Stats + Stories

According to the World Bank, some 3.5 billion people live on less than $7 a day. That's more than 40% of the global population. Almost 700 million of those individuals live in extreme poverty, getting by on less than $2.15 a day. In the US in 2024, almost 40 million Americans were living in poverty, according to the U.S. Census. But what do all these numbers mean? How do the people researching income inequality measure poverty, and how reliable are those measurements? That's the focus of this episode of Stats and Stories with guest David Johnson. David Johnson is the executive director of the International Association for Research in Income and Wealth. Prior to that, he served as a study director for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and medicine, for a report called, "Creating an integrated system of data and statistics on household income, consumption and wealth.". Johnson also served for 25 years in the Federal Statistical system, where he was the only senior executive to have leadership ro

Dr. Lloyd Edwards is Professor and Chair of Biostatistics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Edwards has an extensive background in collaborating with researchers in a broad range of areas in biomedical research, including cardiovascular disease, cystic fibrosis, cancer, aging, pediatrics, and minority health. His primary area of applied statistical research relates to the analysis of longitudinal data. Specifically, his statistical research includes derivation of techniques for computation of power, control of Type I error, and measuring model fit in linear and generalized linear mixed models.

Television is filled with "will they or won't they" couples. Friends had Ross and Rachel. Parks and Rec had Leslie and Ben. The Gilmore Girls, had Lorelei and Luke. But what happens after the couple's kiss? Do we keep watching? One statistician dug into the data behind the kiss effect, and that's the focus of this episode of Stats and Stories with guest Ashley Mullan.  Ashley Mullan is a PhD student and research assistant in Vanderbilt University's Department of biostatistics. Currently, Mullan works on a team focusing on the care children receive in Tennessee's child welfare and juvenile justice systems. She's also interested in pop culture, and in her spare time, analyzes her own consumption of popular media. That led Mullan to author a Significance article on The Kiss Effect, the impact of a "will they won't they?" couple's first kiss on a TV show's ratings.

Peter Guttorp (@pgseattle) is a Professor at the Norwegian Computing Center in Oslo, Norway, and Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington, Seattle. He is also a vice-president of the International Statistical Institute . His research focuses on stochastic models of scientific data and their statistical analysis. He has worked in seismology, hydrology, climatology, hematology and biology.

When it comes to studying conflict, there is obvious data to examine: spending on arms, the number of people killed or injured, and the amount of land won or lost. What's harder to track are the indirect effects of conflict, the ways it produces deaths over time, or its impacts on public health. Researchers are trying to find ways to account for the sometimes less obvious impacts of conflict, and that's the focus of this episode of Stats and Stories with guest Xiao Hui Tai. Xiao Hui Tai is an assistant professor of statistics at the University of California Davis' Department of Statistics. Her research interests include the use of non-traditional data sources to study problems in data-scarce settings. With the current focus on global public health and estimating the consequences of violent conflict, she's the author of the Significance article Counting the True Cost of War.

Hybrid cars are everywhere now but what is your best option if you want to feel the wind in your hair, or at least under your helmet and you want to get a little exercise as well? Well, e-bikes are an answer and that’s the topic on this episode of Stats + Short Stories with guest Helaine Alessio. Helaine Alessio, PhD, FACSM is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Kinesiology, Nutrition, and Health at Miami University and is a past President of the MWACSM and a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine. She teaches Exercise Science-related courses and has received university commendations for her teaching. She has been funded by NIH, private foundations, and corporations to support research, teaching, and service projects. She has published 2 books, 13 book chapters, and 56 journal articles, as well as national and international peer reviewed blogs, infographics, and NPR broadcasts. She is listed in the top 2% of Exercise Scientists cited in the world by Stanford University researchers. Her wor

The Billboard Hot 100 has been ranking the week's most popular music since 1958. The first song to top the chart was Ricky Nelson's Poor Little Fool. The most recent song to do so is Taylor Swift's The Fate of Ophelia. A lot has changed in the music industry between those two songs, not only in the types of songs that top the charts, but also in how they're promoted and how they're determined. A new book explores the statistics behind the Hot 100, and it's the focus of this episode of Stats + Stories with guest Chris Dalla Riva. Chris Dalla Riva is an analyst for the music streaming service Audiomack by day while spending his nights writing and recording music and writing about music for his newsletter Can’t Get Much Higher.

