Before this BBC podcast kicks off, I'd like to tell you about some others you might enjoy.

My name's Will Wilkin and I Commission Music Podcast for the BBC.

It's a really cool job, but every day we get to tell the incredible stories behind songs,

moments and movements, stories of struggle and success, rises and falls, the funny, the ridiculous.

And the BBC's position, at the heart of British music

means we can tell those stories like no one else.

We were, are and always will be right there at the centre of the narrative.

So whether you want an insightful take on music right now

or a nostalgic deep dive into some of the most famous and infamous moments in music,

check out the music podcasts on BBC Sounds.

BBC Sounds, music, radio podcasts.

Hello and welcome to a brand new series of more or less. We are weekly guide to the numbers

all around us in the news and in life, and I'm Tim Harford. This week we'll be asking whether the UK's

intriguing demographics have simultaneously given us a bumper crop of school pupils and a shortage

of new teachers. We'll answer questions from loyal listeners about inflation and living standards,

and we'll chase down a mysterious algorithm that's been running

wild through the Eurovision judging process.

But first, which countries have been worst affected by the pandemic has been a subject of many

media stories, Twitter-based rouse, and even, let's be honest, the occasional episode of

more or less, and the general idea has often honest, the occasional episode of more or less.

And the general idea has often been that the UK has fared quite badly.

So it was surprising when the World Health Organisation, the WHO, released a piece of research a couple of weeks ago which blew that assumption apart.

...