How to spot a suspicious statistic
21 June 2025

How to spot a suspicious statistic

More or Less: Behind the Stats

About

Untruths sneak into our lives in all kinds of ways. Sometimes they’re outright lies. Blatant misinformation.

But in this episode, we’re going to talk about something else - those sneaky numbers and claims that bounce around our society and that aren’t exactly false, but are leading you down the wrong path.

That’s the subject of a book called May Contain Lies by Alex Edmans, a professor of finance at London Business School.

Tim talks to Alex about the statistical claims that might not be wrong, but aren’t right either – and how to make sure you aren’t fooled by them yourself.

Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Tom Colls
Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound mix: Andrew Garratt
Editor: Richard Vadon