Episode summary: Join 5x15 to hear bestselling author James Rebanks as he reflects on his prize-winning new book, English Pastoral; the countryside we’ve inherited, and the legacy we want to leave. James Rebanks is a shepherd based in the Lake District, where his family have lived and worked for ove...

Episode summary: Most of us think we know the story of Bambi—but do we? The Original Bambi: The Story of a Life in the Forest (Princeton UP, 2022) is an all-new, illustrated translation of a literary classic that presents the story as it was meant to be told. For decades, readers’ images of Bambi ha...

Episode summary: Farrell Monaco at one of the two passes to the huge oven Down the River Tiber from Rome is the huge archaeological site of Ostia Antica, which used to be the main port for the city. It’s all ruins now, of course, and open to the elements, but still incredibly suggestive. As you stro...

Episode summary: After being featured on Ancient Aliens, where does the show go from here?

Episode summary: To kick off the new year David and Helen are joined by historian Robert Saunders to talk about two possible trends for the next twelve months. Could Labour and the Lib Dem’s really find electoral common ground to defeat the Tories? And is Netzero scepticism about to become a serious...

Episode summary: In recent years population growth has slowed rapidly. Experts believe that the global population will stabilise somewhere around 11 billion people. But just because global population is stabilising doesn’t mean each country is following the global trend. Some projections estimate th...

Episode summary: David and Rosemary were joined by Dave Hamilton, the man with many automations - from nap time to making a window stay put, there’s plenty of fun ideas to steal.

Episode summary: A guide to the most concerning, striking and downright extraordinary numbers of 2021. Tim Harford asks three More or Less interviewees about their most significant and memorable figure over the past year. From the excess death toll of Covid-19; to declining total fertility rates, an...

Episode summary: Donors often dislike the idea of simply giving poor people cash, but it’s usually the best way to help. Michael Faye (president of GiveDirectly) makes the philosophical and empirical case for cash transfers.

Episode summary: Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year – if you have something to sell that is. Every year we waste hundreds of dollars on gifts that aren’t appreciated, but how can you ensure that the gifts you buy hit the mark every time? We speak to behavioural scientist Professor France...