More or Less: Behind the Stats - Has Donald Trump ended seven ‘unendable’ wars?

Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week:

US President Donald Trump claims he has ended seven “unendable” wars. Is that true?

Chancellor Rachel Reeves says the UK was the fastest growing economy in the G7 for the first six months of 2025. What do you need to know about that stat?

The Daily Mail has described a recent scientific paper as describing a global cancer “explosion”. Is that the whole story?

And why have Oxford and Cambridge dropped down a university league table?

If you’ve seen a number you think we should take a look at, email the team: moreorless@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Tim Harford Producers: Nathan Gower and Lizzy McNeill Series producer: Tom Colls Production co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound mix: Gareth Jones Editor: Richard Vadon

The Indicator from Planet Money - Why is everyone buying gold?

Gold is on fire right now with some gold ETFs outperforming the major stock indexes over the past 12 months. Gold is supposed to be boring, an inflation hedge. But right now, it's responding to something else. Today on the show, we talk to a finance professor about what’s behind the current gold rush and if gold’s hot streak is built to last. 

Understanding Gold by Claud B. Erb and Campbell R. Harvey

Related episodes: 

A new-ish gold rush and other indicators

Gold Rush 2.0

A secret weapon to fight inflation

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.  

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Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova - Will Eric Adams’s Exit Change the NYC Mayoral Election?

Eric Adams is out of the NYC mayoral race! Nate and Maria discuss his tenure as mayor, the timing of his announcement, and what this means for the remaining candidates. And — because it can be hard to remember a time before his multiple scandals and single-digit polling — they talk about the enthusiasm that once surrounded Adams, and what that arc says about the Democratic leadership vacuum. (And yes, they talk about Nate’s tweet).

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The Leap from Maria Konnikova

Silver Bulletin from Nate Silver 

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Consider This from NPR - Ukraine’s scrappy wartime innovation

NPR’s National Security Correspondent Greg Myre spent the summer reporting on the war in Ukraine. He saw the devastation of the conflict. But he also saw something else: the country leveraging its resources at home to meet the moment…including in Lviv where they’re racing to make as many of their own weapons as fast as they can.


And at a hospital near the frontlines in central Ukraine where Ukraine's neurosurgeons are conducting state-of-the-art operations with cutting-edge technology.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by David West and Matt Ozug. It was edited by Andrew Sussman. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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Cato Podcast - How Government Shutdowns Actually Work

Will congressional inaction lead to a government shut down? Do shutdowns halt the government in its tracks, and if not, who decides what stays and what goes? What does it mean for President Trump -- or the rest of us?

 

Cato's VP for Government Affairs, Chad Davis, in conversation with Patrick Eddington, senior fellow in homeland security and civil liberties at the Cato Institute.


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