More alive than dead?

Published: Feb. 3, 2012, 11:50 p.m.

Tim Harford investigates one of the most popular questions from More or Less listeners: \u201cAre there more people alive today than have ever lived?\u201d It is a zombie statistic that every time it is laid to rest it rises again. He also looks at whether science fiction writer Arthur C Clarke was right when he suggested that behind every living person are 30 ghosts. He also investigates the strange story of Michelle Obama\u2019s shopping trip to a lingerie store in New York. Can she really have spent $50,000 on underwear? This programme was originally broadcast on the BBC World Service.