Podcasts by The Thought Show

A ‘Manspreading’ Video Goes Viral in Russia from 2018-10-25T09:06

A protest against “manspreading” went viral in Russia – but is it Russian propaganda? Activist Anna Dovgalyuk denies that she staged a stunt where a woman was filmed throwing diluted bleach at t...

The Men Who Hunt Stolen Motorbikes from 2018-10-18T09:06

In one city hit by motorbike theft, volunteers are using social media to fight back.

The People Who Remove Facebook Posts from 2018-10-11T09:00

They decide what you can and cannot see on the world’s biggest social network. Who are Facebook’s content moderators? We speak to a woman who worked in a moderation centre in Germany, often watc...

Catching The Killers Behind A Viral Murder Video from 2018-10-04T09:00

In July 2018, a disturbing video began to circulate on social media. In it two women and young children are shown being led at gunpoint by a group of soldiers. The captives are blindfolded, forc...

Social Media And Losing Weight from 2018-09-27T09:00

Do dieting influencers and online communities help or hurt when you’re trying to get in shape? Some find social media groups a useful source of support, but there are concerns that some of the a...

Russian Extremism Memes from 2018-09-20T08:45

Why are some Russians put on extremist watch lists for saving or posting memes online? Maria Motuznaya was investigated by police after saving edgy memes on her account on the social network VKo...

Did Facebook Fuel Hate in Myanmar? from 2018-09-14T00:00

Facebook’s dream of a more open and connected world has turned into a nightmare in Myanmar. The price of a smartphone SIM card dropped from around $200 to $2, and Facebook quickly became the app...

The Influencer Business from 2018-09-06T09:00

Earlier this year, a baker in Liverpool in north-west England vented her frustration on Twitter over constantly being asked by social media influencers for free cakes. Many other businesses publ...

Virtually Making A Fortune? from 2018-08-30T08:55

Why are people spending real money to buy land that only exists in virtual reality? In the virtual world of Decentraland, users can build whatever they can imagine. Some hope to make a profit by...

What is #QAnon? from 2018-08-23T09:00

#QAnon is part of an online conspiracy theory firing up supporters of Donald Trump. We trace how it started on fringe message boards and has moved more mainstream, including to the floor of a P...

Sandy Hook Hoaxers Update from 2018-08-16T09:06

An update on American conspiracy theorists who deny that twenty-six people, mostly young children, died at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. False rumours that the attacks were staged were p...

Life As A YouTube Child Star from 2018-08-09T09:01

What’s it like to be a young YouTube star? Siblings Jaadin and Arabella Daho's lives have significantly changed since they went viral on YouTube in 2015. At just 10 and 11 years old their videos...

#MeToo: Part Two from 2018-08-02T08:00

The hashtag MeToo swept across social media in 2017 as victims of sexual harassment spoke out to show how prevalent sexual harassment is within society.

The trending team are joined by Wa...

#MeToo: What's Next? from 2018-07-26T09:00

What’s the future of #MeToo? In October 2017, the hashtag became a worldwide movement in the wake of allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein – who denies the charges against him....

World Cup Social Media Extravaganza from 2018-07-20T00:00

A recap of the social media trends of the 2018 World Cup: how did the “beautiful game” dominate online chatter across the globe.

Should we have smaller families to save the planet? We exam...

The World of Memes from 2018-07-12T09:00

How can memes be engineered to carry political messages? A team at University College, London, has found that some far-right websites and message boards have a disproportionate impact on the mem...

The Silver Snipers from 2018-07-05T09:00

Five Swedish pensioners, who call themselves the “Silver Snipers”, test their aim at a professional eSports tournament, and try to prove that gaming is for everyone. Not only is gaming a hobby t...

A Transgender Twitter Fight from 2018-06-28T09:06

One short message led to a Twitter ban for a controversial activist – and highlighted the complicated world of transgender politics and how philosophical battles within transgender communities ...

The Mysterious Wikipedia Editor from 2018-06-21T09:06

Philip Cross has made hundreds of thousands of Wikipedia edits. But in the process he's angered anti-war activists and critics of Western foreign policy, who claim he's biased. So who is “Philip...