On the podcast, we talk about the ways we live in and with data, as well as the ways data shape our lives and our politics. Public discourse around data is often wrapped up in the negative ways it can impact our lives. A movement among statisticians, data scientists, and other researchers shows the positive impacts of data when used to work towards solutions to humanitarian problems. The data for good movement is a focus of this episode of Stats and Stories with guest David Corliss. David Corliss is the founder and director of Peace Work, a volunteer cooperative of statisticians and data scientists applying statistical methods to issue-driven advocacy. Human trafficking research is a major initiative at Peace Work. Corliss is also a research scholar and a member of the Global Association of Human Trafficking Scholars.

Glenn Platt (@glennplatt) is the C. Michael Armstrong Professor of Network Technology & Management & Director of Interactive Media Studies at Miami University. He is interested in social media marketing, digital media and e-Commerc. He is also the faculty sponsor of the Esports team at Miami.

American Football is a game played with 11 players on offense competing against 11 players on defense, with a sequence of plays executed as one team attempts to outscore the other, but each discrete play reflects actions on the field by players and off the field by coaches. For example, what is the best spot on the field to complete a pass and not get it intercepted? How do quarterbacks differ with respect to their release points? When should you ice the kicker? These are the questions that we are trying to answer on this special football-themed episode of Stats+Stories.  Mike Lopez serves as Senior Director of data and analytics at the National Football League, and he's held this position since August of 2018, after previously serving as director in the same department. Before this role, Mike worked at Skidmore College as a lecturer, research associate and as an assistant professor. Adriana Gonzalez Sanchez is pursuing a PhD in business analytics from the University of Cincinnati, with a research focus on

News stories are filled with tales of risk and uncertainty. We're told the probable chance of a weather event or how likely it is that we might contract an illness. There's an art to telling stories with uncertainty that provides context and nuance that is often missing. That is the focus of this episode of Stats+Stories with guest David Spiegelhalter. Sir David Spiegelhalter is a British statistician and Emeritus Professor at the University of Cambridge, known for his work on risk communication and public understanding of statistics. He is the author of The Art of Statistics, a former President of the Royal Statistical Society, and was knighted in 2014 for his services to medical statistics. He also presented BBC documentaries and is the founder of the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication at Cambridge. Inspiration Behind the Book (1:11) Defining Uncertainty and Its Impact (4:14) Storytelling and Examples in the Book (7:48) Probability and Communication (12:54) Trustworthy Communication (17:34)

Linda J. Young is Chief Mathematical Statistician and Director of Research and Development of USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service . She oversees efforts to continually improve the methodology underpinning the Agency's collection and dissemination of data on every facet of U.S. agriculture. She works on the surveys designed to characterize agricultural activity in the US.

Statistical literacy was described by Iddo Gal as "the ability to interpret, critically, evaluate and communicate about statistical information and messages". With that in mind, get ready to take a journey on all the ways our guests are promoting statistical literacy in this episode of Stats+Stories. Glickman/Lesser Interview Starts at 27:42 Pedro Campos is the Deputy Director of the International Statistical Literacy Project (ISLP) and associate professor in the Faculty of Economics at the University of Porto, and director of the methodology unit at Statistics Portugal. He also leads the team of statistical literacy at the global network of institutions for statistical training from the UN, where he helps promote statistical literacy worldwide. Larry Lesser is a professor in the Mathematical Sciences Department of the University of Texas at El Paso. He's also an elected fellow of the American Statistical Association. Lesser has won a number of awards for his work within and outside of his discipline. He

The costumes are ready and the annual opportunity to go out and harass your neighbors to get candy is once again upon us. Yes, it's time for Halloween. And along with Halloween comes the worry, the concern the fear that in fact, someone will be poisoning my kid’s candy. This is something that has lived with us for decades and we have someone today that will help us investigate this mystery on this episode of Stats and Short Stories with guest Joel Best. Joel Best is a Professor Of Sociology And Criminal Justice At The University Of Delaware. His writing focuses on understanding how and why we become concerned with particular issues at particular moments in time–why we find ourselves worried about road rage one year, and identity theft a year or so later. He’s written about the ways bad statistics creep into public debates, and about dubious fears, such as the mistaken belief that poisoned Halloween candy poses a serious threat to our kids. Check out his books Damned Lies and Statistics, More Damned Lies and

