Numbers of 2021

he US has been portrayed as in the grip of a maternal mortality crisis. In contrast to most other developed nations, the rate of maternal deaths in the US has been going up since the early 2000s.

But why? With the help of Saloni Dattani, a researcher at Our World in Data, Tim Harford explores how a gradual change in the way the data was gathered lies at the heart of the problem.

Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Debbie Richford Production Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown Series Producer: Tom Colls Sound Mix: Emma Harth Editor: Richard Vadon

Are Labour right about the Liz Truss effect on mortgages? Are the Conservatives right about pensioners? Are Plaid Cymru right about spending? Are the Lib Dems right about care funding? Is Count Binface right about croissants?

Why are MRP polls coming up with such different numbers?

Do erections require a litre of blood?

Tim Harford investigates the numbers in the news.

Presenter: Tim Harford Reporter: Kate Lamble Producers: Simon Tulett, Nathan Gower, Beth Ashmead Latham and Debbie Richford Series producer: Tom Colls Production coordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: Rod Farquhar Editor: Richard Vadon

So-called “pig butchering” scams take billions of dollars from people around the globe. But do the cyber scams run from compounds in Cambodia really take an amount of money equivalent to half that country’s GDP? We investigate how the scale of these criminal operations has been calculated.

Presenter: Tim Harford Reporter: Tom Colls Production coordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: Andrew Garratt Editor: Richard Vadon

Will Conservative policies raise mortgages by £4800, as Labour claim? Are primary school kids in England the best readers in the (western) world, as the Conservatives claim? Are there more potholes in the UK than craters on the moon?

Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news.

Presenter: Tim Harford Reporter: Kate Lamble Producers: Nathan Gower, Simon Tullet Beth Ashmead-Latham and Debbie Richford Production coordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: James Beard Editor: Richard Vadon

AWilliam Shakespeare might well rank as the most influential writer in the English language. But it seems he also had a knack for numbers.

Rob Eastaway, author of Much Ado about Numbers, tells Tim Harford about the simple maths that brings Shakespeare’s work to life.

Presenter: Tim Harford Readings: Stella Harford and Jordan Dunbar Producer: Beth Ashmead-Latham Series producer: Tom Colls Production coordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: James Beard Editor: Richard Vadon

What’s going on with the dodgy bar charts that political parties put on constituency campaign leaflets?

What’s the truth about tax promises?

Are 100,000 oil workers going to lose their jobs in Scotland?

Will class sizes increase in state schools if private schools increase their fees?

Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news.

Presenter: Tim Harford Reporter: Kate Lamble Producers: Nathan Gower, Beth Ashmead-Latham, Debbie Richford Production coordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: Neil Churchill Editor: Richard Vadon

The claim that medical error is the third leading cause of death in the US has been zooming around the internet for years.

This would mean that only heart disease and cancer killed more people than the very people trying to treat these diseases.

But there are good reasons to be suspicious about the claim.

Professor Mary Dixon-Woods, director of The Healthcare Improvement Studies Institute, or THIS Institute, at Cambridge University, explains what’s going on.

Presenter: Tim Harford Series producer: Tom Colls Production coordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: Nigel Appleton Editor: Richard Vadon

Were there any suspicious claims in the election debate between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer?

Do the claims in Reform UK’s policy documents on excess deaths and climate change make sense?

Can the Conservatives and Labour raise £6bn a year by cracking down on tax avoidance and evasion?

And do all the humans on earth weigh more than all of the ants?

Presenter: Tim Harford Reporters: Kate Lamble and Nathan Gower Producer: Beth Ashmead-Latham Series producer: Tom Colls Production coordinator: Brenda Brown Editor: Richard Vadon

India’s election has been running since 19 April. With results imminent on 4th June, More or Less talks with Chennai based data communicator Rukmini S. She founded Data for India, a new website designed to make socioeconomic data on India easier to find and understand. She talks us through the changing trends to help give a better picture of the type of country the winning party will govern.

Producers: Bethan Ashmead and Nathan Gower Sound Engineer: Nigel Appleton Production Coordinator: Brenda Brown Editor: Richard Vadon

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said that the UK economy is growing faster than Germany, France and the US, while Labour says the typical household in the UK is worse off by £5,883 since 2019. Are these claims fair? We give some needed context.