A Vegan You Tube Court Drama from 2018-06-14T09:00

Anna Scanlon, a vegan vlogger, has filed a lawsuit for defamation after she found herself the target of abuse online . She complained to the social media companies but got little response. The f...

Weapons of Mass Deception from 2018-06-07T09:06

It is almost a year since Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Bahrain and their allies cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar. BBC Arabic journalist Owen Pinnell reveals how allegations of hacked websites...

Life After Life for US Ex-Prisoners from 2018-05-24T09:06

Ex-prisoners in the US are struggling to cope with the online world after years in jail.

We hear from recently released so-called juvenile lifers who find themselves grappling with social ...

Inside The Dark World Of “Incels” from 2018-05-17T09:06

Last month, ten people were killed in Toronto after a man drove a van into pedestrians. In a Facebook status before the attack, the suspect referred to an "Incel Rebellion”. "Incel" is short for...

The YouTube Stars Selling Cheating from 2018-05-10T09:06

An exclusive investigation by BBC Trending looks at the YouTubers who are promoting academic cheating online. More than 250 popular YouTube channels have been paid to advertise Edubirdie, an ess...

When a Democrat Met a Republican from 2018-05-03T09:06

When a Democrat Met a Republican: how an innovative project called Better Angels facilitates conversations between people from the left and the right at a time when the ideological divide in Ame...

Who’s Pushing Syria Conspiracies? from 2018-04-26T09:06

As reporting on the ground in Syria becomes increasingly difficult, a disinformation war rages. We reveal a network of influential Twitter accounts, some with tens or hundreds of thousands of fo...

Blocking Hate Speech on Social Media from 2018-04-19T09:00

Is a tough new law in Germany aimed at blocking hate speech in danger of limiting free speech? We hear how comedians are having their jokes taken down in a “culture of deletion”.

The Worl...

Murder Rates in London and New York from 2018-04-12T09:00

London’s murder rate is on the rise – and for the first time ever it has just overtaken New York’s, according to a number of media outlets. But is it true, and is it appropriate to compare betwe...

How Deadly Was 1920s Melbourne? from 2018-04-05T09:00

Fact and fiction: how does the murder rate within popular crime series Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, set in 1920’s Melbourne, compare with the real life murder rate at that time? We delve into...

#NeverAgain: a Turning Point for the US? from 2018-03-29T09:24

A special report from Washington, where thousands of students are marching in favour of stricter gun control laws. BBC Trending has been following three student activists affected by gun violenc...

Neo-Nazi Hate Music from 2018-03-22T10:23

A BBC Trending investigation has found huge inconsistencies in how YouTube deals with neo-Nazi hate music. These are songs - many from punk and hardcore bands active in the 80s and 90s – which h...

Did Sir Roger Bannister Make The ‘Impossible’ Possible? from 2018-03-15T10:06

Tim Harford pays tribute to a sporting legend - Sir Roger Bannister, the first person to run one mile in less than 4 minutes, who has died at the age of 88. After his record broke the ‘impossibl...

Faking a Trend on Twitter; Women, Oscars and the Bechdel Test; Dinosaurs from 2018-03-08T00:55

How do you fake a trend on Twitter? “Grilled Lamb Delivery” was trending recently – but why would so many people talk about something so routine and mundane?

As it turns out, one of the t...

Students vs Gun Laws; Winter Olympic Winners from 2018-03-01T01:00

After a shooting at a high school in Florida killed 17 people student’s across the United States of America have mobilised on social media. They’re calling for change using online organising too...

Undercover with the Alt-Right; Debunking Dubious Statistics and Job Interviews from 2018-02-22T01:00

Patrik Hermansson, a Swedish researcher for the British anti-racist group Hope Not Hate, infiltrated far right groups and spent months undercover. His operation now over, he tells his story, inc...

Rise of Extreme Pranking, the Fall in Drinking in Russia, Learning About Pain from 2018-02-15T00:50

Why has there been a disturbing rise in internet pranks that simulate real life attacks? In an exclusive interview, we hear from YouTuber Arya Mosallah, who had his channel terminated after som...

