The Thought Show: Recent Episodes
BBC World Service
A protest against “manspreading” went viral in Russia – but is it Russian propaganda? Activist Anna Dovgalyuk denies that she staged a stunt where a woman was filmed throwing diluted bleach at the crotches of men whose legs were sprawled out over multiple seats on the St Petersburg Metro. But media reports suggested one of the men was an actor, and a European Union website has described the film as “staged Kremlin propaganda”. So, is it real or just a hoax? And how does it fit into a larger pattern of Russian social media bots and trolls stoking culture wars online?
How do you measure a country’s generosity when it comes to overseas aid? We crunch the numbers and talk to Brad Parks from research lab Aiddata about aid donations from some of the world’s more secretive countries.
From yoga and mindfulness to so-called clean eating, women are increasingly turning to “wellness” to look after their minds, bodies and emotions. Nastaran Tavakoli-Far asks what is driving some women away from the medical establishment in an effort to improve their health.
(Photo: Screenshot from the ‘manspreading’ video that went viral in Russia. Credit: Anna Dovgalyuk)
They decide what you can and cannot see on the world’s biggest social network. Who are Facebook’s content moderators? We speak to a woman who worked in a moderation centre in Germany, often watching violent and pornographic videos and deciding what posts should be deleted.
New figures reveal that same-sex divorce rates are higher among women than among men. Tim Harford discusses why this may be with Marina Ashdade, economist at the Vancouver School of Economics and author of Dirty Money, a book about the economics of sex and love.
In the age of non-stop tweets, news updates and digital distractions, Sandra Kanthal finds out why, in the age of the 280 character polemic, it could be useful to rediscover the ancient art of rhetoric.
(Photo: Close up of an eye. Credit: Getty Images)
In July 2018, a disturbing video began to circulate on social media. In it two women and young children are shown being led at gunpoint by a group of soldiers. The captives are blindfolded, forced to the ground and shot 22 times.
The government of Cameroon initially dismissed the video as ‘fake news’. But through open-source investigations – examining details such as buildings, shadows, and uniforms – BBC Africa found that the blame lay squarely on Cameroonian Forces.
From the 10th July to the 31st of October 1940 the skies above Britain were a battle zone. The German Luftwaffe launched large scale attacks aiming to reach London, they were held back and ultimately defeated by the Royal Airforce which included many nationalities. The bravery of the pilots – known as ‘The Few’ - cannot be disputed but is it really true that the average life expectancy of a spitfire pilot during the Battle of Britain was just four weeks, as is often claimed. Tim Harford and Lizzy McNeill look into the statistics and consider which of the armed forces had the highest death rate.
Thanks to our TVs and smartphones we are bombarded 24/7.
Those whose job it is to care – doctors, nurses, mothers even – face even more relentless demands on their compassion. Until one day some feel they cannot go on anymore.
We are all vulnerable to compassion fatigue – whether we are unable to deal with more bad news, or to care for our patients and children. But why do we get it? Why do we stop caring? And what is the impact on society when people just switch off and tune out?
(Photo: A still from the video showing the murder of women and children by Cameroonian soldiers)
Do dieting influencers and online communities help or hurt when you’re trying to get in shape? Some find social media groups a useful source of support, but there are concerns that some of the advice might not be as healthy as it seems, and that social media celebrities are setting unhelpful and unrealistic body expectations.
President Trump disputed the official figures for the death toll after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico a year ago, tweeting that the Democrats were inflating the death toll to "make me look as bad as possible". So, who is right, and how do you determine who died as a result of a natural disaster?
How has feminism affected the relationship between mothers and their sons. Feminist mothers share with Nastaran Tavakoli-Far the complexities of bringing up boys.
Photo Caption: A woman stands on a bathroom scale
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Why are some Russians put on extremist watch lists for saving or posting memes online? Maria Motuznaya was investigated by police after saving edgy memes on her account on the social network VKontakte. Hundreds of Russians are being targeted for using memes declared to be racist, offensive or against the Russian Orthodox Church. People on the list have their bank account frozen and some face criminal charges. Will a blogger’s campaign make a difference?
Are you more chimp or Neanderthal? We often hear scientists talking about how we are related but what’s the difference between 96% similarity and sharing 20% of our DNA, and do some of us literally have pieces of Neanderthal within us? Tim Harford talks to Peter Donnelly, Professor of Statistical Science at the University of Oxford.
Why is the relationship between fathers and sons so important? Nastaran Tavakoli-Far investigates.
(Photo: A pair of hands in handcuffs hold a mobile phone showing the VKontakte website. Credit: Anton Vaganov/Interpress/TASS)
Facebook’s dream of a more open and connected world has turned into a nightmare in Myanmar. The price of a smartphone SIM card dropped from around $200 to $2, and Facebook quickly became the app of choice, but it failed to control hate speech against Rohingyas and had very few employees who could read Burmese. What, following criticism in a UN report, is it doing now?
Is one particular model of car really the safest on the road in the UK, and how can new technology reduce road accidents round the world?
Have you ever been captivated by a book, full of stories you never knew, revelled in that new knowledge …and then forgotten it all? If the answer is yes, take heart; you are not alone. Sandra Kanthal asks why do we remember some facts easily, and but let others slip away, completely forgetting the things we’ve learned.
Photo: Rohingya refugees pictured in August 2017. Credit: Getty Images
Earlier this year, a baker in Liverpool in north-west England vented her frustration on Twitter over constantly being asked by social media influencers for free cakes. Many other businesses publicly sided with Laura Worthington, but were they being fair? We investigate the impact of influencers – people with powerful social media followings. What are the rules and ethics around advertising and promotion?
What proportion of your country are immigrants? What proportion of teenage girls give birth each year? Research suggests most people get the answers to these questions, and many others about their own countries, very wrong. Tim Harford interviews Bobby Duffy, Global Director of Ipsos Social Research Institute and author of the book, Perils of Perception: Why We’re Wong About Nearly Everything.
Heartbreak after love lost has been written about for generations in literature and in songs. But what causes this physical feeling of pain? Is it a figment of our imagination, prompted by our society and culture, or can we fall sick or even die from a broken heart?
Photo Caption: Influencer Lisa Linh promotes a number of brands – including hotels and credit card companies
Photo Credit: Lisa Linh
Why are people spending real money to buy land that only exists in virtual reality? In the virtual world of Decentraland, users can build whatever they can imagine. Some hope to make a profit by trading goods and services using the social platform’s own cryptocurrency. Could this be the birth of a new virtual economy or a cryptocurrency bubble waiting to burst?
Could computers do a better job than humans at exposing fake news? Tim Harford interviews Mevan Babakar of the fact-checking organisation Fullfact about the software tools she and her team are building to try to automatically verify statistical claims.
Why would you go to the coldest place on Earth? A place mostly devoid of life, where there are rarely more than a few thousand other humans spread out across a landmass twice the size of Australia. Shabnam Grewal reports on Antarctica whose sublime beauty is matched by its capacity to kill you, very fast.
(Photo Credit: Decentraland.org)
QAnon is part of an online conspiracy theory firing up supporters of Donald Trump. We trace how it started on fringe message boards and has moved more mainstream, including to the floor of a President Trump rally.
A Twitter debate erupted recently about the number of wildfires in the US and in southern Europe, so we take a look at the numbers to see whether they have increased or decreased. As usual, the story is more complicated than it appears.
Psychologists describe the purpose of boredom as trying to get us to do something else: it can spur us on to more meaningful activity or tempt us into dangerous behaviours. Sandra Kanthal talks with researchers who think boredom is anything but boring.
An update on American conspiracy theorists who deny that twenty-six people, mostly young children, died at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. False rumours that the attacks were staged were pushed by media mogul Alex Jones, and his online news site Infowars. Big social media companies have now shut down Infowars’ and Alex Jones’ accounts. This is an update of a story that was originally broadcast in March 2017.
How do you get a hashtag to trend around the world? We look at the numbers behind the case of a politician who is little known outside the United Kingdom but became a hot topic online.
Lesley Curwen has sailed thousands of miles around Europe on her yacht and knows the strange joy of being out of sight of land. Talking to fellow sea-lovers , she asks why we are drawn to go to sea and put ourselves at the mercy of wind and waves.
Photo: Alex Jones, founder of Infowars
Credit: Getty Images
What’s it like to be a young YouTube star? Siblings Jaadin and Arabella Daho's lives have significantly changed since they went viral on YouTube in 2015. At just 10 and 11 years old their videos racked up 17 million views. But along with the money and fame has come abuse, both online and off. How has YouTube stardom affected these teenagers and their family?
Does a baked potato contain the equivalent of 19 cubes of sugar? We look into this claim to see whether the simple spud is hiding a sweet secret.
Why do so many of us love boats? Lesley Curwen, a proud owner of a yacht, finds out how our love affair with the boat can be a deep, passionate attachment and how in some cultures boats are seen as living things and the best place to create memories far from the busy world of dry land.
(Photo: Jaadin and Arabella Daho shooting one of their YouTube videos. BBC Copyright)
The hashtag MeToo swept across social media in 2017 as victims of sexual harassment spoke out to show how prevalent sexual harassment is within society.
The trending team are joined by Washington Post columnist Megan McArdle, author Kirsty Allison, gender justice specialist Natalie Collins and from journalist and activist, Meghna Pant to discuss the movement and whether there is space for both men and women to come forward with their stories.
More or Less: Getting Creative with Statistics
How big are your testicles and what does that mean? Data journalist and self-confessed ‘Queen of too much information’ Mona Chalabi talks to Tim Harford about her unusual approach to representing statistics.
The Why Factor: Female Friendships
How does social media impact friendships and is this new technology both a blessing and a curse? Can being more connected also highlight vulnerabilities? Nastran Tavakoli-Far exams the female friendship in asks whether closeness can sometime cause rifts.
What’s the future of #MeToo? In October 2017, the hashtag became a worldwide movement in the wake of allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein – who denies the charges against him. In the first of a two-part series, we host a panel discussion on the fightback against sexual harassment and assault with writer Kirsty Allison, gender justice expert Natalie Collins and Washington Post columnist Megan McCardle.
