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

US national debt: Is $32 trillion a big number?

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

• 9 mins

Will there be just six grandchildren for every 100 South Koreans?

We look at the numbers around South Korea’s birth rate and the reasons why it’s so low.

• 9 mins

Does it take 10,000 litres of water to make a pair of jeans?

The numbers behind water use and denim production.

• 9 mins

Are more adult nappies sold in Japan than baby ones?

We examine a claim related to the perception of Japan as an ageing society.

• 9 mins

Ukraine war: A new way of calculating Russian deaths

How Russian journalists are using probate records to estimate fatalities

• 9 mins

Data, extreme weather and climate change

The role data plays in climate attribution - and why we don’t always have it

• 9 mins

Are the media exaggerating how hot it is in the Mediterranean?

A look at how accurately media report on the weather – especially recent heatwaves.

• 9 mins

Why is it so hard to predict the outcome of competitions like the Premier League?

What variables do we look at when we try to predict the outcome of a sports competition?

• 9 mins

How many butterflies are there in the world?

The world’s butterfly population doesn’t seem to be online – so what is it?

• 9 mins

How safe is the release of Fukushima nuclear plant water?

We ask whether there are any risks posed by the release into the Pacific Ocean

• 9 mins

What percentage of our brain do we actually use?

Do we have access to some or all of our brain-power?

• 9 mins

Did 35,000 Americans die building the Panama Canal?

We fact check a claim made by Donald Trump about the world famous canal

• 9 mins

How to approach the world through numbers

Professor David Sumpter talks to Tim Harford about his new book

• 9 mins

Which city has the longest canals?

We dive into the world of waterways after a listener asked who has the longest canals.

• 9 mins

Is the UK really ahead in cutting carbon emissions?

As the UK changes course in its path to net zero, how does it compare with other nations?

• 9 mins

Are half the words in English from French?

We ask whether almost half the words in the English language are of French origin.

• 9 mins

Greedy jobs and the gender pay gap

Tim Harford discusses the work of Nobel Economics prize winner Claudia Goldin

• 9 mins

What do windscreen splats tell us about insect decline?

We ask whether the ‘windscreen phenomenon’ suggests falling numbers of insects

• 9 mins

The overlooked mathematicians of history

A global history of mathematics, from ancient China to the Middle East

• 9 mins

Do Indian women own 11% of the world’s gold?

The cultural importance of gold is well known – but how much do Indians actually own?

• 9 mins

Can maths prove the existence of aliens?

We look a famous equation which tries to explain whether life exists in outer space

• 9 mins

Are women in the UK the biggest binge drinkers in the world?

Checking out stats on boozing Brits and fishing fleets in the South China Sea.

• 9 mins

A boy meets girl meets stats story

A data scientist takes on rom com films to see how women in STEM are represented

• 9 mins

Will there be a billion climate refugees?

We investigate if floods, droughts and storms will cause mass international migration

• 9 mins

Does endurance sport harm your heart?

We investigate the connection between high levels of exercise and arrhythmia

• 9 mins

China’s missing numbers

How the Chinese state make inconvenient statistics disappear

• 9 mins

Can chocolate be better than salad?

We investigate a nutritional conundrum – can chocolate ever be better for you than salad?

• 9 mins

Numbers of the year 2023

Hand-picked stats that tell you something interesting about the world

• 9 mins

How much money do the ‘Ndrangheta mafia make?

We investigate whether one criminal group could have a turnover of billions of dollars

• 9 mins

Do we see 10,000 adverts per day?

We investigate the claim that each of us sees thousands of adverts every single day

• 9 mins

Are there more possible games of chess than atoms in the universe?

We investigate how the vast possibilities in chess compare to the vastness of the universe

• 9 mins

Is Oxfam right about the world’s richest and poorest people?

We investigate how Oxfam use wealth stats to illustrate global inequality

• 9 mins

A pocket-size history of the calculator

Tim Harford explores the history of calculators from clockwork to the Kashio brothers

• 9 mins

The global gender split in young people’s politics

Tim Harford investigates the growing political divergence between young men and women.

• 9 mins

The digital ‘robots’ unlocking medical data

Ben Goldacre on OpenSAFELY, protecting patient privacy while analysing health data

• 9 mins

NBA basketball: Is height more important than skill?

How much does a man’s height affect his chances of becoming an NBA basketball player?

• 9 mins

Ultramarathons: Are women faster than men?

Is it really true that in extremely long races, women run faster than men?

• 9 mins

Is public speaking really our biggest fear?

Tim Harford investigates the claim that public speaking is people’s number one fear.

• 9 mins

Does the Russian government really spend 40% of its budget on the military?

We investigate how much the Russian state is spending on the war in Ukraine

• 9 mins

What’s happening to Arctic ice?

Arctic ice has been in long decline. Do recent fluctuations change the story?

• 9 mins

Remembering Daniel Kahneman

Tim Harford on the great social scientist, who has died at the age of 90

• 9 mins

Is loneliness as bad for you as smoking?

The connection between being alone and an early death

• 9 mins

Tackling The Three-Body Problem

Is the physics in Netflix's new show accurate?

• 9 mins

Is misinformation being spread about a review of trans youth medicine?

Investigating claims that the Cass Review ignored 98% of valuable evidence

• 9 mins

Has Milei fixed Argentina’s inflation problem?

What falling inflation means for Milei’s austerity plan and economic “shock” measures

• 9 mins

Do one in five young Americans think the holocaust is a myth?

How problems with opt-in polling can lead to controversial headlines

• 9 mins