The Far Right and Sweden from 2018-02-08T00:50

Why is the far right so obsessed with Sweden? Despite seeming to be unlikely territory with its reputation for progressive social policies, reports about crime and immigration in Sweden routinel...

Is the US Census Under Threat? from 2018-02-01T01:00

Is the US census under threat? The United States are due to run their next nationwide census in 2020, but already critics are warning that under funding and a proposed question about citizenship...

The Past and Future of Fake News from 2018-01-25T01:00

The past and future of fake news – what can be done about social media misinformation and what impact does it have around the world? Mike Wendling asks a panel of experts from Buzzfeed, the Poy...

History of ‘Fake News', Louis Bachelier and Noise from 2018-01-18T01:00

The meaning of the term “fake news” has been completely transformed – so what does it mean now, and is the phrase even useful at all?

How Louis Bachelier scooped economists by half a centu...

Just How Rare is a Hole-in-One? from 2018-01-11T00:06

There are golfers who could go an entire lifetime without getting a hole-in-one. Recently the BBC reported a pair of amateur players who each scored one - one after the other. It was reported wi...

Kilobyte to Brontobyte, Social Media Review and Habits from 2017-12-28T00:50

The numbers we need to describe the world around us are getting bigger. Maths author Rob Eastaway explains the names for successive sizes of computer storage space and makes the case for a new g...

Diet Coke Habit, 'Milkshake Duck' and Witches from 2017-12-21T00:50

The New York Times claims that Donald Trump drinks ‘a dozen’ Diet Cokes a day. At 42mg of caffeine per 330ml, what impact, if any, could this have on the President’s health? Jordan Dunbar speaks...

Does Eating Chocolate Make Your Brain Younger? Twitter Bot and Crowd Power from 2017-12-14T00:50

Headlines claim that eating chocolate can protect you from developing Alzheimer’s disease. The theory is that bioactives within chocolate called flavanols can help reduce the risk of heart attac...

How Lucky are Regular Lottery Winners from 2017-12-07T00:55

Over the last decade journalists in the US have been suspicious of the number of people who seem to have won multiple prizes on scratch cards and the lottery. We hear from a reporter and statist...

Mr Darcy’s Wealth from 2017-11-30T00:50

Mr Darcy, the male love interest in Jane Austen’s 19th Century English novel Pride and Prejudice is supposed to be fabulously wealthy on an income of £10,000 a year, but two hundred years later,...

Italy's Football Failure, Russia's Blogger for President from 2017-11-23T00:50

Italy’s failure to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 60 years will damage more than national pride. It will also carry a big financial cost – one estimate says Fifa stands to lose...

Pop Albums, the Russian Web and Dubbing Movies from 2017-11-16T00:30

We discover how a numerical change in the way the pop music album charts are measured is causing artists to make ever longer albums.

The first of two special reports into the Russian inter...

Nigerian Lawmakers, 'Calexit' Hashtag, Dark Tourism from 2017-11-09T00:30

Two statistics from Nigeria: do lawmakers really get paid $1.7 m – much more than the American President and does eating yams give Yoruba communities a record number of twins? We talk to the fac...

Novelists in Numbers from 2017-11-02T00:50

Stephen King once said that wannabe authors should avoid using adverbs which end with ‘ly’ but does he follow his own advice? Data journalist Ben Blatt decided to find out. He also analysed text...

US Millennials’ Political Engagement, Clashes in America and Serial Killers from 2017-10-26T08:30

Did the 2016 US election galvanise young people to become more engaged in politics? Millennial statistician Kevin Lin designed a research project to see if there was evidence to prove this on t...

Economists, Selfies and Holding Your Breath from 2017-10-19T08:50

Richard Thaler is this year’s recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize for Economic Sciences. Charlotte McDonald speaks to Tim Harford to get an insight into Thaler’s work and explore the psycholog...

Kilobyte to Brontobyte, Sexist Double Standards and Staying Put from 2017-10-12T08:55

The numbers we need to describe the world around us are getting bigger. Maths author Rob Eastaway explains the names for successive sizes of computer storage space and makes the case for a new ...