How do you cycle really fast? Former British Time trial champion Michael Hutchinson calculates how much better the pros are than the rest of us, and aerodynamics expert Bert Blocken explains the numbers behind slipstreaming.
The importance of male friendships: from the Obama – Biden bromance to the transformative experience of the men’s group, we explore what men can get from their friendships with other men that is unique, and do long held notions of masculinity prevent men from getting close to other men?
(Picture Caption: A #MeToo sign at a rally in South Korea. Picture Credit: Getty Images)
A recap of the social media trends of the 2018 World Cup: how did the “beautiful game” dominate online chatter across the globe.
Should we have smaller families to save the planet? We examine the claim that having children is the worst thing you can do for the environment .
Caz Graham asks why people go to their school reunion, finding for some it’s the importance of being able to recount what has happened in their lives to those who were their first friends.
(Image: A French fan celebrates.Credit: Getty Images)
How can memes be engineered to carry political messages? A team at University College, London, has found that some far-right websites and message boards have a disproportionate impact on the memes that spread on mainstream social networks.
The astronomer Carl Sagan famously said that there were more stars in our Universe than grains of sand on the Earth’s beaches. But was it actually true? We try to count the nearly uncountable.
Dividing people into groups is part of our social experience: we build our identities through groups we belong to, and these identities can be numerous and elastic, but what makes us decide who is like us and who is the other? Sandra Kanthal reports.
(Photo: One example of the “Distracted Boyfriend” meme.
Credit: Getty/iStock/BBC)
Five Swedish pensioners, who call themselves the “Silver Snipers”, test their aim at a professional eSports tournament, and try to prove that gaming is for everyone. Not only is gaming a hobby that connects them with their grandchildren’s generation, but it’s also helped them through some tough times in life.
Is it strange that Russian football players ran such big distances during their first two games of the FIFA World Cup? We look at how they compare to other teams and what it might signify. Also –is it just bad luck that Germany has crashed out of the competition?
How do we view our status in society: is it something we can define ourselves or is it always dependent on the opinion of others? In many parts of the world status is something we can change through education, occupation and wealth but what if you come from a culture where the status you are born with is inescapable? Priscilla Ngethe reports.
(Image caption: A team photo of the Silver Snipers / Credit: BBC)
One short message led to a Twitter ban for a controversial activist – and highlighted the complicated world of transgender politics and how philosophical battles within transgender communities are playing out on social media.
How many words do you need to speak a language and how many words do native speakers actually use? Reporter Beth Sagar-Fenton finds out with help from Professor Stuart Webb, and puts Tim Harford through his paces to find out how big his own English vocabulary is.
People have been fishing for thousands of years – it is one of the last hunter gatherer activities. But increasingly it is becoming more difficult, as fish stocks dwindle or regulation limits the number of fish that can be caught. Caz Graham asks why do people continue to fish despite these challenges.
(Photo: Illustration of people going from woman to man Credit: Getty Images)
Philip Cross has made hundreds of thousands of Wikipedia edits. But in the process he's angered anti-war activists and critics of Western foreign policy, who claim he's biased. So who is “Philip Cross”, the name on the account? We try to track him down.
The data behind all the football World Cups since 1966: Ben Carter talks to author and Opta Sports football statistician Duncan Alexander about how the ‘beautiful game’ has changed…through numbers. Which World Cups have seen the most shots, fouls, dribbles and, most importantly, goals?
And why has football becomes the world’s favourite team sport? Aasmah Mir asks why “soccer” has developed such a huge following, talking to players and fans across the world about the game’s accessibility, simplicity and unpredictability.
(Picture Caption: Screenshot of the online encyclopaedia Wikipedia, one of the world’s most popular websites. Picture Credit: Getty)
Anna Scanlon, a vegan vlogger, has filed a lawsuit for defamation after she found herself the target of abuse online . She complained to the social media companies but got little response. The forthcoming trial could have major implications for defamation online.
From penguins to nematodes - is it possible to count how many animals are born in the world every day? Reporter Kate Lamble takes a trip to the zoo to find out the answer to a ten year old listener’s question.
What is it about beautiful landscapes that people like so much? Caz Graham explores the appeal of wide open natural spaces, starting with a visit to the English Lake District.
(Photo: Anna Scanlon)
It is almost a year since Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Bahrain and their allies cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar. BBC Arabic journalist Owen Pinnell reveals how allegations of hacked websites, bot armies and other online dirty tricks have fuelled the ongoing tensions between the two sides.
Fans of Harry Potter have been asking - just how many wizards live among us? We follow a trail of clues in J K Rowling's best-selling books to provide the definitive estimate of the wizarding population.
And why do we believe complete strangers can guide us in improving every aspect of our lives? Mary-Ann Ochota explores whether the self-help industry really makes a difference.
Photo Credit: Reuters
Ex-prisoners in the US are struggling to cope with the online world after years in jail.
We hear from recently released so-called juvenile lifers who find themselves grappling with social media and other aspects of life online. The prison authorities and family members have had to ease them into it – with mixed results.
If you’re 6’8” in the US – what are your chances of playing professional basketball? Tim Harford looks at the likelihood that former FBI Director James Comey – or any very tall person - might have made it as a pro in the NBA. He speaks to data scientist Seth Stephens-Davidowitz who has crunched the numbers on height, class and race to find out who is more likely to make it as a basketball superstar.
The transhumanist movement believes that science is close to finding a cure for aging and that within decades we will have beaten death. Chloe Hadjimatheou asks why some people chase immortality and what exactly are the lengths they will go to.
Photo credit: Getty Images
Last month, ten people were killed in Toronto after a man drove a van into pedestrians. In a Facebook status before the attack, the suspect referred to an "Incel Rebellion”. "Incel" is short for "involuntarily celibate" and refers to groups of men who feel that they can't enter into sexual relationships. They frequently vent anger against sexually successful men ("Chads") and attractive women ("Stacys"). Incel forums include rants aimed at feminism and women, and some encourage violence. We take a closer look at this dark online subculture.
The story goes that Amsterdam in the 1630s was gripped by a mania for tulip flowers, but then there was a crash in the market. People ended up bankrupt and threw themselves into canals. This story is still being trotted out as a financial market comparison to buying and selling bitcoin. But how much of what we know of the tulip craze is a myth?
Why do people marry themselves? Is self-marriage the last resort for the lonely and self-obsessed? Or could a commitment to self-love be a radical new rite of passage? Mary-Ann Ochota finds out why this emerging phenomenon is so popular amongst women in particular, and why self-marriage can be either a meaningful act of self-love, or the ultimate cosplay, and sometimes both.
(Photo Caption: Alek Minassian, the 25-year-old suspect in the Toronto van attack. Photo Credit: LinkedIn)
An exclusive investigation by BBC Trending looks at the YouTubers who are promoting academic cheating online. More than 250 popular YouTube channels have been paid to advertise Edubirdie, an essay-writing company. Many of the adverts, which collectively have had hundreds of millions of views, urge students to hire a “super smart nerd” to write their essays. It’s not illegal, but students caught handing in other people’s work can face serious consequences. So are the video stars misusing their power to influence and what is YouTube doing about it?
The statistician Hans Rosling used data to explain how the world was changing – and often improving – more than we think and he would challenge people to examine their preconceptions. Before his death, he started working on a book about the mental biases that tend to lead us astray. Tim Harford speaks to his son Ola and daughter in law Anna who worked on the book with him.
Why do people fall victim to online romance frauds? With false online profiles, doctored photographs, and convincing background stories, online fraudsters target people who are looking for love. Once they have hooked their victims, they set about stealing money from them. But what convinces people that their new relationship is so realistic that they become willing to hand over large amounts of money to someone who they may never meet. Shari Vahl reports.
(Photo: Popular YouTuber Adam Saleh has advertised Edubirdie on his channel. Photo credit: Adam Saleh/YouTube)
When a Democrat Met a Republican: how an innovative project called Better Angels facilitates conversations between people from the left and the right at a time when the ideological divide in America is said to be at its greatest. Anisa Subedar reports.
There are fears in Puerto Rico that the statistics authority is about to lose its independence, as the government has developed a money saving plan to strip it of its independent board. While the Caribbean island recovers from a debt crisis and the devastation of Hurricane Maria, many are questioning whether the move could have damaging implications.
Also, why are we giving away our personal data so cheaply and with so little thought? Aasmah Mir asks if it is too late to secure our information and whether we should charge for it. She talks to a law professor who believes everyone now has sensitive facts or preferences recorded on what he calls a “database of ruin”.
Photo Credit: BBC (Deb Mosby/Tom Chamberlain)
As reporting on the ground in Syria becomes increasingly difficult, a disinformation war rages. We reveal a network of influential Twitter accounts, some with tens or hundreds of thousands of followers, which push conspiracy theories. Plus, against a backdrop of rising knife attacks in the UK, have social networks changed the nature of street violence?
Understanding the way we think about our finances can help us to spend more carefully and save more efficiently, says economist Dan Ariely. Tim Harford talks to him about the psychology of money. Plus Dan has an idea for ending arguments over sharing a restaurant bill.
Why in the USA are people who are least likely to be victims of gun violence the most likely to carry guns? Aasmah Mir talks to people getting their gun licence to try and untangle what lies behind their anxieties.
Picture Caption: Profile picture of Sarah Abdallah, part of a network of pro-Syrian government accounts identified by the social media research company Graphika Picture Credit: Twitter/@sahouraxo
Is a tough new law in Germany aimed at blocking hate speech in danger of limiting free speech? We hear how comedians are having their jokes taken down in a “culture of deletion”.
The World Health Organisation says 95% of people in cities breathe unsafe air, but what is meant by 'unsafe'? Plus, Mount Etna in Italy has reportedly moved by 14mm, but who is doing the measuring and how can it be accurate?
We all fantasise – the dream home, a fulfilling job, our perfect partner. But some people go further, inventing and inhabiting elaborate fantasy worlds. Nicola Kelly finds out why, spending time with cosplayers, delving into virtual worlds and visiting the nightclub where people dress up as unicorns.
