Is a third of Pakistan really under water?
Pakistan is battling a huge natural disaster as a result of heavy monsoon rains. It’s been widely...
Pakistan flooding, UK power prices and Boris’s broadband claim
Devastating floods have wreaked havoc across Pakistan after the heaviest monsoon rains in at...
Can we use maths to beat the robots?
Daily advances in the technology of artificial intelligence may leave humans playing catch-up –...
Energy prices, excess deaths and the race to count to 200
With energy prices in the UK spiralling, Tim Harford asks whether there is an easy and realistic...
Kenya’s Election Rounding Error
When the official figures were announced in Kenya’s presidential election, it looked like the...
The numbers behind “natural” birth control
Videos on TikTok have been claiming that so-called “natural” birth control methods can be 99%...
The opinion polling industry’s reputation has taken a battering in recent years, as high profile...
Debunking the Liverpool FC Conspiracy Theory
Ahead of the opening of the new season of the English Premier League, baseless rumours and dodgy...
Why do we measure the world around us in the way we do? There is a rich history to be explored -...
Does the World Athletics Championships have a false start problem?
US athlete Devon Allen has made global headlines this week after being disqualified from the 110m...
Is Uganda about to become a middle income country?
In his State of the Nation address in early June 2022, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni said...
Does it take 10,000 litres of water to make a pair of jeans?
Various claims have been made about how much water is used in the production of a pair of jeans,...
How many American women will have an abortion in their lifetime?
Earlier this month, the US Supreme Court overturned its 1973 ruling on Roe vs Wade - the case...
Covid climb, childcare costs and why can’t the French count properly?
Covid cases are rising once again – how accurately are official figures picking up the new wave...
Ed Sheeran and the mathematics of musical coincidences
After beating a plagiarism claim in court, musician Ed Sheeran said that musical coincidences...
Rail strikes, tyre pollution and sex statistics
Do rail workers really earn £13,000 a year more than nurses? As rail strikes severely hit...
Magazine articles and advice columns are commonly littered with spurious statistics about how...
Maternity litigation, stars, bees and windowless planes
The former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt says that the cost of maternity litigation claims in...
Hannah Fry: Understanding the numbers of cancer
British mathematics professor and broadcaster Hannah Fry has spent many years trying to explain...
Employment puzzle, pyramids and triplets
The UK has a low unemployment rate, and a large number of people who are not working right now –...
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