Does the average teacher really earn £54,000?

Does the average teacher really earn £54,000?

From More or Less by BBC Radio 4

July 8, 2026 · 28 min

About this episode

Tim Harford investigates various statistics and claims in the news, including teacher pay and the survival rate of Russian soldiers in Ukraine.

Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week: (00:32) A government minister has informed the nation that average teacher pay in England is around £54,000. Radio 4 listeners are howling at the radio in disbelief. Surely someone from the IFS would be able to explain all this? We interview someone from the IFS to explain all this. (06:32) A headline in the Independent suggests that Russian soldiers survive an average of 20 minutes when they get to the front line, citing a historian, citing Russian bloggers. Is the number a good one? We take a peek into the murky information ecosystem that surrounds the war in Ukraine. (15:00) A loyal listener has resent a burning question that - mortifyingly - he first asked us nearly three years ago: why is air travel cheaper than rail travel? We push our guilt deep, deep down then make it worse by challenging the premise of the question. (21:18) Is every shuffle of a deck of cards an unprecedented event in the history of the universe? It’s a bold claim, but maths YouTuber and comedian Matt Parker has done his homework. We invite him into the studio to make his case - and show off his shuffling skills. More or Less is the…

People in this episode

Host: Tim Harford

Guests: Luke Sibieta, Andrey Vladov, Mark Galeotti

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Institute for Fiscal Studies, BBC Monitoring

Books & works: Independent

Places: England, Ukraine

More episodes of More or Less

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the More or Less podcast page.