Photo Caption: German comedian Sophie Passmann was one of the first people to be caught up in the country’s new hate speech law when one of her jokes on Twitter was deleted
Photo Credit: BBC
London’s murder rate is on the rise – and for the first time ever it has just overtaken New York’s, according to a number of media outlets. But is it true, and is it appropriate to compare between the two cities?
North Korea has strict regulations about what types of information can be accessed by citizens inside the country, so why is it allowing overseas photographers to set up YouTube channels about some aspects of everyday life there? Plus, why is the internet being cut off again and again in the disputed north Indian state of Kashmir?
According to one expert, a majority of restaurants fail in their first year. So why do so many people dream of opening a restaurant when the odds are stacked against them? Mary-Ann Ochota reports.
(Photo: Police officers inspect the scene of a knife attack in London. Credit: Jack Taylor/Getty Images)
Fact and fiction: how does the murder rate within popular crime series Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, set in 1920’s Melbourne, compare with the real life murder rate at that time? We delve into the archives.
After revelations about Facebook and the data firm Cambridge Analytica, there’s been a surge in people talking about privacy and social media. How can you keep your personal information secure?
Plus more on the student gun control movement in America.
Also, to what extent is it true that the order in which we are born in relation to our siblings shapes the way we see ourselves and our place in the world – whether we’re the eldest, the youngest or in the middle? Shivaani Kohok reports.
(Photo: Miss Phryne Fisher [Essie Davis] Credit: Every Cloud Productions/ Ben King)
A special report from Washington, where thousands of students are marching in favour of stricter gun control laws. BBC Trending has been following three student activists affected by gun violence. The students are demanding bans on powerful semi-automatic rifles and a comprehensive raft of measures to stop school shootings.
Vladimir Putin has won a second consecutive and fourth overall term as the Russian President with official polling results from the election showing he received over 76% of the vote, with a total turnout of 67%, but there were also widespread allegations of irregularities including inflated turnout figures. We take a closer look at the election data from Russia to see if these complaints have merit.
Machines are merging into our lives in ever more intimate ways. They interact with our children and assist with medical decisions. Cars are learning to drive themselves, and algorithms can determine who gets government assistance and help suggest our romantic partners. But machines learn from the instructions humans give them. So, how do we know that the technology we are creating is going to do the right thing? Sandra Kanthal reports.
A BBC Trending investigation has found huge inconsistencies in how YouTube deals with neo-Nazi hate music. These are songs - many from punk and hardcore bands active in the 80s and 90s – which have found a new life in online videos, using extreme violent language and imagery to advocate murder and violence against minority groups.
Whenever Donald Trump talks about trade, he points to the US trade balance, claiming America has a trade deficit with almost every country in the world. We unpick whether President Trump is quoting the correct numbers, and hear how trade figures can vary widely between countries, depending on how they do the counting.
Laziness, slothfulness, idleness and apathy are used as criticisms and insults against individuals, groups and sometimes whole countries. But why? The Greeks saw laziness as a virtue and something to be sought after whereas today we look down on being unproductive. Catherine Carr asks if we should keep ourselves constantly busy or feel less guilty about doing nothing.
(Photo: A screen grab from a neo-Nazi music video on YouTube. / Credit: YouTube)
Tim Harford pays tribute to a sporting legend - Sir Roger Bannister, the first person to run one mile in less than 4 minutes, who has died at the age of 88. After his record broke the ‘impossible’ psychological barrier, motivational speakers claimed the power of positive thinking soon helped dozens of runners to break the four-minute record, but what are the true figures?
A BBC investigation has found that a fake blog and fake social media accounts were created to support the campaign of the former Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff in the 2010 election, which she won. As Brazilians look forward to a presidential election later in 2018, Juliana Gragnani reports on her investigation.
Why do segregated groups still exist, especially “men only” clubs? With the current drive towards gender equality and movements such as MeToo and Time’s Up, aren’t such forms of socialising out of date?
(Britain's Roger Bannister (centre) being congratulated by Chris Chataway after setting a new record of 3 minutes 59.4 seconds. On the left is Chris Brasher. Photo by Norman Potter / Getty Images)
How do you fake a trend on Twitter? “Grilled Lamb Delivery” was trending recently – but why would so many people talk about something so routine and mundane?
As it turns out, one of the top trends in Saudi Arabia was being promoted by automated accounts – or “bots”. And it wasn’t an isolated occurrence.This week we find out how companies make it look like lots of real people are talking about a subject online. And what it means for Twitter’s list of top trends.
Are Hollywood films ignoring women? In the 90th year of the Academy Awards we find out how many ‘Best Picture’ winners pass the Bechdel Test: are there at least two named female characters in the cast? Do those two women speak to each other? And do they have a conversation about something other than a man? We reveal the answer in collaboration with the BBC’s 100 Women team.
Why are we so fascinated by dinosaurs and will our love affair with them endure? Mary–Ann Ochota finds out why this reptile beast has become part of our popular culture, as well hooking us into science.
(image: Oscar Winners at the 2017 Academy Awards. Credit Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
After a shooting at a high school in Florida killed 17 people student’s across the United States of America have mobilised on social media. They’re calling for change using online organising tools and taking to the streets. The gun control debate is a familiar cycle, powerful forces in favour of keeping existing laws make it difficult for change to be passed and after the first initial shock news agencies often move on. So will the students manage to keep the momentum for change going?
Plus – the trending team look at an app designed to give people anonymous feedback online. It has seen a meteoric rise but in the wake of allegations of teenage bullying its downloads have faltered. The team chat to the CEO who developed the app.
The More or Less team ask who was the most successful nation at the Winter Olympics if you look at the GDP and amount of ski resorts of the countries with the most medals. Also – how many races would you have to watch to witness a dead heat in the two man bobsleigh? It happened at this Olympics, but when might it happen again?
And Shivaani Kohok talks to experts to provide an insight into the different types of bullying and what motivates this behaviour.
(image: Canadians Alexander Kopacz and Justin Kripps and Germans Francesco Friedrich and Thorsten Margis celebrate winning joint-Gold in the 2 man bobsleigh at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics.Credit:Tom Pennington/Getty Images.)
Patrik Hermansson, a Swedish researcher for the British anti-racist group Hope Not Hate, infiltrated far right groups and spent months undercover. His operation now over, he tells his story, including seeing violence and death in Charlottesville, Virginia - the culmination of the ideologies he had witnessed throughout his time with the alt-right.
Can you fit a guide to questioning dubious statistics on the back of a postcard? Tim Harford gives it a try. He wants us to be curious: asking, why do we “like” one stat but not another, who wants us to see it, and – behind the headline – what is it really telling us.
Job interviews are stressful experiences and have mostly been shown by scientists to be ineffective at picking the best candidate. Catherine Carr explores the cultural and psychological bias that flaws them and asks how we might improve the experience both for the interviewee and interviewer.
Why has there been a disturbing rise in internet pranks that simulate real life attacks? In an exclusive interview, we hear from YouTuber Arya Mosallah, who had his channel terminated after some of his videos - which some thought resembled acid attacks - were removed from the site. And we look at the ethics and morals of the people making videos in the pranking genre.
There’s a stereotype of Russia as a nation of vodka-swilling hard drinkers – but is that idea out of date? The Russian health minister told a conference recently that the country’s alcohol consumption there has dropped by 80% in just five years. Can that be true?
Pain comes to us all at some point in our lives, but a person’s pain is a unique experience and describing what hurts is not a simple task. Sandra Kanthal asks why we need to understand more about pain and reports on new ways being developed to measure and manage it.
(image: People stand next to a shelf with strong drinks in a food store in Moscow. Credit Andrey Smirnov/Getty Images)
Why is the far right so obsessed with Sweden? Despite seeming to be unlikely territory with its reputation for progressive social policies, reports about crime and immigration in Sweden routinely go viral on internet chat forums, Facebook and Twitter. And what links do Swedish activists have with the global alt-right?
A key pledge of the Chinese President Xi Jinping is that China will have eradicated poverty by 2020. It’s an extraordinary claim, but China does have a good track record in improving the wealth of its citizens so how does it measure poverty? And is it possible for the government to ensure, over the next few years, that no one falls below its poverty line?
Curing phobias, managing pain, entertainment: hypnotism has a number of tangible benefits. But it can also carry significant risks for the most suggestible people. So why would anyone allow a stranger to access their mind? Nicola Kelly speaks to performers, dentists and therapists who use hypnotism in their work and discovers how the brain functions when in a trance.
(Photo: A woman tends to her niece amid the poor surroundings of her home's kitchen. Credit: Frederic J.Brown/Getty Images
Is the US census under threat? The United States are due to run their next nationwide census in 2020, but already critics are warning that under funding and a proposed question about citizenship could affect the accuracy of its results.
Some conspiracy theories spread like wildfire online, despite the truth really being out there (and easily searchable) so what makes people continue to share conspiracies on social media?
Why are more and more people giving up all food produced from animals? Mary-Ann Ochota explores the rise in veganism. She looks at how social media is helping spread the vegan message, the pros and cons of a solely plant based diet and whether eating meat today is ethical.
(Photo: Concerned woman holding a clipboard and a pen. Credit: Nicolas McComber/Getty Images)
The past and future of fake news – what can be done about social media misinformation and what impact does it have around the world? Mike Wendling asks a panel of experts from Buzzfeed, the Poynter Institute, and First Draft News.
Economists rely on data to describe what is happening in a country’s economy, such as the unemployment rate, average wages, and the number of people in poverty. But how individuals manage their money gives a different picture. Rachel Schneider, co-author of The Financial Diaries, describes the findings of a large study in the US.
Why do some sleep disorders turn normal dreams into terrifying nightmares and what do they tell us about the workings of the brain? Neurologist, Dr Guy Leschziner, from Guy's and St Thomas' hospitals in London, introduces us to some of his patients with problems that include sleep paralysis and hallucinations and he explores the reasons why we dream.
(Photo: A couple looking at their finances. Credit: Wayhome Studio/Shutterstock)
The meaning of the term “fake news” has been completely transformed – so what does it mean now, and is the phrase even useful at all?
How Louis Bachelier scooped economists by half a century. A forgotten French mathematician’s unusual approach to the stock market. He anticipated both Einstein's theories and the application of maths to the stock market and his ideas were rediscovered decades after his death.