Big Polluters: Ships v Cars and the 'Husband-Proof' shopping list. from 2017-10-05T08:50

Do the largest container ships emit as much pollution as all the cars in the world? We check out the claims and the different types of emissions produced by container ships and cars.

We he...

Sperm Counts and Deleted Protest Posts from 2017-09-28T08:50

A recent study says that male sperm count has declined by 50 per cent since 1973, so how worried should we be?

We investigate claims that posts by Rohingya activists are being unfairly del...

How To Measure A Hurricane from 2017-09-21T08:50

What’s the best way to measure a hurricane? As hurricanes continue to threaten the Caribbean and American East coast, Tim Harford examines the different ways of calculating their respective str...

More Horses than Tanks? from 2017-09-14T08:50

Is the UK the only country with more horses than tanks in its army? And what does the number of tanks say about a country’s capacity to fight?

On the face of it, Eduardo Martins had an i...

London's High-rise Death Toll from 2017-09-07T08:50

Establishing the death toll in the fire that engulfed Grenfell Tower, a residential block in West London, has proved to be unexpectedly difficult. Commander Stuart Cundy, who oversaw the Metropo...

How To Win at Fantasy Football from 2017-08-31T08:50

As the world’s most popular football leagues start up again after the summer break, one listener asks how to figure out the best strategy to become a fantasy football champion. How should you sp...

Trump Bump, Free Speech, Pull of News from 2017-08-24T08:55

How accurate are President Trump’s claims to have created a booming economy in America? We take a look at the numbers relating to employment, wages and the stock market.

Following the vio...

Transgender in the US Military, India’s Midnight Selfies and Eavesdropping from 2017-08-17T08:50

President Trump recently announced that the US Government "will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military." This provoked criticism from Congress...

Raising Other People's Children from 2017-08-10T08:35

Raising children is demanding. It takes time, money and devotion. So, why would anyone want to raise another person's child? Can mothers who adopt or foster have the same connection to their c...

More Boys than Girls in Sweden? from 2017-08-03T08:45

Last year it was reported that there could soon be up to 123 boys aged 16 to 17 for every 100 girls the same age in Sweden. This disparity was thought to be caused by an influx of teenage boys c...

A Genius of Maths from 2017-07-27T08:20

The only woman to win the maths world’s biggest prize has died at the age of 40. As the only female winner of the Fields Medal – the maths equivalent to the Nobel Prize – Iranian mathematician M...

Calling the Shots at Wimbledon from 2017-07-20T08:45

We discover how every shot at the Wimbledon tennis championships is counted, analysed and makes its way to our phones, desktops and TV screens. How useful is this information for players and t...

Is Steph Curry Cheap, and Fake Football News from 2017-07-13T08:06

The American basketballer Stephen Curry has just signed the biggest contract in NBA history for $200 million over 5 years but amazingly, according to fellow superstar player Lebron James, he’s ...

Making Penalty Shoot-outs Fairer from 2017-07-06T08:06

UEFA, European football's governing body, is currently trialling a new system for penalty shoot-outs that is based on mathematical research. Currently 60% of penalty shoot-outs are won by the ...

Deadly Tower Block Fires from 2017-06-29T08:55

Grenfell Tower, a residential block in London, made headlines around the world when at least 79 people died there in a fire while many are still missing. But how unusual are such lethal fires? A...

Post UK Election Special from 2017-06-22T08:15

The results of the UK general election are in – but what do they mean? Did more young people vote than expected? How many extra votes would the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn have needed to becom...

Are African Football Players More Likely to Die on the Field? from 2017-06-15T09:05

Cheick Tiote, the much loved former Newcastle United player collapsed and died while training with Chinese side Beijing Enterprises earlier this month. His death and that of other black football...

Samba, Strings and the Story of HIV from 2017-06-08T08:15

Can medical statistics be transformed into music? That was the challenge set by epidemiologist Elizabeth Pisani for composer Tony Haynes. The result was Song of Contagion to be performed thi...

