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
A plane ticket to Paris, a vintage Dior dress and a spectacular first-ever oyster — these three things upend the life of Stella, the sheltered, cautious protagonist at the heart of The Paris Novel, a coming-of-age story about losing all inhibitions in one of the world's most romantic cities. In today's episode, author Ruth Reichl speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about indulging in life's simple pleasures, writing in honor of her late editor and choosing to set her story in the Paris of the 1980s.
To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday
With a few clicks of AI software, anyone can conjure the voice or visual likeness of a dead celebrity — or really anyone. This new world has opened up a bunch of new legal questions about the rights of people and their heirs to control digital replicas of themselves. Today on the show, how a Drake diss track featuring the voice of Tupac made it into the Congressional record, and how it may lead to more regulation of AI.
Why did American institutions express sorrow at the passing of Iran's monstrous president? Why does anyone pay attention to the International Criminal Court? Why is an awful academic named Dov Waxman running a Jewish studies program at UCLA? Why did Biden say he was vice president during COVID? Why did the judge in the Trump case get all hysterical about a case of "side eye"? Give a listen.
Most of our major divisions of time are based on some sort of natural event.
A year is one orbit of the Earth around the sun.
A month is one orbit of the Moon around the Earth.
A day is one rotation of the Earth about its axis.
However, one of the most commonly used units of time has no natural analog whatsoever.
Learn more about why there are seven days in a week and where the names for the day of the week come from on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
Racism is a major contributor to economic disparities in the U.S. – but in her new book, The White Bonus, writer Tracie McMillan crunches the numbers to understand just how much money white privilege can mean. In today's episode, she speaks with NPR's Michel Martin about the different families she profiled, the generations of economic policy she analyzed, and the rift created within her own family during the process of reporting this book .
To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday
The prosecution rests in Donald Trump's Manhattan trial, and the defense begins to present their case. Biden pitches young Black voters while Trump compares himself to Abraham Lincoln. Then: Justice Samuel Alito is outed for showing solidarity with the "Stop the Steal" movement, and Dan explains why Democrats should be running hard against the MAGA Supreme Court. Plus: Rudy Giuliani gets served!
For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.