Why high levels of noise affects all of us. David Baker explores how different sounds can impact on people without them even knowing and how to make our lives more tranquil.
(Photo: Pocket watch. Credit: Kanyapak Lim/Shutterstock)
There are golfers who could go an entire lifetime without getting a hole-in-one. Recently the BBC reported a pair of amateur players who each scored one - one after the other. It was reported widely that there was a 1 in 17 million chance of this happening. We speak to maths writer, Rob Eastaway, who explains the difficulties of trying to work out the chances.
Why do people hear voices in their head - like Rachel Waddingham who hears three-year-old Blue, 11-year-old Elfie and a panel of three critical scientists. Around 2% of people claim, like Rachel, to be inhabited by voices with whom they have full blown relationships. Are they all sick? And why have some psychologists changed their minds about the dangers of colluding with the voices?
Social media has become an integral part of modern life - but what if you have been in jail for the last 30 years? Many recently released so-called juvenile lifers in the US now find themselves grappling with the mysteries of Facebook and Whatsapp, and other aspects of new technology.
(Photo: Man playing golf. Credit: Shutterstock)
The numbers we need to describe the world around us are getting bigger. Maths author Rob Eastaway explains the names for successive sizes of computer storage space and makes the case for a new giant unit of measurement: the Brontobyte.
We review recent developments in social media, such as the rise of 4Chan, and look ahead to the changes we can expect to see online in 2018.
And why are we creatures of habit? Doing everyday tasks without thinking frees our brains for more complicated decision making, but what happens when we form habits beyond our control, and how do we form good habits rather than bad ones? Shiulie Ghosh investigates.
(Photo: Journalist working on his computer, August 1980, at the Agence France-Presse. Credit: Getty Images)
The New York Times claims that Donald Trump drinks ‘a dozen’ Diet Cokes a day. At 42mg of caffeine per 330ml, what impact, if any, could this have on the President’s health? Jordan Dunbar speaks to experts about the effect caffeine has on your brain and talks to a high profile self-confessed Diet Coke addict in the UK.
"Milkshake Duck" is internet slang for an ordinary person who is briefly cheered, but then swiftly turned upon. We explain why an 11 year old boy and his family are the latest victims of this phenomenon. Also, a BBC Brazil investigation has revealed that an army of so-called social media cyborgs tried to influence the country’s presidential election.
Why have so many women in so many different cultures and eras been denounced as witches? BBC Africa’s Sammy Awami visits a village in his home country of Tanzania where, just four months ago, five women were murdered after being accused of witchcraft. Sammy meets a witch doctor who believes he has met a witch and talks to a local politician who is trying to stop the killings.
(image: Donald Trump enjoying his Diet Coke at a Foundation Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria, New York. Photo Credit: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)
Headlines claim that eating chocolate can protect you from developing Alzheimer’s disease. The theory is that bioactives within chocolate called flavanols can help reduce the risk of heart attacks, strokes and even make your brain 30 years younger! But isn’t this too good to be true? The BBC’s Head of Statistics, Robert Cuffe, investigates,
How do you detect a Twitter bot? Two students in the United States have invented an online tool aimed at stopping the spread of political propaganda on Twitter. Also, how a goal celebration by the footballer Paul Pogba helped spread a massive online protest against slave auctions in Libya.
Why do we take so much courage from a crowd? At football matches, music festivals and protest marches, people become energised in groups. They can be frightening places when they erupt in violence, or peaceful forms of protest when we try to change social norms. Sandra Kanthal reports.
(Image: Large chunks of chocolate. Credit: Shutterstock)
Over the last decade journalists in the US have been suspicious of the number of people who seem to have won multiple prizes on scratch cards and the lottery. We hear from a reporter and statistician who poured over data across a number of states to work out the chances of multiple wins.
What happens when Twitter is your favourite platform but the company then suspends or terminates your account? The new Twitter rules meant one ‘black Twitter’ user was banned – along with many of his online friends.
Coming of age rituals, hazing at universities or entrance rites into secretive organisations - initiations are present in every culture around the world. They are often secretive and can involve horrific ordeals, so why do people put up with the pain?
(Photo: A customer purchasing lottery tickets at a store in San Lorenzo, California. Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Mr Darcy, the male love interest in Jane Austen’s 19th Century English novel Pride and Prejudice is supposed to be fabulously wealthy on an income of £10,000 a year, but two hundred years later, it’s not clear how rich he really is. As Tim Harford discovers, you need to do more than adjust the amount for inflation.
A BBC Trending investigation finds that part of YouTube's system for reporting sexualised comments left on children's videos has not been functioning correctly for more than a year, according to volunteer moderators inside YouTube’s “Trusted Flagger” programme.
What can we learn about politics from the power struggles within chimpanzee groups? Professor James Tilley explores the parallels between our political world and that of other primates.
(Photo: Colin Firth as Mr Darcy and Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet in the BBC adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice 1995)
Italy’s failure to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 60 years will damage more than national pride. It will also carry a big financial cost – one estimate says Fifa stands to lose $100m. Is this really true? Also, we fact check the claim that 45% of Nigerian women marry before their 18th birthday.
For the second in our special series from Russia, we trace how opposition leader Alexei Navalny has used social media to move from writing LiveJournal blogs about corruption to trying to run for president.
Also, how true are beliefs about the differences between the way men and women speak, such as women apologise more and men interrupt more? Catherine Carr speaks to leading linguists, who have studied thousands of conversations and gathered data to find out what’s going on.
(Photo: Alessandro Florenzi of Italy at the end of the Fifa 2018 World Cup Qualifier play-off, 2017. Credit: Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
We discover how a numerical change in the way the pop music album charts are measured is causing artists to make ever longer albums.
The first of two special reports into the Russian internet. For years it provided an open platform for news and discussion with vastly different content to the news presented on the largely state-run television channels. We hear how over the last few years government regulation has been building up, and the authorities have started to curtail the kind of material that can be posted and seen online.
Why are so many films dubbed into another language? Rhianna Dhillon discovers the artistic, social and political reasons why many countries including Italy, France and Spanish speaking countries have opted to dub rather than subtitle movies.
(Image: Chris Brown performs onstage at 2017 BET Awards. Credit: Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET)
Two statistics from Nigeria: do lawmakers really get paid $1.7 m – much more than the American President and does eating yams give Yoruba communities a record number of twins? We talk to the fact checkers at Africa Check.
We investigate connections between Moscow and “Calexit” groups that want to break up the United States. Also, the list of "sexual predator" professors that has sparked an online debate in India.
Millions of people every year visit sites of death, tragedy and destruction, from nuclear disaster zones to genocide memorials. Is it an effort to understand the darker parts of our history, or are we just indulging our morbid curiosity? Mary-Ann Ochota investigates dark tourism.
(Photo: Seven-year-old twin sisters Seye and Sayo on their way to a party in the south-western Nigerian town of Igbo-Ora. Photo credit: Pius Utomi Ekpei/Getty Images)
Stephen King once said that wannabe authors should avoid using adverbs which end with ‘ly’ but does he follow his own advice? Data journalist Ben Blatt decided to find out. He also analysed texts written by some of the best known authors to discover the words they use obsessively.
This year has seen a sharp rise in the number of confrontations in America between far right white supremacists and a group known as antifa – the anti fascists. We look at these two groups in traditionally liberal towns like Berkeley, California and Portland, Oregon and ask who is winning and what they are fighting for.
Do you ever feel like a fraud? Do you think that you don’t deserve your success and one day you’ll be found out? If so, you may suffer from Imposter Syndrome. It can afflict both men and women and people who belong to minority groups of whom there are stereotypes about competence also commonly experience imposter feelings. Afua Hirsch reports.
(Photo: American novelist Ernest Hemingway in 1954 on safari in Africa. Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Did the 2016 US election galvanise young people to become more engaged in politics? Millennial statistician Kevin Lin designed a research project to see if there was evidence to prove this on the website Reddit. Kevin explains his findings and the pitfalls of trying to measure anything on social media.
This year has seen a sharp rise in the number of confrontations in America between far right white supremacists and a group known as antifa – the anti fascists. White nationalists claim they want to protect the right to free speech but their opponents believe it’s an excuse to promote often racist ideologies. The fight that lived online is now being played out on the streets.
Serial killers and their terrible high profile crimes have spawned a massive global industry... feature films, documentaries, TV series, books, magazine profiles, hit podcasts and video games. So why do many of us find serial killers so intriguing? Is it their psychology or the gory details of their murders? Becky Milligan investigates.
(Photo: Students from Los Angeles California high schools gather to protest the election of Republican Donald Trump as President of the United States. Credit: David McNew/Getty Images)
Richard Thaler is this year’s recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize for Economic Sciences. Charlotte McDonald speaks to Tim Harford to get an insight into Thaler’s work and explore the psychological realism of behavioural economics.
The Russian military wants to stop its regular soldiers from posting selfies on social media and an online argument has started between two rival film-makers documenting the life and death of a black transsexual woman. The trending team find out why.
Lucy Ash looks into breath-holding. From those who choose to restrict it to others who do it subconsciously, how does breath-holding affect our bodies and our minds?
(Photo: Prof Richard Thaler standing in front of portraits of previous winners at the University of Chicago: Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)
The numbers we need to describe the world around us are getting bigger. Maths author Rob Eastaway explains the names for successive sizes of computer storage space and makes the case for a new giant unit of measurement: the Brontobyte.
Tales of sexist double standards have become a talking point on social media in Pakistan. We delve into this issue through the lens of three viral stories.
Why, when natural disaster is imminent, do some people ignore all warnings to leave and decide to stay put in their homes? Shivaani Kohok investigates.
(Photo: Journalist working on his computer, August 1980, at the Agence France-Presse. Credit: Getty Images)
Do the largest container ships emit as much pollution as all the cars in the world? We check out the claims and the different types of emissions produced by container ships and cars.
We hear from the Indian couple behind the viral 'husband-proof' shopping list; and the targeting of a Finnish journalist by pro Russian online trolls.
How easy is it to live in a small space? Is sharing space more important than having space to ourselves? Catherine Carr reports.
