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Ruth Curtice, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation, shares insights on the ongoing impact of the cost-of-living crisis, highlighting how energy shocks and inflation have affected low-income households. Helen Miller, from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, discusses modest economic growth projections and the strain on public services, despite record tax receipts. Meanwhile, Mairi Spowage, an expert on Scottish tax policy, explains how Scotland's tax system benefits lower earners while analyzing the behavior of taxpayers in response to higher tax rates.

Simon Calder, a travel correspondent and aviation expert, predicts Dubai Airport will soar to 100 million passengers by 2026. Hannah Ritchie, a data scientist, discusses the UN's potential revision of global population peak to 2082, influenced by declining fertility rates, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Football writer Bill Edgar outlines the exciting expansion of the 2026 Men's World Cup to 48 teams, highlighting the extensive travel required for fans. Each guest brings a unique perspective on the numeric future ahead!

Tim Cross, a science writer at The Economist, dives into the impressive 208 billion transistors of NVIDIA's Blackwell GPU and explores limitations of Moore's Law. John Byrne Murdoch, a data reporter at the Financial Times, analyzes an 8% decline in social media usage, attributing it to shifting cultural trends. James O'Malley, writer and co-host of the Abundance Agenda podcast, critiques the escalating costs of the Sizewell C nuclear project. Lastly, Katie Milkman, a professor at Wharton, shares effective strategies for sticking to New Year's resolutions.

Thomas Sampson, an economist from the London School of Economics, dives into the intricacies of US tariffs, highlighting their peak at 28% and the calculations behind them. Meanwhile, Hannah Ritchie reveals that China has surpassed one terawatt of solar capacity, rivaling India's electricity output. She discusses the rapid deployment of solar energy amidst challenges in meeting electricity demands. Astrophysicist Catherine Haymans introduces the intriguing 3I Atlas, the third interstellar object, revealing its age of over 7 billion years and its cosmic origins.

Stephen Dubner, journalist and co-author of Freakonomics, joins to discuss the book's 20th anniversary and its surprising insights. He explores why drug dealers often live with their moms, connecting economic theory to unexpected lifestyles. The conversation shifts to controversial topics like abortion's impact on crime. Adding a festive twist, the team debunks the myth of the three wise men, revealing they were never called kings in Matthew's account and discussing their historical context. Expect laughter and unexpected facts throughout!

Elisabeth Rosenthal, a physician-turned-journalist and editor at KFF Health News, delves into the startling realities of US healthcare costs. She explains why prices for the same medication can skyrocket in hospital settings, highlighting the complexities of hospital markup practices. Rosenthal reveals how the 340B program contributes to inflated charges and discusses the political power that protects these pricing structures. The conversation takes a deeper dive into shocking examples of outrageous bills and the burden of rising medical debt affecting millions.

Nathan Gower, a diligent reporter focused on investigative segments, discusses the NHS's warning about an unprecedented flu season and what the data really shows. He also unpacks the early timing of flu cases, explaining why the peak isn't as alarming as it seems. Meanwhile, Justin Wolfers, an esteemed economics professor, dismantles the notion of 20-25% annual GDP growth for the US, citing historical patterns and the reality of sustainable growth. They tackle hot topics like emigration trends and prison release errors, exposing myths with data-driven insights.

Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist and research lead at Stripe, dives into the controversies surrounding the RCP 8.5 climate scenario that shaped early 21st-century predictions of global warming. He explains how this worst-case scenario was misinterpreted as a business-as-usual pathway, leading to inflated temperature projections. Hausfather discusses the shift towards renewable energy sources and how our updated understanding estimates a more realistic temperature increase of 2.5 to 3 degrees Celsius. It's a crucial conversation about adapting our climate strategies.

Professor Allan Pacey is an expert in male fertility from the University of Manchester, while Adith Arun is a Yale researcher specializing in testosterone data. They dissect a controversial claim about declining sperm counts and testosterone levels among U.S. teenagers compared to older men. Pacey highlights the complexities in sperm quality studies, while Arun reveals how changes in testing methods have distorted testosterone trends. Both warn against misinterpretation leading to unnecessary treatments that could harm fertility.

Join Richard Thaler, a Nobel laureate and pioneer of behavioral economics, as he delves into the fascinating world of decision-making anomalies. He explains the winner's curse through an engaging jelly bean auction experiment, revealing how auction winners often overestimate value. Thaler also discusses mental accounting, illustrating how we categorize money into budgets and how it influences our spending choices. With humor and insight, he shares real-world examples, reaffirming the importance of behavioral economics in understanding human behavior.