture? We speak to Rachel Schneider, co-author of the book, ‘The Financial Diaries’. It’s based on a large study in the USA. Ov...
Jan 22, 2018•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Gender Pay Gap This week the Office for National Statistics has published analysis trying to find out why it is that on average women are paid less than men in specific industries and occupations. We examine their findings, as well as taking a look at the current discussion about equal pay at the BBC. Alcohol reaction times We take a look at a study that suggests that people's reaction speeds are affected over time by regular drinking. It recommends that official guidelines for the amount of alc...
Jan 19, 2018•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast A forgotten French mathematician is the focus of our programme. He anticipated both Einstein's theories and the application of maths to the stock market. Born in the 1870s, his work was unusual at the time. With the help of Alison Etheridge, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford, we explain how his ideas were rediscovered decades after his death. (Photo: Pocket watch. Credit: Kanyapak Lim/Shutterstock)
Jan 15, 2018•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Did missed appointments cost the NHS £1 billion last year? New figures published recently suggest that the financial cost to the NHS for missed appointments was £1 billion last year. But our listeners are curious. How has this figure been worked out? And don’t missed appointments actually ease the pressure on an overcrowded system? Graduate pay – is it always higher than non-graduates’ pay? It is often claimed that if you go to university and get a degree, you will earn more than those who do no...
Jan 12, 2018•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Why it isn’t as simple to work out as you think.
Jan 07, 2018•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Phones, lawn mowers and how Kim Kardashian helped the public understanding of risk.
Dec 31, 2017•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Measuring the energy used to keep the cryptocurrency secure.
Dec 24, 2017•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Could the US President’s Diet Coke habit affect his health? and 'contained' wildfires
Dec 18, 2017•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Headlines claim that eating chocolate can protect you from developing Alzheimer’s disease. The theory is that bioactives within chocolate called flavanols can help reduce the risk of heart attacks, strokes and even make your brain 30 years younger! But isn’t this all a bit too good to be true? The BBC’s Head of Statistics, Robert Cuffe, investigates whether research findings are misrepresented by funders, PR machines and the media. Presenter: Robert Cuffe Producer: Lizzy McNeill
Dec 11, 2017•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Are some people just very lucky? The maths suggest that is unlikely.
Dec 04, 2017•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast What the Pride and Prejudice character would have earned in today’s money.
Nov 26, 2017•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Italians are calling it the apocalypse. Their team has failed to make it to the World Cup for the first time in 60 years. But it is about more than just national pride - there is a financial cost too. Some have suggested that it will cost FIFA $100m. Is this really true? We speak to sports writer Graham Dunbar who has been counting how much money football's world governing body might lose out on. Also we fact check the claim that 45% of Nigerian women marry before their 18th birthday. Presen...
Nov 17, 2017•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Chris Brown’s latest album is stuffed with so many songs it runs at a sprawling two hours and twenty minutes. It’s only the latest in a string of lengthy album releases that includes artists like Drake, The Weeknd and Lil B. More or Less speaks to Hugh McIntyre, a music journalist who has found out that a numerical change in the way the album charts are measured is tempting artists into making longer albums. We also talk to Marc Hogan, a senior writer at Pitchfork, about a number that is changin...
Nov 12, 2017•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Finding out if Nigerian politicians really get paid more than the American President.
Nov 05, 2017•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Counting the favourite words of well-known authors: Stephen King, Hemingway and others
Oct 30, 2017•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Did the 2016 US election galvanise young people to become more engaged in politics?
Oct 20, 2017•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast The behavioural economist who has inspired governments around the world.
Oct 13, 2017•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Naming the monster numbers - how the names of digital storage files evolved.
Oct 10, 2017•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Do the largest ships emit as much pollution as all the cars in the world?
Oct 02, 2017•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Is Uber safe? The post Brexit dual nationality surge and measuring partner abuse.
Sep 29, 2017•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