(image: the ultra-large container ship MOL Triumph from South Korea, coming in to port. Credit: M.MacMatzen/Getty Images)
A recent study says that male sperm count has declined by 50 per cent since 1973, so how worried should we be?
We investigate claims that posts by Rohingya activists are being unfairly deleted by social media companies.
And, some people condemn surrogacy as a dangerous industry that exploits the vulnerable, while others see it as a welcome solution to the heartache of infertility. Mary-Ann Ochota reports.
(Image: Father with his daughter at breakfast time. Credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
What’s the best way to measure a hurricane? As hurricanes continue to threaten the Caribbean and American East coast, Tim Harford examines the different ways of calculating their respective strengths.
We investigate new German legislation which will force social networks to delete hate speech – or face massive fines. Some support it, and the government is determined to go ahead, but critics say it will restrict free speech.
Red roses, romantic dinners and Valentine's Day might have become the modern expression of romance – but where do its ancient roots lie? And do traditional ideas about romance conflict with today's experience of gender, love and sexuality. Afua Hirsch reports.
(Satellite image showing Hurricane Irma moving towards the Florida Coast on Sept 07 2017. Photo credit NOAA GOES Project via Getty Images)
Is the UK the only country with more horses than tanks in its army? And what does the number of tanks say about a country’s capacity to fight?
On the face of it, Eduardo Martins had an inspiring story as a young, conscientious photographer working in conflict zones. His images were used on a number of reputable news sites, and his Instagram following reached into the tens of thousands. But a BBC Brasil investigation has revealed Martins to be a fake identity. Martins – whoever he really is – took another man's self-portraits and passed them off as his own, and stole the work of a real war photographer.
When we meet someone and ask them what do you do – what are we really hoping to find out about that person? David Baker explores how much emphasis we place on our jobs as part of our identity.
(image: Members of the Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery at Wellington Barracks in London. Credit: Oli Scarff/Getty images)
Establishing the death toll in the fire that engulfed Grenfell Tower, a residential block in West London, has proved to be unexpectedly difficult. Commander Stuart Cundy, who oversaw the Metropolitan police operation following the fire, tells Tim Harford why it is has been so challenging.
Hurricane Harvey brought devastating floods to large areas of Texas; and in its wake came a flurry of fake news, much of which went viral - including a picture of a shark on a highway and reports of mass looting. And there’s growing concern in the Gulf States where an illegal market for employing domestic servants is using social media to circumvent the law.
Also, why does new technology often feel so complicated? Kate Lamble asks if stupidity on the users’ part or poor design is to blame? Or is it part of our natural psychological response to artificial devices?
As the world’s most popular football leagues start up again after the summer break, one listener asks how to figure out the best strategy to become a fantasy football champion. How should you spend that £100m budget?
We focus on the social media scene in war-torn Yemen. What does the recent detention of a prominent political analyst reveal about freedom of speech in the country?
And, the question of which African country makes the best Jollof rice has been causing heated debate online.
Also, Shivaani Kohok explores why storing and displaying human remains in museums has become so contentious.
(photo: Manchester United player Paul Pogba in action. Credit: Stu Forster/Getty Images)
How accurate are President Trump’s claims to have created a booming economy in America? We take a look at the numbers relating to employment, wages and the stock market.
Following the violent clashes in Charlottesville in the US, internet giants have quelled the voice of one notorious neo-Nazi website. We talk to one person who campaigned to have the website shut down, and another who wrote for it. And, a classified ads site accused of facilitating sex trafficking has prompted action for a change in US law. Critics say if the law goes through, it could result in an attack on free speech on the internet.
News has a powerful pull. We spend so much of our time checking it, absorbing it and talking about it. And some of us even claim to be addicted to it. But why, asks David Baker, do we need news in the first place?
(photo: US President Donald Trump speaks to auto workers in Michigan. Credit: Getty Images.)
President Trump recently announced that the US Government "will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military." This provoked criticism from Congressman Mark Pocan who said that there were 15,000 transgender people serving in the military today. That number was widely reported – but is it true?
A visual protest accompanied by a viral hashtag has sparked a new twist in the fight for women's rights in India. It began with one woman driving in her car late at night, and has resulted in the country's ruling party facing embarrassment and possible damage to their reputation.
On trains, in cafes, offices and in the street, we cannot help overhearing conversations not intended for our ears. Catherine Carr explores why we eavesdrop, and whether it is a harmless habit or a dangerous invasion of privacy.
(image: US Joint Service Honor Guard, Washington DC. Credit: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)
Raising children is demanding. It takes time, money and devotion. So, why would anyone want to raise another person's child? Can mothers who adopt or foster have the same connection to their children as a birth mother would? We explore what it means to be a parent.
Mathematician Matt Parker on the unsung prime numbers such as the Mersenne 49 - the largest ever found.
Whistleblowers from inside YouTube's voluntary Trusted Flagger scheme, which helps identify potential child groomers, tell us that the company are failing to respond to the vast majority of reports from them and the public.
An unsolved murder of a young man in Washington DC last year has sparked widespread conspiracy theories online. But these aren't just any kind of conspiracy theories – they are linked to people in positions of power. Why has one murder led to such a huge response online?
(image credit: Shutterstock/family)
Last year it was reported that there could soon be up to 123 boys aged 16 to 17 for every 100 girls the same age in Sweden. This disparity was thought to be caused by an influx of teenage boys claiming asylum in the country. We look at whether age testing of asylum seekers has had an impact and skewed the sex ratio in Sweden.
China's Livestreaming: The Super Fan: BBC Trending brings you the second half of a strange love story involving one of China's most well-known live streamers, and a fan who pays to watch her live stream every single day. Last week we introduced you to Lele Tao, a well-known live streamer in China. This week we meet Shage, who is a devoted fan of Lele's and witness their first ever face-to-face interaction.
Every country in the world has at least one Sign Language. Each is a complete communication system with its own grammar, lexicon and structure and has evolved over centuries, just like their verbal counterparts. Although many have legal status under disability legislation, only four have been given the status of a recognised official language. But not everyone who is deaf uses sign language, and not everyone who uses sign language is deaf. Some deaf rights campaigners say that Sign language is a signifier of belonging to a Deaf community, with a rich cultural legacy. But does the choice to use hearing aids and cochlear implants to help use verbal language really mean a rejection of deaf culture and a deaf identity?
(image: teenagers enjoying themselves outdoors. Credit: Shutterstock)
The only woman to win the maths world’s biggest prize has died at the age of 40. As the only female winner of the Fields Medal – the maths equivalent to the Nobel Prize – Iranian mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani inspired a generation of female mathematicians. We look at her life and her legacy.
The first of two special reports reveals a unique Chinese love story involving one of China's most well-known live streamers, and a fan who watches her on a screen every single day. Live streaming is big business in China, with half of the online Chinese community using livestreaming apps in 2016.
And why do some people crave the limelight? Jordan Dunbar undergoes an experiment to find out what the limelight does to our bodies, to get a chemical answer.
(Photo: Front pages of Iranian newspapers on 16 July 2017, bearing portraits of the top female mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani. Credit: Atta Kenare/Getty Images)
We discover how every shot at the Wimbledon tennis championships is counted, analysed and makes its way to our phones, desktops and TV screens. How useful is this information for players and their coaches? The statistics prove and disprove some of the received wisdom of the game.
New Chinese regulations have resulted in a crackdown on online videos. Chinese censors have banned around 84 categories of material including prostitution, drug addiction, and extra marital affairs, and the classification of homosexuality as an 'abnormal' sexual activity has caused anger online.
What drives women – and men – to choose to be childless, especially as they often face suspicion, abuse even, for being selfish or materialistic. Women, in particular, who decide not to have children can experience the full force of this near-universal stigma. Mary-Ann Ochota reports.
(image: Venus Williams plays a backhand during the Ladies Singles at Wimbledon. Credit: Getty Images)
The American basketballer Stephen Curry has just signed the biggest contract in NBA history for $200 million over 5 years but amazingly, according to fellow superstar player Lebron James, he’s probably being underpaid. We look at the economics of superstar sports salaries.
Rumours in football and the fake news generated by these rumours are nothing new, but we’ll be looking at the way these stories impact clubs, players and fans.
And what’s in a kiss? Charlotte McDonald examines the biochemistry, psychology, anthropology and history of kissing. Where does it come from and is it innately human?
(Image: NBA Finals: Game Four, Credit: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
UEFA, European football's governing body, is currently trialling a new system for penalty shoot-outs that is based on mathematical research. Currently 60% of penalty shoot-outs are won by the team going first, so can this unfairness be overcome?
The death of a teenager in India at the hands of a mob led to an online campaign, which within days sparked a trending hashtag and worldwide street protests. We pick apart the #NotInMyName campaign.
And when many people struggle to maintain one relationship, why do some people enter into multiple simultaneous marriages? Lucy Ash speaks to polygamists around the world to find out why they were drawn to these complex relationships and what impact they have on the people involved.
(Photo: Various numbers. Credit: Shutterstock)
Grenfell Tower, a residential block in London, made headlines around the world when at least 79 people died there in a fire while many are still missing. But how unusual are such lethal fires? Are tower blocks really dangerous? Or are they safer than houses?
We investigate some of the fake victim images which appear online in the wake of deadly attacks and disasters. Who are the victims and perpetrators, and why are these images circulated?
Why do foreign migrants yearn to go home and what happens when they do? Some have had no choice, but others are influenced by nostalgia for their early lives. When they go back, can the old country live up to their hopes and dreams? Shivaani Kohok hears emotional tales from those returning to Jamaica, Sierra Leone, India and Ghana.
(Photo: Smoke rises from the 24 story Grenfell Tower in West London. Photo: Leon Neal/Getty images)
The results of the UK general election are in – but what do they mean? Did more young people vote than expected? How many extra votes would the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn have needed to become Prime Minister? Would planned boundary changes have made a difference? Tim Harford and team give the latest analysis.
Quilting – it’s an innocent-sounding traditional art, and one with a rich social and political history. But it’s not immune to America’s fractious political climate, as a conflict has erupted online amongst those within the quilting world.
