More or Less

Why are so many ex-prisoners being sent back to prison?

September 9, 2026·28 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week:(00:38) The number of people being recalled to prison after early release in England and Wales is rising sharply. Why?(07:37) Is the UK millionaire an endangered species? We ask Duncan Weldon - he’s like David Attenborough, but for economics.(14:21) A viral graph seems to show that Europe is having a record low year for wildfires. How can we reconcile this with this summer’s shocking coverage of fires in France and Spain?(21:36) We all know seagulls are low-life thieves - but can they really be responsible for £171m worth of robbery? Prepare for five minutes of public service journalism at its finest.Guests: Cassia Rowland, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Government Hannah Ritchie, Deputy Editor at Our World in Data Duncan Weldon, economist and author of Blood and Treasure Presenter: Tim Harford Series Producer: Tom Colls Reporter: Lizzy McNeill Producers: Nathan Gower, Phoebe Keane, Josh McMinn Editor: Richard Vadon Programme Coordinator: Brenda Brown Sound Engineer: James Beard

Podzilla Summary coming soon

Sign up to get notified when the full AI-powered summary is ready.

Get Free Summaries →

Free forever for up to 3 podcasts. No credit card required.

Listen to This Episode

Get summaries like this every morning.

Free AI-powered recaps of More or Less and your other favorite podcasts, delivered to your inbox.

Get Free Summaries →

Free forever for up to 3 podcasts. No credit card required.