Have 65% of Future Jobs Not Yet Been Invented? from 2017-06-01T08:15

Our entire education system is faulty, some experts claim, as it fails to prepare children for a future world of work in which 65 % of jobs have not yet been invented. We set off on a round-the-...

Uganda’s refugees from 2017-05-25T17:15

Has Uganda been accepting more refugees on a daily basis than some European countries manage in an entire year? That is the claim from the Norwegian Refugee Council – and it is a claim we put to...

An Urban Maze from 2017-05-11T08:15

Some parts of towns are hard to navigate and seem like an urban maze. Navigation expert Dr Ruth Dalton explains to Jordan Dunbar that it’s to do with “intelligibility”, as they go on a tour of t...

The UK’s Foreign Secretary Gets a Fact Check from 2017-05-04T08:15

The UK‘s Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn get a fact check for claims they’ve made since the General Election was called. How much does the UK pay to belong to...

The Death Rate of White Americans from 2017-04-27T08:15

Throughout the 20th Century the developed world saw mortality rates fall but one group who may no longer be benefitting are middle-aged white Americans. This is according to research from the em...

Could North Korea Wipe out 90% of Americans? from 2017-04-24T13:05

A single nuclear weapon could destroy America’s entire electrical grid, claims a former head of the CIA. The explosion would send out an electromagnetic pulse – resulting in famine, societal col...

The Ignorance Test from 2017-04-21T13:24

Following the death of Professor Hans Rosling - perhaps best described as a kind of international development myth buster – we rebroadcast one of his interviews for More Or Less. He asked presen...

Will One in Four People Develop a Mental Health Problem? from 2017-04-06T17:15

The claim that “one in four” of us will suffer from a mental health problem is popular amongst campaigners, politicians and the media. But where is this figure from and what’s the evidence for i...

Baby Boxes – are they really saving infant’s lives? from 2017-03-30T08:50

Since Finland started giving families simple cardboard boxes for their new born babies to sleep in 75 years ago, cot death has fallen and child health has improved. Governments and individuals a...

The Concrete Facts About Trump’s Wall and China from 2017-03-23T11:36

If the US is going to build a wall on its border with Mexico, it’s going to take a lot of concrete - millions of tonnes, in fact. But this is a tiny amount compared with China’s concrete use. It...

The Attention Span of a Goldfish from 2017-03-16T09:15

Is it really true our attention spans are getting shorter in the always-connected world of social media, smartphones and hyperlinks? The statistics say that the average attention span is down fr...

Why are Hollywood Actresses Paid Less than Men? from 2017-03-09T09:15

There has been a steady stream of top Hollywood actresses who have complained that they have been paid less than their male co-stars. Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence and Natalie Portman have all...

What happened last night in Sweden? from 2017-03-02T09:15

What happened last night in Sweden? Ruth Alexander tells the strange tale that connects Donald Trump, rape in Sweden, immigration and her reporting on More or Less.

Why did a network of Tw...

Hans Rosling - the Extraordinary Life of a Statistical Guru from 2017-02-16T09:06

The recent death of the inspirational Swedish statistician Han Rosling has left a hole in the world. Tim Harford and others who met him pay tribute to a master communicator whose captivating pre...

Is Democracy Failing in America? from 2017-02-09T08:15

In the wake of Donald Trump’s claim that three million people may have voted illegally in last year’s presidential elections, we scrutinise the American electoral system and the work of the Elec...

Counting Crowds from 2017-02-02T08:15

How many people attended President Trump’s inauguration? How many people went to the Women’s March in Washington DC the next day? A fierce debate has been raging about the numbers of people at e...

Why January Makes us Want to Scream from 2017-01-26T08:15

There are two things that you can be sure of in January and both of them make the More Or Less team want to scream. Firstly, Oxfam put out their ‘x number of billionaires hold the same wealth as...

Does Sweden Really Have a Six Hour Day? from 2017-01-05T09:06

Reports that Swedes are reducing the working day to just six hours may have been exaggerated but there have been trials in Sweden to test whether you can shorten people’s working hours without h...

