Is RFK Jr right about China's diabetes rate?

Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week: A headline in the Mail says more than 100 private schools have closed since Labour came to power and ended the VAT exemption for private schools. Is that number right? Is it true that when Covid hit the UK, a on ...  Show more

When people think of oil rich nations their mind generally goes to Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the US. But according to international statistics, the country with the largest oil reserves is Venezuela, with 300 billion barrels worth. At their peak they produced over 3.5 million barrel ...  Show more

What are you wearing today? What processes, chemical and otherwise, have gone into creating the garments in your wardrobe? And how might they be improved, honed, transformed in the future?Professor of Materials & Society at UCL, Mark Miodownik, Dr Jane Wood, Lecturer at the Unive ...  Show more

Les jeans, aujourd’hui omniprésents dans le monde entier, doivent leur couleur bleue emblématique à des raisons historiques, pratiques et économiques. L’origine de cette teinte remonte au XIXe siècle, lorsqu’un tissu robuste, appelé « denim », a été teinté avec de l’indigo, un ...

2008, Hungary: a researcher stands on a factory floor quizzing a bemused employee. The tile manufacturing company is in trouble, and the researcher is there to help. But his questions seem silly: Who do you go to for advice? Who do you chat to? What use is the science of networks ...  Show more

Episode #23 Yes you read the title right. Turns out 99% people wear washed jeans while the other 1% is involved in the fascinating subculture of raw and selvedge denim. The episode deep dives into all aspects of jeans and why a pair should last you a lifetime.--An all-around bon- ...  Show more