More or Less | 9 April 2022 | 0h 08m | Listen Later |
Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Francisca Antman about her paper For Want of a Cup: The Rise of Tea in England and the Impact of Water Quality on Mortality. Discusses the data and methods used to tease out that boiling water for tea accidentally improved public health.
Tag: More or Less
Professor John Horton Conway
More or Less | 23 April 2020 | 0h 14m | Listen Later | iTunes
John Horton Conway has died at 82 from covid-19 related complications (NY Times obituary). An influential figure in mathematics, Conway’s ideas inspired generations of students around the world. Discusses his life and work with mathematician Matt Parker and Conway’s biographer Siobhan Roberts.
Unbelievable: The Forgotten Rape Data
More or Less: Behind the Stats | 1 November 2019 | 0h 9m | Listen Later | iTunes
Hundreds of thousands of US rape forensic samples have been taken but not tested, generally where the alleged offender is known. Jurisdictions now testing these samples are identifying a serial rapist in 20–25% of samples. Offenders typically rape 7–11 times before being caught. Two-thirds of US states now mandate testing of rape forensic samples.
Insectageddon
More or Less: Behind the Stats | 2 March 2019 | 0h 12m | Listen Later | iTunes
Debunks the science behind recent media stories that more than 40 percent of insect species are decreasing and that they could disappear in 100 years.
Paul Romer and William Nordhaus’ Big Ideas
More or Less: Behind the Stats | 12 October 2018 | 0h 9m | Listen Later | iTunes
Discusses the work of Paul Romer and Bill Nordhaus, the 2018 winners of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics.
How Well Do You Understand Your World?
More or Less: Behind the Stats | 3 September 2018 | 0h 9m | Listen Later | iTunes
Discussion with Bobby Duffy, author of The Perils of Perception: Why We’re Wrong About Nearly Everything about why we are often wrong about a lot of basic facts.