And all over the world this summer young people are sitting exams which will have a big impact on their future. However, is this one-size-fits-all approach to assessment really a good judge of ability and understanding? Or do exam results only tell us about a candidate’s ability to memorise material and perform under stressful exam conditions? Caroline Bayley investigates.
(Photo: young voters arriving at a polling station in Glasgow to vote in the General Election. Credit Andy Buchanan/Getty Images)
Cheick Tiote, the much loved former Newcastle United player collapsed and died while training with Chinese side Beijing Enterprises earlier this month. His death and that of other black footballers have caused some commentators to ask if cardiac arrest – one of the most common causes of death on the field – is a greater risk factor for people of African heritage.
The conflict in Venezuela has now moved beyond the country’s borders – both on and offline. It involves Venezuelan exiles publicly shaming people living abroad who are connected to the government. We hear from those who are targeted and targeting.
Also, offensive messages on social media have resulted in some students having their admissions revoked from one of the most prestigious universities in the world.
Why do some people deliberately inflict pain on themselves as a way of managing how they feel? Catherine Carr explores the impact self-harming has on those who do it and those close to them, and she hears from people who have recovered by finding alternative coping strategies.
(Photo: Cheick Tiote of Newcastle United in action during the Barclays Premier League match between Newcastle United and Southampton at St James Park Credit: Getty Images)
Can medical statistics be transformed into music? That was the challenge set by epidemiologist Elizabeth Pisani for composer Tony Haynes. The result was Song of Contagion to be performed this month by his Grand Union Orchestra with steel pans, saxophones and singers telling the story of diseases including Zika and AIDs.
What Is 4Chan? How an anonymous social network spawned some of the biggest and most recognisable online political movements. We look at the origins, the people who use it and where it’s going.
And why do we talk to ourselves? Matthew Sweet hears how it can calm us down, help us organise our thoughts, and in the case of Sarah Outen, who spent four and a half years rowing, cycling and kayaking around the planet, he hears how it saved her life on more than one occasion.
(Photo: Detail close up of French Horn musical instrument, part of the Brass family of instruments. Credit: Shutterstock)
Our entire education system is faulty, some experts claim, as it fails to prepare children for a future world of work in which 65 % of jobs have not yet been invented. We set off on a round-the-world sleuthing trip to trace this statistic that has been causing headaches for students, teachers and politicians alike.
Travelling without male consent: we unpick the case of Dina Ali, the 24-year-old Saudi national whose story triggered a viral hashtag challenging Saudi Arabia’s 'guardianship' rules, which give male guardians control over women. Where is Dina now? And why was the hashtag she inspired so significant?
Why take on a role where lots of people hate you for doing it?
Dotun Adebayo talks to people whose daily life can include verbal and even physical abuse. They include an 18 year old referee in Manchester and electricity workers in Lagos in Nigeria who are regularly beaten up as they disconnect disgruntled customers. And the plus side of doing a thankless job from a debt collector in Jamaica and death row lawyers in Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana.
(Photo: Classmates taking part in peer learning. Credit: Shutterstock)
Has Uganda been accepting more refugees on a daily basis than some European countries manage in an entire year? That is the claim from the Norwegian Refugee Council – and it is a claim we put to the test. Civil war and famine in South Sudan have forced millions to leave their homes, and this has had a colossal impact on neighbouring Uganda. We speak to Gopolang Makou, a researcher at Africa Check who has some startling figures to share.
Kony2012 was a social media campaign which led to a US-backed manhunt for an African warlord. 5 years on the hunt’s been called off and Joseph Kony is still on the run. We look back at a turning point in online activism. Also, the Buddhist priest mixing traditional chants with techno beats in an effort to attract younger people to his temple in Japan.
Some people are numbers people – and some are not. One meltdown moment in the classroom is often all it takes to put people off maths for life. But, when you lose the ability to interrogate numbers, it makes it easier to be fooled by fancy figures. Timandra Harkness asks why people are intimidated by numbers.
Image: Bidi Bidi Refugee Camp
Some parts of towns are hard to navigate and seem like an urban maze. Navigation expert Dr Ruth Dalton explains to Jordan Dunbar that it’s to do with “intelligibility”, as they go on a tour of the Barbican Estate in London, a famous example of Brutalist architecture, which people struggle to find their way around. The technique for finding your way out of a maze is also revealed.
The so-called Islamic State group is using a new tactic to market itself. Typically associated with videos showing killings and destruction, supporters of the terrorist group are now using cartoons aimed at children and adults in order to recruit followers.
And why are we creatures of habit? Doing everyday tasks without thinking frees our brains for more complicated decision making, but what happens when we form habits beyond our control, and how do we form good habits rather than bad ones? Shiulie Ghosh investigates.
(Photo: 'Floating' gardens in the Barbican Estate, Credit: Roger Jackson/Getty Images)
The UK‘s Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn get a fact check for claims they’ve made since the General Election was called. How much does the UK pay to belong to the EU, how many French people are there in Britain and what’s happening to living standards? Tim Harford checks the statistics.
Why are some global companies and fashion brands now using the Muslim headscarf to promote their products and what impact is that having on female Muslims?
Does society discriminate against short people and if so, why? Is it worse for men than for women? Felicity Evans, who at 5 foot (152 cm) tall is shorter than average, investigates.
(Photo: Foreign secretary Boris Johnson arrives for a cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street. Credit: Getty Images)
Throughout the 20th Century the developed world saw mortality rates fall but one group who may no longer be benefitting are middle-aged white Americans. This is according to research from the eminent economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton. But the work has been criticised for statistical problems and for not focusing enough on black Americans. Tim Harford attempts to explain what is really going on.
We examine the disturbing rise of fake celebrity social media accounts targeting children. This comes in the wake of a case currently going through the courts in Australia, where a man who allegedly impersonated Justin Bieber online has more than 900 charges of child sex offences against him. We talk to parents of children who have been targeted, and to law enforcement professionals concerned by this growing trend.
The average English-speaker knows about 25,000 words which can be combined into an infinite number of sentences. Many people believe that, whatever language you speak, the words you know have a profound influence on the way you think, though this is a controversial theory among linguists, as Lane Greene explains.
(Photo: Harmonica playing steel workers perched on a girder on the 22nd storey of the Murray Hill building, New York. Credit: General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)
A single nuclear weapon could destroy America’s entire electrical grid, claims a former head of the CIA. The explosion would send out an electromagnetic pulse – resulting in famine, societal collapse and what one newspaper has called a “Dark Apocalypse”. But are hungry squirrels a greater threat to the electrical grid than North Korean weapons?
A group of anonymous keyboard warriors who claim they helped Donald Trump win his presidency in the “Great Meme War” have moved their fight to Europe and are trying to help elect a right wing leader for France. Conversations in secret online messaging forums reveal a systematic effort to sway opinion but is it working?
Also, the power of applause and why we humans like to clap.
(Photo: The launch of a surface-to-surface medium long-range ballistic missile Pukguksong-2 Credit: Getty Images)
Following the death of Professor Hans Rosling - perhaps best described as a kind of international development myth buster – we rebroadcast one of his interviews for More Or Less. He asked presenter Ruth Alexander three questions from his Ignorance Test, part of his project to investigate what people know and don’t know about key-aspects of global development. Most people do badly. How do you fare?
Has there been a rise in anti-Donald Trump fake news since he became President of the United States? We’re familiar with accusations that right-wing fake news is being shared online, but what about fake news from the left?
Also, what lures people to delve beneath the earth, peering into the dark recesses that exist underground? Simon Cox hears from the urban explorers trying to find the hidden layers of cities that exist deep beneath our feet, and from a caver who sees his pastime as “mountaineering underground”.
(Photo: Hans Rosling, Statistician, Founder of Gapminder speaks about the impact of growing global population on resources at the ReSource 2012 conference Credit: Matthew Lloyd)
The claim that “one in four” of us will suffer from a mental health problem is popular amongst campaigners, politicians and the media. But where is this figure from and what’s the evidence for it?
A paranoid conspiracy theory questioning the reality of the shooting dead of 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 has acquired a new, disturbing power in America. Rumours that the killings were staged by actors have been pushed by alternative media mogul Alex Jones. His online news site Infowars has millions of listeners and viewers. One grieving father, Lenny Pozner, tells how he has led the online fightback.
Also, from ancient Greece to Instagram – has the six-pack become the ultimate sign of success for today’s young man?
(Photo: Commuters pass through Grand Central Terminal during morning rush hour Credit: Getty Images)
Since Finland started giving families simple cardboard boxes for their new born babies to sleep in 75 years ago, cot death has fallen and child health has improved. Governments and individuals across the world have adopted them and companies have sprung up selling them. But can a cardboard box on its own really have such a huge effect? Elizabeth Cassin and Charlotte McDonald have been finding out.
Thousands of videos aimed at children are posted on YouTube that initially look like some of their favourite cartoon series, but closer inspection reveals weird and often disturbing content that is potentially unsuitable for young children. Who is making this content and Is the onus on parents to take responsibility for their children’s viewing or should the host platform, YouTube, be doing more?
And why do millions of people round the world practice yoga and how has it become so popular over time? Valley Fontaine hears from the director of a 98-year-old yoga institute in India, an instructor who teaches yoga for you and your dog, the founders of a yoga festival in the UK, and the 2016 women’s yoga champion.
(Photo: A Box of baby essentials. Credit: Getty Images)
If the US is going to build a wall on its border with Mexico, it’s going to take a lot of concrete - millions of tonnes, in fact. But this is a tiny amount compared with China’s concrete use. It’s often said that China used more concrete between 2008-2011 than the US did in the whole of the 20th Century. It sounds astonishing - and is it true? Wesley Stephenson finds out.
After comments by author Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche divided opinion over transgender women, we speak to members of some of Nigeria’s secret gay and transgender groups who rely on each other on social media for support. Also, Joey Daley from Ohio has documented his mother Molly’s dementia. One film in which she failed to recognise him for the first time was viewed nearly 2 million times. Joey speaks to BBC Trending about how it feels to care for someone with dementia.
And Lee Kumutat examines why blindness comes to define the identity of people who have little or no sight. She talks to people in Jamaica, Ghana, Scotland and California about how they navigate a world which seems to see them as either inspirational or deserving pity. Or both.
