News
Fact-checking government efficiency claims in the US. Read more
now playing
DOGE, apples and irregular migrants
Fact-checking government efficiency claims in the US.
What is an IQ map and can we trust them?
We investigate maps that suggest extremely low average IQs in developing countries
How did lockdown impact children?
Five years on, Tim Harford looks at the data on the effect of lockdown
Why are more people claiming disability benefits?
Plus, UK vs Russia on free speech and the collapse of the Labour Force Survey
What are the chances of an asteroid hitting earth in 2032?
Why the likelihood of planetary impact changed as asteroid 2024 YR4 approached.
Could a 2% wealth tax raise £24bn?
Plus did trillions disappear from UK pensions? Why does the UK have a lot of old housing?
What’s Trump’s problem with Canada?
Does the US subsidise Canada $200 billion a year and why does Trump call them nasty?
Is one in four people in the UK disabled?
Plus, what has Canada done to Donald Trump? Is Rachel Reeves chasing the model?
Trump tariffs: All about the deficits
Explaining the maths and economics of the US ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs
The mistake in Trump’s tariff formula
Plus, counting bobbies, freezing tax and electrocuting redheads
How much is a human life worth?
The Price of Life author Jenny Kleeman on the cost of making and taking a life
The pioneers of proof
Professor Adam Kucharski on his new book, Proof: The Uncertain Science of Certainty
Are 80% of women really only attracted to 20% of men?
Dispelling an incel myth that featured in the Netflix drama Adolescence
Donald Trump: 100 days fact-check
Working out the reality behind President Trump’s claims on immigration, fentanyl and eggs
Bonus episode: The Autism Curve
The first episode of a new BBC series investigating the steep rise in autism diagnoses.
Warren Buffett’s brilliant bets
How retiring Berkshire Hathaway boss Warren Buffett made his money and made a point
How dead is the internet?
We investigate the claim that bots make up 50% of internet traffic
Is the UN underestimating the global fall in fertility?
How one graph shows the conservative side of the United Nations’ population estimates
Factchecking the Trump istration’s Autism claims
Why has the rate of autism risen so dramatically in the last 30 years?
