Hannah Fry on using shopping data to detect ovarian cancer

The mathematician discusses a study that suggests loyalty card data could signal cancer.

• 9 mins

The IMF and the UK economy, NHS staff shortages and British vs English

How much should we trust the IMF’s forecasts for the UK?

• 28 mins

Spreadsheet disasters

The long and costly history of spreadsheet mistakes

• 10 mins

Nurses' pay, ambulance times and forgotten female economists

We look at how much nurses in the UK are paid compared with those in Europe.

• 28 mins

Florence Nightingale and how she visualised data

Tim Harford discusses the power of the nurse statistician’s groundbreaking diagrams

• 10 mins

Reoffending rates, Welsh taxes and the menopause

Tim Harford and team fact check a government claim about falling reoffending rates

• 29 mins

Do 29,000 coffee pods really go to landfill every minute?

We explore the environmental consequences of our thirst for coffee

• 10 mins

UK vs European energy prices, falling excess deaths and is 5 grams of cocaine a lot?

We debunk a claim that the UK has by far the highest energy prices in Europe

• 28 mins

Does your jewellery contain stolen Brink’s-Mat gold?

We ask what happened to the 3 tonnes of pure gold after the infamous robbery of 1983

• 10 mins

Do fungi kill three times as many people as malaria?

We investigate the claim that fungal infections are a much bigger killer than malaria.

• 8 mins

Silicon Valley Bank: a very modern bank run

How do bank runs happen?

• 9 mins

Covid vaccines and false claims about miscarriage

We debunk viral claims that incorrectly link covid-19 vaccines with a risk of miscarriage

• 9 mins

A groundbreaking new proof for Pythagoras’ Theorem?

Two high school students say they’ve discovered a new trigonometric proof for the theorem

• 10 mins

How to better understand and explain numbers

Professor Oliver Johnson discusses the use of statistics in the pandemic and in life.

• 10 mins

How accurate is baby's due date?

This week we investigate how a baby's due date is calculated

• 10 mins

The Pentagon Leaks and Fox News

Why did Tucker Carlson say far more Ukrainian troops than Russian are dying in the war?

• 9 mins

How much is the Coronation crown worth?

King Charles will be anointed with St Edward’s Crown – but what’s its true value?

• 10 mins

Why is life expectancy falling in the USA?

We ask why average life expectancy in America is falling so quickly.

• 10 mins

Do 94% of marriages in Portugal really end in divorce?

We examine a social media post that claims to outline rates of divorce across the world.

• 10 mins

Detecting Bad Science with Data

Uncovering fraud, malpractice and incompetence in science

• 10 mins

NHS waiting lists, Voter ID and measuring divorce

Why a fall in those waiting longest for treatment in England isn't telling the whole story

• 28 mins

Food prices, net migration and beef about beef

Does Britain really have the most affordable food in Europe?

• 30 mins

A short history of data

How the evolution of data over centuries has shaped today’s world

• 9 mins

Lib Dem ambulance claims, affordable rent and goat meat

Did 120 people a day in England die last year whilst waiting for an ambulance?

• 28 mins

Counting Hunger in India

Is it true that hunger has worsened in India?

• 9 mins

Electric vehicles, 600 million bottles and does oral sex cause cancer?

Is the weight of electric vehicles a risk to infrastructure?

• 32 mins

Is breastfeeding the key to exam success?

We look at a new UK study that links being breastfed as a baby with academic achievement.

• 9 mins

Mortgages, birth rates and does space contribute 18% to UK GDP?

Who will be most affected by mortgage rate increases?

• 28 mins

US National Debt: is $32 trillion a big number?

How concerned should we be about how much the US government borrows?

• 8 mins

Halving inflation, Scottish tidal power and have 1 in 3 women had an abortion?

Will Rishi Sunak’s pledge to halve inflation happen?

• 31 mins