Tim Harford Simon Williams

Fee Band


The BBC presenter, Oxford Fellow, data detective and million-selling author is a compelling storyteller on economics, psychology and the unexpected bits in between. Tim explores innovation and how ideas spread, what disasters teach us about ourselves, the power of price, and the use of uncertainty as a competitive weapon. He also reveals truths and myths in data – whether public information, misinformation or deliberate disinformation.


Biography

Tim Harford is a world-renowned behavioural economist, award-winning Financial Times columnist, data detective and BBC broadcaster. Described as ‘Britain’s Malcolm Gladwell’ (and as 'a genius at telling stories that illuminate our world' by Gladwell himself), and by the New Statesman as ‘perhaps the best popular economics writer in the world’, Tim brings storytelling, humour, insight and intelligence to the world of data and statistics.

His popular Radio 4 show More or Less looks at the truth behind the dubious statistics and manipulated figures making the news. In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic he also hosted How To Vaccinate The World, with guests including Bill Gates, Larry Brilliant and Anthony Fauci. He also hosts the BBC's radio series and podcast Fifty Things That Made The Modern Economy, as well as writing the accompanying books, as well as Cautionary Tales, which features stories of human error, with guests including Russell Tovey and Alan Cumming.

Whilst he’s a ‘serious’ economist with a career spanning Oxford, Shell and the World Bank, Tim’s FT columns dwell on the economics of daily life and offers tongue-in-cheek solutions to readers’ problems. His first book The Undercover Economist, sold almost two million copies, and built on these themes. It was likened to Freakonomics in its explanation of everything from coffee shops to organised crime to development aid. He's since gone on to be one of the foremost writers on economics.

Tim’s other titles include: The Logic of Life which applies economic theory to the world to explain how rational (or otherwise) our decisions are; Adapt: Why Success Always Starts With Failure which shows how challenges of all types need to be tackled by learning to improvise and allowing for failure. Messy: How to Be Creative and Resilient in a Tidy-Minded World, considers why tidiness, organisation and predictability aren’t always the best environments to foster innovation and achievement; and How to Make the World Add Up: Ten Rules for Thinking Differently About Numbers, equips readers with the tools to understand and question the numbers that dominate headlines, and sometimes seem to confirm our own biases.

Tim looks at why it’s so hard yet so important to learn from mistakes, how to deal with uncertainty, how forecasting works and what to do when it doesn’t, and why the wrong sort of innovation can be a distraction. Taking in everything from the military to game shows, aviation to ballet, he questions received wisdom, common sense, and statistical certainty. His accessible, easy style provides entertaining, thought-provoking insights relevant to every person and organisation. He is a member of Nuffield College, Oxford, and the only journalist to be an honorary fellow of the Royal Statistical Society. He's a two-time winner of the Bastiat Prize for economic journalism and has been named Science and Data Commentator of the Year, Economics Commentator of the Year, and has won the Society for Business Economists writing prize and the Royal Statistical Society prize for journalism.

Videos

Book Launch

JLA+ Stream Covid 19

JLA Speakers Breakfast

Harford on Innovation

JLA Speakers Breakfast

TED Talk

JLA Speakers Breakfast

Virtual

More Details

Agent Recommendation

The Undercover Economist was the first book I read when I joined JLA – since then I’ve never failed to be impressed by Tim. He makes you look at everything differently. Hearing his new speech on Big Data was a revelation: you realise the challenge is not to get the biggest data set, but the right data! He has a knack for making the seemingly impenetrable blissfully clear.

JLA Agent Jethro Fox
Read More

Books

Book written by Tim Harford OBE
Book written by Tim Harford OBE
Book written by Tim Harford OBE
Book written by Tim Harford OBE

Contact

We’re on hand to help you find the perfect speaker, presenter or performer for your events. Call or email our London office and use our agents' experience to expertly match you with the right person for your programme!


From time to time we send out emails announcing new speakers and free tickets to our showcase events including Speakers Breakfasts and the JLA Real Variety Show. Please tick the box below if you would like to receive these emails.

Don't miss anything!

We will never share the data you submit here with a third party. Information is stored in a database in order to service your enquiry, but is deleted once it is no longer required. You may request to have this data removed at any time.

JLA Presents


Event - 30/04/2024 - 9:00 am

Speakers Breakfast

Understanding AI Now

Speakers
Priya Lakhani and Anne-Marie Imafidon

We were joined at 87 Barts Close by three brilliant speakers on a panel that delved into the complex world of Artificial Intelligence. Over the hour our panellists de-mystified AI, speaking about AI’s immense promise for enhancing our lives, alongside the apprehension it has generated regarding job security, privacy infringement, and ethical considerations.

Location

87 Barts Close, 87 Bartholomew Close, London, EC1A 7EB

WATCH

Event - 06/02/2024 - 9:00 am

Speakers Breakfast

Looking Ahead to International Women’s Day

Speakers
Samira Ahmed, Eniola Aluko, Julia Gillard, and Alex Mahon

We were joined by four fantastic speakers to look ahead at International Women’s Day. With the theme of this year’s event being #InspireInclusion, we were lucky enough to hear from four women who have each blazed a trail in their respective fields: CEO of Channel 4, Alex Mahon; the former Australian Prime Minister and Chair of Kings’ Global Institute of Women’s Leadership, Julia Gillard; one of the leading voices in football, Eniola Aluko MBE; and broadcaster and journalist, Samira Ahmed.

Location

Bishopsgate Institute, London

WATCH