Is the world getting less miserable?

The "More or Less" podcast, hosted by Tim Harford, investigates the disappearance and alteration of US government data in early February 2025. This issue, attributed to executive orders from President Trump's second term, led to the removal of approximately 8,000 government pages and 3,000 datasets, particularly those related to diversity, climate change, gender identity, vaccines, and sexual behavior. Maggie Levinstein and John Kubale from the University of Michigan explain that budget cuts and staff firings further exacerbated data inaccessibility. The episode highlights the real-world consequences of missing or altered data, such as the inability to assess social supports for vulnerable populations or the impact on businesses due to reduced quality in economic indicators like the Consumer Price Index. The podcast also discusses the uncertain future of critical datasets like PRAMS, which monitors maternal and child health, due to staffing changes and unclear collection status.