Net migration has fallen - we talk to someone who predicted it would - Dr Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford.

Is Taylor Swift about to add £1 bn to the British economy as some media outlets have claimed? The answer is ‘No’.

Why are our prisons full? We ask Cassia Rowland from the Institute for Government.

Presenter: Tim Harford Producers: Charlotte McDonald, Nathan Gower, Bethan Ashmead Latham and Ellie House Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Neil Churchill Production coordinator: Brenda Brown Editor: Richard Vadon

Family Medicine in the COVID-19 Global Pandemic

A Podcast Partnership Between the Besrour Centre and Canadian Family Physician

Using the Besrour Centre’s network of international partners, Dr. Christine Gibson interviews family physicians around the world who are helping to manage this pandemic, finding the common thread of humanity between those on each side of the mask. 

These stories are introduced by Dr. Nick Pimlott, Scientific Editor of Canadian Family Physician.

Dr. Gibson is a family physician in Calgary, Alberta and is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary.  Dr. Gibson is an international consultant for family medicine development and capacity building. Dr. Gibson is the Co-Lead of the Narrative Working Group of the Besrour Center at the College of Family Physicians of Canada. As Dr. Gibson writes:

“This is a timely opportunity to learn from our global partners on the front line of the Covid outbreak. Family physicians worldwide are stepping up to help their communities battle this illness as best we can. People are yearning for stories, whether for professional or personal reasons. Stories of hope and of communities in grief, stories of authentic experiences that we can all learn from and through. This is a unique experience in the history of humanity – a pandemic that is truly shared worldwide, revealing our interconnectivity in heroic and tragic ways. Now is the time for collective healing.”

We hope listeners find these stories compelling and healing.

This podcast was recorded on June 1st, 2020.

Dr. Gibson's website: www.christinegibson.net 

Meseret Zerihun is one of the first cohorts of residents to graduate as a family physician in her country of Ethiopia. She was enrolled in the first family medicine training program established in Ethiopia in 2013 at Addis Ababa University. She is now working as an assistant professor at Addis Ababa University, where she is involved in teaching, mentoring, educating, and supervising residents. She has demonstrated positive leadership skills and determination, which enabled her to be appointed as the Program Director and department head of the family medicine program at Addis Ababa University. Meseret has also been involved in delivering health care to underprivileged communities and is passionate about mentoring and encouraging future female leaders. and hopes to play a vital role in strengthening the primary care system in her country. She would like to pursue her PHD in global health and implementation science.

Read Dr. Gibson's accompanying blog post at https://www.cfp.ca/blog

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 investigate a few of the numbers in the news.

Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Nathan Gower Series Producer: Tom Colls Production co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound mix: James Beard Editor: Richard Vadon

What's better than sex? This series finale is an ode to everything but. Kissing! Eye contact! Dancing with a stranger! Everything but sex.

Have a message for Poppy and Rubina? If you’re over 16, you can message the BGDIT team via WhatsApp for free on 07968100822. Or email us at browngirlsdoittoo@bbc.co.uk

If you're in the UK, for more BBC podcasts listen on BBC Sounds: bbc.in/3UjecF5

Warning, this episode contains discussions about suicide. 

In the final episode of Poison, James goes to Canada to track down Kenneth Law and confront him over his operation.    

If you or someone you know has been affected by suicide or needs to talk to someone, please get in contact with the Samaritans online https://www.samaritans.org/ or call them for free on their 24-hour helpline 116 123.

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes.

Host: James Beal, Social Affairs Editor, The Times. 

james.beal@thetimes.co.uk

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The international hunt for a COVID-19 vaccine is the most consequential medical challenge of the 21st century. The race is marked by both intense collaboration among scientists and fierce competition between governments – particularly between China and the US. As coronavirus cases mount and economies limp through lockdowns, nations are not just competing for a life-saving vaccine – they’re jockeying for political glory and a leg up on the rest of the world. And even after a vaccine is developed, count on clashes over adequate and ethical distributions. Professor Lawrence Gostin joins Altamar to discuss the geopolitics of the global vaccine race – and how countries can mitigate winner-take-all risks. Gostin is the Director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University and Director of the World Health Organization’s Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law. He is also a Professor of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University.

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