Main content
This programme will be available shortly after broadcast

Are bad teeth the number one reason kids go to A&E?

Tim Harford investigates kids’ teeth, Israeli drugs, NEETs and the chances AI kills us all

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

(00:33) Are crumbling teeth the number one reason children attend A&E? We drill down into the dental health of the nation’s kids.

(08:20) The US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has claimed that a quarter of pharmaceuticals used in the UK come from Israel. We check the facts.

(13:20) Is former Education Secretary Michael Gove responsible for increasing number of young people not in education, employment or training?

(20:11) An AI researcher has caused a global firestorm by suggesting there’s more than a 10% chance AI kills all humans within the next decade. We explore the rigorous maths (or lack thereof) behind these kinds of predictions.

Guests:
Dr Chris Vernazza - head of the School of Dental Sciences at Newcastle University
Daisy Christodoulou - Director of Education at No More Marketing
Dr Alexandru Marcoci - Assistant Professor of Global Risk and Resilience at the University of Cambridge

Presenter: Tim Harford
Series Producer: Tom Colls
Reporter: Lizzy McNeill
Producers: Nathan Gower, Phoebe Keane
Editor: Richard Vadon
Programme Coordinator: Maria Ogundele
Sound Engineer: Neil Churchill

Release date:

28 minutes

Broadcasts

  • Today09:00
  • Tomorrow05:04
  • Friday16:30

Unlock the history and truth behind the data with The OU

Unlock the history and truth behind the data with The OU

Explore how numbers shape, and sometimes mislead us, with The Open University.

When can you trust statistics?

When can you trust statistics?

BBC Ideas discovers three easy ways to help make sense of statistics.

Podcast