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.

Hello and welcome to more or less on the BBC World Service with me, Tim Harford.

Every week we interrogate the numbers in the news and in life, whether they apply to

economics, climate change, politics, or more than ever, health. The last year and a half have been full of

bewildering and often terrifying numbers when it comes to health. COVID death figures,

transmissibility rates, hospitalisations, we've been bombarded with some brutal statistics.

It's perhaps then not surprising that when some positive-looking numbers emerge,

many people seize upon them as a sign of hope. And in certain corners of the internet,

that hope has blossomed into the belief that a common drug, ivermectin, has the potential

to be a near miraculous treatment for COVID-19 patients. It has a number of passionate

proponents, ranging from a few scientists to borderline conspiracy theorists, some of whom

claim ivermectin is being suppressed by the global and scientific establishment. It was even

the topic of an emergency episode by the podcasting superstar Joe Rogan.

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