Data visualizations are everywhere, showing up in social media, in the news, and on company websites. With this onslaught, it can be hard to know what visualizations to trust. Learning how to navigate bad graphs and charts is a focus of this episode of Stats and Stories with guest Nathan Yau. Yau is the author of several books on data visualization, including Visualize This and a number of other works. He also runs the Flowing Data blog, where he works to make the process of creating data visualizations accessible to a wide audience. He recently published a defense against dishonest charts on his blog, which serves as a guide to determining which visualizations to trust. Flowing Data's Origin and Development 2:32 Surprising Insights and Misleading Charts 7:55 Anatomy of a Chart and Common Misleading Techniques 12:25 Strategies for Reading Data and Interactive Charts 16:31 Feedback and Tools for Visualization 23:26

When American comedian and actor Betty White died, fans lamented the fact that she had just missed making it to her 100th birthday. They felt she’d been robbed of achieving a significant life moment. Some researchers think that this century could see more people making it to that moment and beyond. That’s the focus of this episode of Stats and Stories with guest Michael Pearce. Michael Pearce is a PhD candidate in Statistics at the University of Washington, working under the supervision of Elena A. Erosheva. His primary research interests include preference learning and developing Bayesian statistical models for social science problems. In his spare time, Michael enjoys running, biking, and paddling around the Puget Sound.

Fall is admissions season at universities across the United States. As colleges work to recruit a new class, a new working paper suggests that politics might impact where students decide to go to school. That’s the focus of this episode of Stats and Stories, with guest Riley Acton. Riley Acton is an assistant professor of economics at Miami University where she specializes in the economics of education. Much of her current research focuses on how students choose where to apply to and enroll in college and how colleges can affect their local communities. She’s also the lead author on Political Views and College Choices in a Polarized America, a working paper out with the Annenberg Institute at Brown University

The international prize in statistics is awarded every two years by a collaboration among five leading international statistics organizations: the American Statistical Association, the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, the International Biometric Society, the International Statistical Institute, and the Royal Statistical Society. The prize recognizes a major achievement by an individual or team in the statistics field, particularly an achievement of powerful and original ideas that have led to practical applications and breakthroughs in other disciplines. The International Prize in Statistics for 2025 was announced recently, and the winner is Grace Wahba. This episode of Stats+Stories is all about celebrating her career with her former students, Finbarr O'Sullivan and Douglas Nychka. Finbarr O’Sullivan is a Senior Post-Doctoral researcher and Associate Director in the National Institute for Cellular Biotechnology at Dublin City University. He has research interests in corneal biology and in limbal stem

Matthew Shearing is a private sector consultant working globally in partnership with the public, private and not-for-profit sectors on improving official statistics and other data systems, Monitoring and Evaluation, and embedding official statistics standards in wider international development. David Stern is a Mathematical Scientist and Educator. He is a former lecturer in the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Sciences at Maseno University in Kenya and a founding board member of African Maths Initiative (AMI).

Have you ever wondered if what you eat is aging you, or whether women in red really are sexier? In addition to turning to Reddit for the answers to those questions, you can now tune into a new podcast. Normal Curves focuses on sexy science and serious statistics, and it's the focus of this episode of Stats and Stories with guests Regina Nuzzo and Kristin Sainani Regina Nuzzo is an award-winning science journalist and Gallaudet University professor who talks with audiences around the world about communicating stats creatively. She's written for such outlets as Nature, the New York Times, Scientific American, New Scientist and ESPN, the magazine. She's also served as a guest panelist on Stats and Stories in 2022. Kristin Sainani is a Stanford professor and science journalist. She teaches the popular Coursera course on writing in the sciences, available in 22 languages, and offers an online medical statistics certificate program through Stanford Online. She also wrote a beauty column for Allure.