Category: Series

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More or Less: Behind the Stats - Are half the words in English from French?

Are almost half the words in the English language of French origin? It?s a claim one of our loyal listeners found surprising. Tim Harford talks to Dr Beth Malory, lecturer in English Linguistics at University College London, who explains why so many words derived from French have ended up in English.

Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Daniel Gordon Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Richard Vadon Sound Engineer: Graham Puddifoot

(Picture: A French dictionary showing the entry 'Dictionnaire' Credit: NSA Digital Archive / iStock / Getty Images Plus)

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Curious City - Putting on a Chicago race requires fees, permits and patience

Each year tens of thousands of people take part in 5ks, 10ks, marathons, half-marathons and more in Chicago. But how does one get permission? And what’s it like to navigate the process and work with the various city departments to put on an event like this? As we get ready for the 46th annual Chicago Marathon this weekend, Curious City talked to one race director who organizes ultramarathons to find out. And of course, as you might imagine, there’s just a little bit of bureaucracy involved.
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Curious City - Putting on a Chicago race requires fees, permits and patience

Each year tens of thousands of people take part in 5ks, 10ks, marathons, half-marathons and more in Chicago. But how does one get permission? And what’s it like to navigate the process and work with the various city departments to put on an event like this? As we get ready for the 46th annual Chicago Marathon this weekend, Curious City talked to one race director who organizes ultramarathons to find out. And of course, as you might imagine, there’s just a little bit of bureaucracy involved.
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More or Less: Behind the Stats - Vaccine claims, Alzheimer’s treatment and Tim’s Parkrun times

John Campbell, a YouTuber whose posts get millions of views, has made claims about excess deaths and the Covid vaccine. We show why he's incorrect. Also will a much-vaunted new treatment for Alzheimer's really change lives and how much longer can Tim expect his Parkrun times to improve? We look at the trends ? and the rest of the team?s times.