If a child loves reading, how big a difference does that make to their future success?  In a much-repeated claim, often sourced to a 2002 OECD report, it is suggested that it makes the biggest difference there is – that reading for pleasure is the biggest factor in future success.  But is that true? We speak to Miyako Ikeda from the OECD and Professor Alice Sullivan from University College London. Presenter / series producer: Tom Colls
Reporter / producer: Debbie Richford
Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound mix: Graham Puddifoot
Editor: Richard Vadon

Is reading for pleasure the single biggest factor in how well a child does in life?

Tim Harford and the More or Less team try to make sense of the statistics which surround us. From BBC Radio 4

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News stories earlier in the year appeared to suggest that time restricted eating – where you consume all your meals in an 8 hour time window – was associated with a 91% increase in the risk of death from cardiovascular disease.  But is this true? Tim Harford looks into the claim with the help of Cardiologist Dr Donald Lloyd-Jones, chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Northwestern University in the US. Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Debbie Richford
Series producer: Tom Colls
Production coordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound mix: Nigel Appleton 
Editor: Richard Vadon

Is intermittent fasting going to kill you?

Is it going to take 685 years to clear NHS waiting lists in England? Are 10 per cent of MPs under investigation for sexual misconduct? How does gold effect the UKs export figures? What does it mean to say that a woman has 120% chance of getting pregnant? Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. Presenter: Tim Harford
Producers: Nathan Gower and Bethan Ashmead Latham
Series producer: Tom Colls
Sound mix: Neil Churchill
Production coordinator: Brenda Brown
Editor: Richard Vadon

MP misconduct, NHS waiting lists and gold (gold)

It’s long been known that marriage is associated with happiness in survey data. But are falling marriage rates in the US dragging down the mood of the whole nation?  We investigate the statistical relationships with Professor Sam Peltzman from the University of Chicago, and Professor John Helliwell, from the University of British Columbia. Presenter: Tom Colls
Reporter: Natasha Fernandes 
Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound mix: Nigel Appleton
Editor: Richard Vadon

Are falling marriage rates causing happiness to fall in the US?

Polling by YouGov made headlines around the world when it suggested 20% of young adults in the US thought the holocaust was a myth. But polling experts at the Pew Research Centre thought the result might not be accurate, due to problems with the kind of opt-in polling it was based on. They tried to replicate the finding, and did not get the same answer. We speak to Andrew Mercer from the Pew Research Centre and YouGov chief scientist Douglas Rivers. Presenter /series producer: Tom Colls 
Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound Mix: Graham Puddifoot
Editor: Richard Vadon

Is reading for pleasure the single biggest factor in how well a child does in life?

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