Does the UK really have nine out of the ten poorest regions in Northern Europe?

Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week:

(00:40) Does the UK account for nine out of ten of the poorest regions in Northern Europe? It’s a classic story of devil meets detail where the true meaning is the geographical inequality we met along the way.

(07:54) An article in The Economist has claimed that a single donkey charity in Devon received more in annual donations than all the major political parties combined. Is this true? And if so, should we be Led By Donkeys?

(11:29) Last week 781 migrants crossed the channel in small boats in one day. Social media is keen to work out how much this might cost the UK economy. We put the numbers in context and ask Madeleine Sumption from the Migration Observatory about the fiscal impact of asylum seekers.

(21:38) A claim has been buzzing round the internet that bees could hold the secret to long life, but our team is sceptical. We deliver the statistical exposé of Big Honey that the mainstream media’s been too afraid to cover.

Guests:

Liam Sides, Associate Director at Oxford Economics’ Cities and Regions team

Dr Madeleine Sumption, Director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford

Dr Dot Bennett, Professor of Cell Biology at City St. George's, University of London

Dr Ramsay Bowden, Assistant Professor in Medical Genetics at the University of Cambridge

Presenter: Tim Harford

Series Producer: Tom Colls

Reporters: Lizzy McNeill and Kateryna Pavyluk

Producer: Nathan Gower

Editor: Richard Vadon

Programme Coordinator: Maria Ogundele

Sound Engineer: James Beard