Misinformation around covid-19 and vaccines is rife and as the data available increases, so do often misleading and even wild claims. This week More or Less examines multiple viral claims that the Covid 19 mRNA vaccines increase the risk of miscarriage. To explain where these incorrect figures come from and what the science actually tells us, we are joined by Dr Viki Male, senior lecturer in reproductive immunology at Imperial College London.
Presenter: Charlotte McDonald,
Producers: Octavia Woodward and Jon Bithrey
Editor: Richard Vadon
Sound Engineer: John Scott
Production Co-ordinator: Helena Warwick-Cross
(Photo by Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)
3/25/2023
9:52
Silicon Valley Bank: a very modern bank run
After the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank sent jitters through the financial system, Duncan Weldon explains how it’s just the latest in the long history of bank runs.
He talks to financial analyst and former banking regulator Dan Davies - author of ‘Lying for Money’ - to understand how bank runs happen, and what the repercussions of this very modern bank run might be for the global financial system.
Presenter: Duncan Weldon
Producer: Nathan Gower
Editor: Richard Vadon
Programme Coordinators: Helena Warwick-Cross
Sound Engineer: Neva Missirian
(Photo credit: Reuters)
3/18/2023
9:52
Do fungi kill three times as many people as malaria?
The smash hit TV show and video game ‘The Last of Us’ has spawned lots of curiosity about how worried we should be about the relatively unknown world of fungi. A figure in a recent BBC online article stated that fungal infections kill around 1.7 million people a year, about three times as many as malaria. In this episode we look at the both the global fight against malaria and David Denning, Professor of Infectious Diseases and Global Health at the University of Manchester explains the risks posed by fungal infections globally.
3/11/2023
8:57
Does your jewellery contain stolen Brink’s-Mat gold?
The Brink’s-Mat robbery remains to this day one of Britain’s biggest and most audacious heists. Six armed men stole diamonds, cash and three tonnes of gold bullion from a warehouse close to London’s Heathrow Airport in November 1983. It’s now the subject of a BBC television drama, The Gold, which includes the claim that most gold jewellery bought in the UK from 1984 onwards will contain traces of that stolen gold. But how true is that? Tim Harford and team investigate, with the help of Zoe Lyons from Hatton Garden Metals and Rob Eastaway, author of Maths on the Back of an Envelope.
3/4/2023
10:11
UK vs European energy prices, falling excess deaths and is 5 grams of cocaine a lot?
Does the UK really have by far the highest domestic energy bills in Europe? We debunk a viral social media claim suggesting just that. Also the number of excess deaths has been falling in the UK - how positive should we be that we’re through the worst? Plus do we really have access to only 3% of rivers and 8% of the countryside in England – and after the conviction of former MP Jared O’Mara we ask whether 5 grams of cocaine is a lot.