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Statistically Speaking

Office for National Statistics

Statistically Speaking is the Office for National Statistics' regular monthly podcast, offering in-depth interviews on the latest hot topics in the world of data, taking a peek behind the sc...

Episodes

20 of 28 episodes

Supermarket Sweep: Measuring inflation with over a billion scanner beeps

Miles and guests unpack how the ONS is collecting the prices from more than a billion supermarket checkout and online sales to measure UK in...

34:24Mar 24, 2026

The road ahead for the ONS: a conversation with Darren Tierney

Late last summer, Darren Tierney stepped into the newly created role of Permanent Secretary at a pivotal moment for the organisation. In a n...

34:49Jan 27, 2026

Crime data: Numbers, narratives and nuance

In "Crime: Numbers, Narratives and Nuance" our host Miles Fletcher speaks with Nick Stripe , Joint Head of Crime Statistics at the ONS and J...

38:05Oct 21, 2025

Migration: The needle in the data haystack

With migration continuing to make headlines in the media, we unpack what actually defines a "migrant ", and how the UK's largest producer of...

32:51Jul 23, 2025

Green Data: Measuring the Environment

In this episode we explore how the ONS measures our natural environment and the green economy . Relevant datasets: ONS Environmental Account...

34:43Aug 2, 2024

AI: The Future of Data

With the public release of large language models like Chat GPT putting Artificial Intelligence (AI) firmly on our radar, this episode explor...

33:54May 20, 2024

Communicating Uncertainty: How to better understand an estimate.

The ONS podcast return s, this time looking at the importance of communicating uncertainty in statistics . Joining host Miles Fletcher to di...

33:00Mar 25, 2024

ONS: Year in Review 2023

In this episode Miles is joined by t he National Statistician, Sir Ian Diamond, to reflect on what has been a busy and transformative year a...

27:20Dec 21, 2023

Health: Preparing for the next global pandemic

The ONS led the way informing the UK response to the Coronavirus pandemic. But what lessons can be learned and how can we best prepare not o...

31:40Nov 20, 2023

Communicating Statistics: Crossing the minefields of misinformation.

In this episode we talk about the growth of data use in the media and the potential impact of misinformation on the public's trust in offici...

49:24Oct 5, 2023

International Development: Growing a Global Statistical System

In this episode, w e explore ONS's work with other countries to raise the world's statistical capabilities. Transcript MILES FLETCHER Hello...

33:57Aug 29, 2023

In The Field: Surveying the nation

In this episode we chat to members of the ONS Social Survey Collection Division about the importance, and challenges, of getting the general...

25:24Jul 31, 2023

New Data: Transforming how we count the population

In this episode we discuss how the ONS has been working to transform the way we count the population, using new datasets to give more accura...

22:39Jun 21, 2023

Local data: How new data sources are helping to calibrate communities

In this episode of Statistically Speaking we shine the spotlight on local data and look at how good statistics for small areas make for bett...

33:02May 9, 2023

Disability: When the numbers alone are simply not enough.

In this episode, we focus on a powerful example of when the numbers alone are simply not enough. The most recent Census has told us how many...

33:51Mar 31, 2023

The R Word: Decoding 'recession' and looking beyond GDP.

With news headlines proclaiming the UK has ' narrowly avoided a recession ' , we decode the 'r' word and explain why this sometimes misleadi...

30:05Feb 20, 2023

Integrating Data: Boosting the capabilities of researchers to inform policymaking.

Miles explores how data linking can help tackle cross-cutting issues in an increasingly uncertain world, and how the ONS' new Integrated Dat...

30:56Jan 31, 2023

ONS: The Year in Review

National Statistician, Sir Ian Diamond, joins Miles in a slightly festive episode of Statistically Speaking , to look back on some of the hi...

30:05Dec 20, 2022

Health: The role of public data in taking the pulse of a nation.

Miles is joined by colleagues from the Health and Life Events team to explore how data is good for our health. Within the diagnosis: the Hea...

29:39Nov 28, 2022

Crime: Understanding its impact on society through data.

In this episode of Statistically Speaking Miles is helped with his enquiries by Meghan Elkin and Billy Gazard from the Office for National S...

24:30Oct 31, 2022