Image: Getty/Credit: David McNew / Stringer
Is it really true our attention spans are getting shorter in the always-connected world of social media, smartphones and hyperlinks? The statistics say that the average attention span is down from 12 seconds in the year 2000 to eight seconds now. That's less than the nine-second attention span of the average goldfish. But the statistics are not all that they seem - and neither is the received wisdom about goldfish.
Twitch is a live video streaming platform used widely in the gaming community. The death of a well-known gamer has opened a huge debate about player safety.
And, there is something satisfying about working with our hands, whether it is making something, fixing something or caring for someone. Maria Margaronis asks what it is about our tactile skills that make us so fundamentally human.
(Image: Shutterstock/Goldfish)
There has been a steady stream of top Hollywood actresses who have complained that they have been paid less than their male co-stars. Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence and Natalie Portman have all pointed out the disparity. So why in the 21st Century is this still the case? Charlotte McDonald reports.
We investigate a far right website in Sweden that has been secretly recording phone calls with journalists and academics and then posting heavily-edited
versions of the conversations online. The man behind it says he is trying to broaden the debate about immigration. But the site’s targets say their words are being distorted and they feel intimidated.
And how does listening differ from hearing? How important is the art of listening to human relationships and how can we develop that skill? Datshiane Navanayagam reports.
Image: Jennifer Lawrence at the Oscars. Getty Images/Valerie Macno
What happened last night in Sweden? Ruth Alexander tells the strange tale that connects Donald Trump, rape in Sweden, immigration and her reporting on More or Less.
Why did a network of Twitter accounts, usually the source of pro-Russian messages, pump out tweets about a very specific British election? BBC Trending’s Mike Wendling investigates.
And why do some people stammer? More than 70 million people globally – that’s about 1% of the world’s population - are affected by this neurological condition. Becky Milligan talks to people with a stammer to find out the effect on their lives. She also discovers what treatments are available and whether stammering can be cured.
Image: Getty / Joe Raedle
The recent death of the inspirational Swedish statistician Han Rosling has left a hole in the world. Tim Harford and others who met him pay tribute to a master communicator whose captivating presentations on global development were watched by millions. His friend Bill Gates said Hans ‘brought data to life and helped the world see the human progress it often overlooked’.
Is there any substance to NATO’s claims of misinformation against a Russian-funded online news agency with an office in Scotland? Is it just another perspective on news or is it an example of what some call ‘Russia’s state-run propaganda machine’?
Hypochondria: the fear of having a serious, undiagnosed illness. We may mock the hypochondriac, but a constant fear of sickness and death can be a debilitating and distressing condition in itself, with some sufferers even ending up in wheelchairs. So why don’t we take this misunderstood malaise more seriously?
Image: Hans Rosling, Credit: Associated Press
In the wake of Donald Trump’s claim that three million people may have voted illegally in last year’s presidential elections, we scrutinise the American electoral system and the work of the Electoral Integrity Project that suggests North Carolina is on a par with Cuba.
A disturbing rumour’s been trending online recently - of a paedophile ring on YouTube. BBC Trending investigates and debunks another internet myth.
In his first TV interview as US President, Donald Trump claimed that torture “absolutely” works and said the US should “fight fire with fire.” But what evidence is there that torture is an effective method of obtaining valuable intelligence? And, can the use of torture ever be justified? Becky Milligan hears from a former interrogator who worked at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, a former political prisoner who was tortured in the notorious Evin prison in Tehran, and a neuroscientist who has studied the effects of torture on the brain.
(Photo: Americans head to the polls in Charlotte, North Carolina. Credit: Davis Turner/Getty Images)
How many people attended President Trump’s inauguration? How many people went to the Women’s March in Washington DC the next day? A fierce debate has been raging about the numbers of people at each event. We explore the difficulties of counting people in a crowd.
Tens of thousands of automated videos have appeared online recently. All feature photos of news events accompanied by a robotic voice. BBC Trending’s very own digital supersleuth Mike Wendling investigates who’s making them and why.
Can deep-frozen bodies ever return from the dead? Mike Williams explores the science, the motivation and the ethics behind cryonics and asks whether frozen human bodies will ever be fit for a new life.
(image: Attendees line the Mall at Trump's Inauguration Day in Washington DC. Photo: Lucas Jackson/Getty Images)
There are two things that you can be sure of in January and both of them make the More Or Less team want to scream. Firstly, Oxfam put out their ‘x number of billionaires hold the same wealth as the poorest half of the world’ statistic, a comparison which, as said in the past, does not make sense. The second head-banger is ‘Blue Monday’, the formula that supposedly tells us that the third Monday in January is when people are at their saddest. Each year it appears on different press releases promoting different products, but there is no science to it at all.
Also, could sending a GIF be a crime? GIFs – online flashing animations – can induce seizures in those with photosensitive epilepsy. So is knowingly sending a GIF to a person with epilepsy a crime? We find out about a case testing exactly that question.
And why do people believe conspiracy theories which cast doubt on the official narratives of some very serious events - from the Holocaust to 9/11, Diana to JFK, Lockerbie to Sandy Hook? What prompts people to think in this way and how should governments react to the people who doubt them?
(Photo: Edvard Munch's The Scream, 1893. No copyright /in the Public Domain)
Reports that Swedes are reducing the working day to just six hours may have been exaggerated but there have been trials in Sweden to test whether you can shorten people’s working hours without having an effect on output. Tim Harford investigates.
What drives some people to take the law into their own hands? Mike Williams hears stories from Europe, Africa and the US about the men – and it is usually men – who take it upon themselves to patrol the streets or seek out paedophiles online. And, he explores what happens when vigilante groups mutate into monsters. Whether motivated by revenge, frustration or a desire to do good, does mob justice ever work?
One of the most successful and long lasting memes of 2016 was Harambe the gorilla who was shot in a zoo in America. How did this particular animal gain such cultural relevance to the online world?
(Photo: A business man carries a black briefcase)
Could you forgive the person who killed your child or who raped or tortured you? Some crimes, some events are so awful, so cruel, it’s impossible to imagine ever being able to say to the wrongdoer, ‘I forgive you’. Mike Williams hears the stories of those who have experienced unimaginable pain and suffering at the hands of others. And discovers what it feels like to turn anger and desire for revenge against the perpetrators into compassion and understanding for them. What does the act of forgiveness mean to the offender? Contributors include Kemal Pervanic, a survivor from the Omarska concentration camp during the Bosnian war, a rape survivor and a woman whose ex-husband killed her two children.
After two decades working in development, Claire Melamed is ready to reveal a secret about her work. Many of the numbers that lie behind life-and-death decisions in developing countries are, as she puts it, “a bit shaky”. If you don’t know how many people live somewhere and who’s dying when of what, you can’t make well-informed decisions to help them. Now she and others are working to change that by getting better data and using it smarter. We hear what that means in practice and the story of Justice Aheto, whose award-winning mathematical models could also be life-saving for malnourished children in his native Ghana.
Four of the biggest stories on the internet this year divided opinion around the world. We discuss the most popular memes of US Elections, the highlights of the EU referendum in the UK, why people around the world were scared of clowns and how live streaming made its mark on the digital world.
(Photo: Criminal man beg for forgiveness. Credit: Shutterstock)
Former football referee Howard Webb told a story recently that he had been approached by players in the English Premier League asking to be booked so they could be suspended for Christmas so they can get some time off. They have to play extra games over the festive period so work more than usual. One way to get a break is to rack up five yellow cards and be suspended. But would players really try something like that? Tim Harford asks journalist Rob Minto to delve into the data.
When trolls started stealing a disabled American boy’s photos and turning them into cruel memes, his mother Jenny decided to start fighting back online. We put her in touch with another mother who fought a very similar battle against the trolls… and won.
Everyday millions of us across the world get into our cars and drive but even the calmest person can become a raging demon while driving; screaming and swearing at the other drivers. What is it about driving that makes some people so angry? What can we do to stop it? We speak with professional racing driver Nathalie McGloin about keeping control and Glenn Scherer gives us a lesson in ‘car yoga’ to try and keep the rage away.
Many of the potential side effects of the pill, such as blood clots, have been well documented since its release in the 1960s. And now, a study has claimed to have established a link between depression and the pill. But perhaps the main risk women face is poorly interpreted statistics.
Gab is a new social network that pits itself as an alternative to Twitter because it puts ‘free speech’ first. Some claim it has become a ‘safe space for the alt-right’ because of some of the users it has attracted. We ask the network’s founder why he felt compelled to create it, and speak with one of its users.
Also, what motivates someone to take revenge and why did this kind of aggressive behaviour evolve? Mike Williams talks to a perpetrator who found it sweet and hears the tragic story of a victim of impossibly cruel revenge.
People took to the streets in India to protest about the government’s decision to withdraw R500 R1,000 notes. But despite the uproar the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has insisted he has the support of the people after a survey, carried out on his very own mobile app, found that the decision was supported by more than 90% of respondents. But he’s been criticised for leading and confusing questions designed to get a particular outcome.
When Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte swept to power in May, many believed social media played a major role in his victory. But some allege his supporters used trolling and intimidation, in addition to clever campaigning, to bolster his position. Since winning, he has waged a war on drugs, leading to allegedly thousands of extra-judicial killings.
And, why don’t we understand how the female orgasm works? After years of scientific research, the male body is understood but when it comes to how women work, we are a long way behind. It appears research has been hindered by the assumption that the female body works in the same way as the male body and that for women, arousal is all in the mind. Researchers are slowly correcting these assumptions and making surprising discoveries.
Image: Protestors burn an effigy of the Prime at a rally in Kolkata. Credit Dibyanshu Sarkar/AFP/Getty
The proportion of asteroids we know about has grown rapidly in the past few decades, so what are the chances of us being taken by surprise? If we did spot an asteroid hurtling towards Earth, what could we do about it? And, perhaps most importantly of all, could the plot of the film Armageddon happen in real life? We get answers from Nasa’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies.
DJ Khaled is kind of a big deal on Snapchat. His messages reach millions of young people who find him both hilarious and inspirational. Whitney Henry takes a trip to his hometown in Miami to try to find out the key to his success.
