Site • RSS • Apple PodcastsDescription (podcaster-provided):
Hannah Fry follows the numbers on thrilling journeys of data and discovery. Along the way we meet the remarkable people who dug into the data and unearthed something extraordinary.Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Data-driven mysteries • Graphs exposing fraud, errors, scandals • Economics, markets, decision science • Justice-system analysis • AI harms • Networks, transport failures • Health, longevity, happiness • Climate/geology/earthquakes • Ocean rescue, whales • Space signalsThis podcast uses real-world mysteries as a way to explore how data, graphs, and quantitative thinking shape what we believe about the world. Hosted by mathematician Hannah Fry, it follows researchers, analysts, and ordinary people who encounter patterns in numbers—sometimes in a single striking chart—that lead to discoveries, controversies, or high-stakes decisions. The stories are told as narrative investigations, focusing on the human beings behind the datasets as well as the methods they use to interpret evidence.
Across the episodes, recurring themes include the power and pitfalls of measurement: how a persuasive graph can reveal hidden truths, but also how errors, bias, or manipulation can mislead institutions and the public. Several narratives center on exposing wrongdoing or systemic failure, including financial deception, scandals uncovered through technical data, and cases where official systems produce harmful outcomes. Others examine how statistical signals are extracted from noisy environments, from oceans and earthquakes to outer space, highlighting uncertainty, prediction, and what happens when experts disagree about risk.
The show also ranges widely across subject matter—economics, justice, medicine, technology, climate and geology, transport systems, and personal decision-making—while maintaining a consistent focus on evidence and inference. It looks at how networks influence behavior, how age relates to wellbeing, how algorithms can affect lives, and how scientific findings can provoke backlash when they challenge powerful interests. Overall, this podcast blends investigative storytelling with accessible explanations of the reasoning and data that drive major conclusions, showing how numerical clues can illuminate everything from individual survival to planet-scale change.
| Episodes: |
20. The Confidence Trick2024-Sep-09 17 minutes |
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19. A Different Kind of Justice 2024-Sep-09 14 minutes |
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18. The Night the Earth Shook 2024-Sep-09 17 minutes |
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17. The Golden Spike 2024-Sep-09 15 minutes |
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16. A Drop in the Ocean 2024-Sep-09 16 minutes |
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15. Song of the Sea 2024-Sep-09 14 minutes |
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14. Whispers from the Cosmos 2024-Sep-09 15 minutes |
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13. The Grain of Truth 2024-Sep-09 15 minutes |
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12. Scandal in the Air 2024-Sep-09 15 minutes |
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11. Love Bytes 2024-Sep-09 17 minutes |
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Introducing... Uncharted with Hannah Fry Series 2 2024-Sep-02 2 minutes |
10. Devil in the Detail2023-Oct-02 14 minutes |
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9. Access Denied 2023-Oct-02 14 minutes |
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8. In the Habit 2023-Oct-02 14 minutes |
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7. The Gossip Mill 2023-Oct-02 13 minutes |
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6. The Happiness Curve 2023-Oct-02 13 minutes |
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5. The Choice 2023-Sep-25 14 minutes |
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4. This Train Has Been Delayed 2023-Sep-25 13 minutes |
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3. The Doctor Will See You Now 2023-Sep-25 14 minutes |
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2. The Hockey Stick 2023-Sep-25 13 minutes |
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1. The Returning Soldier 2023-Sep-25 14 minutes |
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Introducing... Uncharted with Hannah Fry 2023-Sep-18 less than a minute |