Could you forgive someone that raped or tortured you? from 2016-12-29T08:15

Could you forgive the person who killed your child or who raped or tortured you? Some crimes, some events are so awful, so cruel, it’s impossible to imagine ever being able to say to the wrongdo...

Yellow cards for Christmas? from 2016-12-22T08:15

Former football referee Howard Webb told a story recently that he had been approached by players in the English Premier League asking to be booked so they could be suspended for Christmas so the...

How risky is the contraceptive pill? from 2016-12-15T08:15

Many of the potential side effects of the pill, such as blood clots, have been well documented since its release in the 1960s. And now, a study has claimed to have established a link between dep...

How not to test public opinion. from 2016-12-08T08:15

People took to the streets in India to protest about the government’s decision to withdraw R500 R1,000 notes. But despite the uproar the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has insisted he has the supp...

Avoiding Asteroids from 2016-11-24T11:06

The proportion of asteroids we know about has grown rapidly in the past few decades, so what are the chances of us being taken by surprise? If we did spot an asteroid hurtling towards Earth, wha...

Ice Cream Versus Aid from 2016-11-10T10:00

‘The world spends three times as much on ice cream as it does on humanitarian aid.’ That’s the claim one listener spotted but is it true? We look at the stats behind the statement and ask whethe...

Child Marriage and Dangerous Algorithms from 2016-11-03T10:00

Is a girl under the age of 15 married every seven seconds somewhere in the world? That is what the charity Save the Children claim in their attempts to raise awareness of child marriage. But how...

Dying for Cocaine from 2016-10-27T09:00

The world of Pablo Escobar, one of the world’s most infamous drug traffickers, is dramatised in the Netflix TV drama series Narcos. We find out the truth behind the series’ claim about the numbe...

Algorithms, Crime and Punishment from 2016-10-20T09:00

A drive-by shooting in the US midwest has raised questions about how algorithms are being used in the country's criminal justice system. A defendant in the case was jailed after an algorithm use...

Sustainable Development Goals – Are there Just too Many? from 2016-10-13T08:55

It is now a year since the UN set its new Sustainable Development Goals to try to make the world a better place. They include 17 goals and no fewer than 169 targets on subjects like disease, edu...

Who Won the US Presidential Debate? from 2016-10-06T08:55

Polling on the first TV debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump appears to be divided over who won it. But not all polls are equal: when internet polls can be hijacked by online activist...

Trump’s Crime Claims from 2016-09-29T08:55

Donald Trump has claimed that there are some inner city areas in the US which are suffering from the worst crime rates ever. They are so dangerous, he says, that Afghanistan is safer. But could ...

The Cost of A Wedding Gift from 2016-09-22T08:56

Can economics help us work out the perfect amount to spend on a wedding gift? Economist Maria Kozlovskaya has advice on the factors we need to consider.

Also, when Hillary Clinton almost c...

Drug Deaths in the Philippines from 2016-09-15T08:55

How many people have died in the Philippines since the Government encouraged the police to clampdown on the illegal drug trade? The new President, Rodrigo Duterte, went as far as saying that...

Swimming World Records from 2016-08-18T16:10

World Records are being set at a much faster rate in swimming than in other sports. At the Rio Olympics, British swimmer Adam Peaty managed to break the men's 100m breaststroke world record twic...

Ranking Iceland’s Football Team; Social media movements inspired by the UK’s vote to leave the EU; Why we love Cycling from 2016-07-07T09:35

Is Iceland the best football team in the world per capita? England suffered a 2-1 defeat to Iceland in the European Football Championship in France. This was embarrassing for England whose popul...

Brexit Economics; Viral videos and US murder rates; Attraction from 2016-06-30T08:06

Following a referendum, the UK has voted to leave the European Union. What might that mean for the UK’s economy, especially for trade? Tim Harford examines the economic forecasts from the govern...

The Problem with Antibiotics; Opposition to Afrikaans; the Origins of Life from 2016-03-03T09:15

In More Or Less Wesley Stephenson finds out how the search for new antibiotics is hampered not by science but by economics. Despite the $40 billion market worldwide there is no money to be made ...