Also, Mike Williams asks why so many people are obsessed with discovering their family origins and also learns new things about his own ancestors along the way.
(Photo: Asteroid heading towards Earth. Credit: Shutterstock)
‘The world spends three times as much on ice cream as it does on humanitarian aid.’ That’s the claim one listener spotted but is it true? We look at the stats behind the statement and ask whether it’s a useful comparison.
We investigate the rise and rise of fake news online. Deliberately making up news stories to fool or entertain people is nothing new. But the arrival of social media has meant real and fictional stories are now presented in such a similar way, it can be increasingly difficult to tell the two apart. With 60% of US adults now getting some news from their Facebook feed, more and more of us are seeing and believing incorrect information.
Are you sexist, racist or ageist? Even if you think you’re open-minded, the chances are, you’ll be judging people and situations without even realising. These hidden biases – which are different from conscious prejudice – lurk within our minds. And they can affect the way we behave, the decisions we make: whether it’s who we hire, who we promote or even – in the case of jurors – who we believe is guilty or not guilty.
Image: The great British seaside Weston-Super-Mare. Photo Credit: Matt Cardy/Getty
Is a girl under the age of 15 married every seven seconds somewhere in the world? That is what the charity Save the Children claim in their attempts to raise awareness of child marriage. But how is this figure calculated? Data scientist and activist Cathy O’Neil wants to protect you from dangerous, and often hidden, algorithms.
In Nairobi one woman's online post about harassment on the city's private-hire minibuses or Matatus, has triggered dozens of similar accounts and complaints on social media of robbery, harassment and dangerous driving. We hear from the woman behind the #StopMatatuMenace hashtag campaign.
And can you believe your own eyes? Can you trust your own memory? Why is it that so many social scientists and so many in the police and the judiciary are so very concerned about eye-witness testimony. Mike Williams finds out why we often fail to accurately recall a face or an event.
The world of Pablo Escobar, one of the world’s most infamous drug traffickers, is dramatised in the Netflix TV drama series Narcos. We find out the truth behind the series’ claim about the number of deaths involved in Colombia’s drug trade.
A taxi driver’s political rant has gone viral in Egypt, prompting a debate about the state of the nation.
And, last year an estimated 119,000 people worldwide received organ transplants but many more are still waiting. Mike Williams talks to a surgeon in the United States, a doctor in Israel whose direct action led to an improvement in donation rates, and a daughter who gave a kidney to her father.
(Image: Posters of Pablo Escobar on a wall saying " Pablo for President". Credit: Getty Images)
A drive-by shooting in the US midwest has raised questions about how algorithms are being used in the country's criminal justice system. A defendant in the case was jailed after an algorithm used by the court calculated that he was at high risk of reoffending. The risk assessment algorithm is supposed to make decisions less subjective, but one recent analysis found that the algorithm was biased against black people.
In Iran, social media users found novel ways to support the national football team when a match fell on a day of public mourning and the country’s religious leaders banned cheering and said only religious chanting would be tolerated. Also, how US prison inmates are arranging a nationwide prison strike from their cells, using banned social media.
And why do we write farewell letters? Whether it's messages from the living to the dying or from the dying to the living, how can we find the words to say goodbye?
(Photo: A guard walking down a cell block. Credit: Getty Images)
It is now a year since the UN set its new Sustainable Development Goals to try to make the world a better place. They include 17 goals and no fewer than 169 targets on subjects like disease, education and governance. But some people, such as Bjorn Lomborg, say that they are too broad and too numerous to achieve anything, if left as they are.
There is another chance to hear a special report on the trade in viral video clips. Plus, why do we feel so many different and intense emotions when someone close to us dies? Whether it is yearning, sadness, anger or even shame, Mike Williams explores why each person’s grief is unique when they lose a loved one.
(Photo: A teacher writes on a blackboard during a class in Kenya. Credit: Getty Images)
Polling on the first TV debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump appears to be divided over who won it. But not all polls are equal: when internet polls can be hijacked by online activists, they can throw up some strange results.
Controversy has erupted in the US over a hip hop song that offers a step-by-step guide to committing burglary and contains lyrics suggesting criminals target Chinese homes.
We talk to one of the protesters who is trying to get the track banned.
In a few countries, terminally-ill people — suffering pain and distress — are allowed to get help from friends, family and physicians to bring their lives to an end. In many countries, it’s a crime. Mike Williams explores the sensitive issues at stake on both sides of the argument.
(Photo: Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton first presidential debate. Credit: Getty Images)
Donald Trump has claimed that there are some inner city areas in the US which are suffering from the worst crime rates ever. They are so dangerous, he says, that Afghanistan is safer. But could this be true and can you compare the two?
A viral Justin Bieber parody is highlighting problems with prescription painkiller addiction in the United States. Z Dogg MD is a real doctor who uses a rap alter ego to discuss medical issues, and his new song has received over a million hits at a time when congress is debating whether to invest in new treatment programmes.
And why are we so fascinated with the superheroes which emerged from 20th century comic books and populate our cinema screens in multi-million dollar blockbusters? Mike Williams investigates.
(Image: Chicago - Neighbourhood residents watch as police investigate a homicide scene. Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Can economics help us work out the perfect amount to spend on a wedding gift? Economist Maria Kozlovskaya has advice on the factors we need to consider.
Also, when Hillary Clinton almost collapsed at a 9/11 memorial, conspiracy theorists went into overdrive, falsely claiming the presidential candidate was using a body double to avoid questions about her health. The lookalike in question tells her side of the story.
And why do some games, hobbies and activities – like Pokemon Go - become crazes while others do not? Is there a secret formula?
(Photo: Several gifts wrapped and on a table. Credit: Jayme Burrows/Shutterstock)
How many people have died in the Philippines since the Government encouraged the police to clampdown on the illegal drug trade? The new President, Rodrigo Duterte, went as far as saying that citizens could shoot and kill drug dealers who resisted arrest. The press have reported that many thousands are the victims of extra-judicial killings but exactly how high is the death toll likely to be?
Sightings of suspicious clowns have left a US community in fear. Is the town the victim of a viral elaborate prank, or witnessing an outbreak of mass hysteria?
And why do we find certain types of voices or accents annoying ? Does that irritation reveal more about the speaker or about our own biases and prejudices and are irritating voices the same the world over?
(Photo: A Filipino human rights advocate holds a placard as he joins a demonstration in front of the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters, protesting the number of deaths related to government's war against illegal drugs. Credit: European Photopress Agency)
World Records are being set at a much faster rate in swimming than in other sports. At the Rio Olympics, British swimmer Adam Peaty managed to break the men's 100m breaststroke world record twice in two days. Tim Harford speaks to swimming coach, Rick Madge, about the reasons swimmers keep getting better results in the pool.
Also in the programme, photos of an overcrowded jail in the Philippines – taken by photographer Noel Celis – have gone viral. But remarkably some prisoners told him they felt ‘lucky’ to be there. They say many have met with a much worse fate as the new president Rodrigo Duterte cracks down on the country’s illegal drug trade.
And, why do we still fear animals that pose no serious threat to us and how can the effect of that irrational fear be so overpowering? Mike Williams discovers the answers lie deep in our evolutionary past.
(Photo: Britain's Adam Peaty swimming, credit: Reuters)
Is Iceland the best football team in the world per capita? England suffered a 2-1 defeat to Iceland in the European Football Championship in France. This was embarrassing for England whose population is 163 times bigger than Iceland’s. We take a look at whether Iceland is now the best performing football team in the world if you compare UEFA ranking to the size of each country’s population.
Many media outlets have reported that it was predominantly the older generations in the UK who voted to ‘Leave’ the EU in the recent referendum, while those under 25 were keenest to ‘Remain’. It has prompted many people to ask whether a referendum on this topic might yield a different result if held in a few years’ time as the electorate changes. The More Or Less team attempts some back of the envelope calculations but asks how good is the data available.
First came #Brexit, could #Frexit, #Ausexit or #Texit follow? The social media movements which have been inspired by Britain voting to leave the European Union are explained. And less than an hour after a terror attack in Istanbul, why did Turkey's government ban Facebook and Twitter? BBC Trending reports.
The bicycle - and cycling - started out as somewhat of a faddish leisure pursuit, largely the preserve of middle-aged and wealthy men. Yet it quickly became the world’s most popular means of transport and remains so to this day. Mike Williams explores its history and role in society for the Why Factor.
(Photo: England v Iceland, EURO 2016, Nice, France. Credit: Reuters)
Following a referendum, the UK has voted to leave the European Union. What might that mean for the UK’s economy, especially for trade? Tim Harford examines the economic forecasts from the government, and how the UK might manage its relationships with other countries for More Or Less.
Why have murder rates spiked in several US cities? The head of the FBI, James Comey, has asked whether police are holding back from their work through fear of being filmed on camera phones and going viral on YouTube. The theory has been dubbed the ‘Viral Video Effect’, or the ‘Ferguson Effect’ after the city that witnessed unrest after a black teenager was killed by a white police officer. BBC Trending reports.
Why are we attracted to some people and to not others? Beauty, facial symmetry, personality and values all play a role in our attraction to others. Evolution biologist Dr Anna Machin from Oxford University explains the science behind our feelings. Mike Williams presents the Why Factor.
(Photo: A pay-per-view binocular with the British and European Union flags. Credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
In More Or Less Wesley Stephenson finds out how the search for new antibiotics is hampered not by science but by economics. Despite the $40 billion market worldwide there is no money to be made so big pharmaceuticals have all but stopped their research. Why is this and how do we entice them back in?
BBC Trending reports on the violence which has erupted over the use of Afrikaans at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. Some students want to see the language banned from lecture theatres, and say its presence is a form of racism. But others think it should remain. And a Hollywood actor – Terry Crews – has posted several videos to Facebook about fighting his addiction to pornography. It sparked a wave of support in online communities dedicated to abstaining from porn.
In the Why Factor Mike Williams asks why we search for the origins of life. He visits the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, where researchers from around the world have built the largest single machine on earth to discover some of the most extreme elements of nature, from the heart of an atom to the origins of the universe.
(Photo: Computer artwork of bacteria. Credit: Science Photo Library)