Stats + Stories

14 percent of the world’s coral has been lost since 2009, according to a report from the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network. The loss of these reefs impacts the ocean environment. Coral Reefs support almost 30 percent of marine life as well as the world economy. The plight of coral reefs is the subject of the documentary Chasing Coral who’s lead scientist we have joining us today Dr. James Porte...

More than 117-million people will be forced from their homes or stateless in 20-23 according to the United Nations Refugee Agency – that’s more people than live in the entire country of Turkey. Already vulnerable, refugees, asylum seekers, and displaced persons often experience human rights violations. The data of the human rights of displaced persons and refugees is the focus of this episode of S...

How do you learn about what's going on in the world? Did a news headline grab your attention? Did a news story report on recent research? What do you need to know to be a critical consumer of the news you read? If you are looking to start developing your data self-defense and critical news consumption skills, this book is for you! It reflects a long-term collaboration between a statistician and a...

While Edgar Alan Poe reported that the raven quoth, “nevermore,” crows may respond with, “more likely” when forced to choose between two options. That’s according to our guest on this episode of Stats+Stories Dr. Melissa Johnston Dr. Melissa Johnston is a neurobiologist from New Zealand who investigates complex cognition in birds. Following the completion of her PhD at the University of Otago, Dr....

After producing hundreds of episodes we have lots of data lying around. Data we made available to you, asking you to crunch the numbers for a contest that told the story of our podcast. The winner of that contest Nicole Mark joins us today on Stats+Stories. Nicole Mark is a visual learner and communicator who found her passion in the field of data visualization. She started out making maps of imag...

Brazil’s 2022 census shows its population is well over 203 million people with the most populace states in the southern part of the country. The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics is responsible for the nation's census, as well as the gathering of other official statistics. Today three members of IBGE are joining us for this episode of Stats+Stories. Bianca Walsh is a technical assist...

The history of statistics is filled with interesting facts about the development of the field and stories of the people who helped shape it. A new column at CHANCE magazine will explore the history of stats which is the focus of this episode of Stats+Stories with guest Chiatra Nagaraja Chaitra Nagaraja is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Exeter. Her research interests are primarily in measur...

This contest is a call for lesson plans that make use of the Stats + Stories podcasts. The lesson plan should include the appropriate materials needed by both students and teachers. As examples, a good lesson plan might include: instructions for the students to carry out the activity, instructor tips, learning objectives, time to complete the activity, resources needed to complete the activity, re...

A number of organizations in the United States focus on statistics education, and now you can add the U.S. Congress to the list. A bill introduced in the house earlier this year seeks to help support and improve stats education for both Pre-K through 12, as well as higher education. It is also the focus of this episode of stats and stories with guests Donna LaLonde and Steve Pierson. Donna LaLonde...

Women’s World Cup action in Austrailia and New Zealand has wrapped up and Spain’s been crowned the champion. After players and fans headed home, residents were left to clean up after them. Hosts of such tournaments are also left to tackle the human rights implications of hosting an event that massive. The human rights impacts of something like the World Cup are incredibly hard to measure and that...

How do you learn about what's going on in the world? Did a news headline grab your attention? Did a news story report on recent research? What do you need to know to be a critical consumer of the news you read? If you are looking to start developing your data self-defense and critical news consumption skills, this book is for you! It reflects a long-term collaboration between a statistician and a...

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 Mathemati...

Natalie Shlomo is Professor of Social Statistics since joining the faculty in September 2012. She was the head of the Department of Social Statistics (2014-2017). Her research interests are in topics related to survey statistics and survey methodology. She is the UK principle investigator for several collaborative grants from the 7th Framework Programme and H2020 of the European Union all involvin...

Tim Macuga joined the QUT Centre for Data Science at the start of 2022 where he expands connections and amplifies research for the Centre and for the Australian Data Science Network. Before he joined CDS, Tim served as Media and Communications Officer for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers (ACEMS). There, he led the creation of all the content for news on the C...

Communicating facts about science well, is an art. Especially if you are trying to reach an audience outside your area of expertise. A statistician in Norway however, is convinced that how you say something is just as important as what you say when it comes to science communication. That topic is the focus of this episode of Stats+Stories with guest Jo Røislien. Jo Røislien is a professor of medic...

Kelly Spoon a tenured faculty member at San Diego Mesa College. She teaches mathematics and statistics within the Mathematics department. She’s had a number of different roles on campus and within my department, including STEM Professional Learning Coordinator and is involved in statistics education and focused on culturally responsive teaching. Amy Hogan is an NYC high school teacher. Currently t...

The Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education, aka CAUSE has held the United States Conference on teaching statistics, also known as USCOTS every other year since 2005. This conference enables teachers of statistics to exchange ideas and discover how to improve their teaching. The theme of this year's conference was communicating with and about data, a topic near and dea...

What is the best way to support people living in extreme poverty? Could unconditional cash transfers and universal basic income be viable options? How can we know if such programs will work? Today's episode of stats and stories focuses on addressing the needs of people living in extreme poverty with Miriam Laker. Dr. Miriam Laker is the Global Director of Research at GiveDirectly and a Senior Rese...

The Women’s World Cup is about to kick off in Australia and New Zealand with the defending champion U.S. Women’s national team once again the favorite to win the whole thing. They will have to make it past the English, Spanish, and German sides though, before they raise the world cup trophy high. A new book new out now explores the tournament with guest Adam Beissel. Adam Beissel (@ExtraBeissHit)...

Where do you live? Who are your neighbors? Do you rent or own? What housing is available in your community? Today’s episode of stats and stories focuses on how and why we want to understand Americans’ experience with housing, with guest Dr. Emily Molfino.  Dr. Emily Molfino is the Special Assistant to the Chief Scientist at the U.S. Census Bureau. Her work focuses on improving data dissemination a...

How do you learn about what's going on in the world? Did a news headline grab your attention? Did a news story report on recent research? What do you need to know to be a critical consumer of the news you read? If you are looking to start developing your data self-defense and critical news consumption skills, this book is for you! It reflects a long-term collaboration between a statistician and a...

The news landscape is continuously in flux as new media technologies are developed and audience needs shift. This mix of new tech and new needs, has made it important that audiences be able to understand quantitive information. A research project between Knology and PBS NewsHour is studying just how people consume news and numbers. That project is the focus of this episode of Stats & Stories with...

A recent blog post in The Hill stated, “reliable research on data and crime is more valuable than ever.” With more and more headlines about spiking crime rates, the question has to be asked. Do data back that up? Who better to answer that question than our guests who coordinate agencies to give us an accurate assessment of these questions, Nancy La Vigne Alexis Piquero. Nancy La Vigne is the Direc...

Death happens in medical settings for all kinds of reasons. However, when a death is unexpected, it can leave loved ones grieving and investigators wondering whether it was a case of medical misconduct, or medical murder. When investigators decide to bring a case to trial, they often rely on statistics to make their argument. The Royal Statistical Society released a report this year about such cas...

With Brexit and the United Kingdom’s severing of many formal connections to the European Union have come economic shocks. Trade between the two has become more complicated. Travel has become more difficult. The labor market could also take a beating because of Brexit and that’s the focus of this episode of Stats and Stories with guest Kristina Sargent. Sargent is an Assistant Professor of Economic...