Stats + Stories

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...

Dr Altea Lorenzo-Arribas is a socio-economic statistician at Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland (BioSS) working in collaboration with researchers at the Scottish Environment, Food and Agriculture Research Institutions. She is an elected council member of the Royal Statistical Society and secretary of the History of Statistics Section, as well as a member of the Women Committee of the Spanish S...

Long after Harry Nilsson said, “one is the loneliest number,” and after Bob Seger sang about feeling like a number, music streaming services are using data to help of discover new music that connects to our frequent plays and preferences. Dr. Kobi Abayomi helps break that all down in this episode of Stats+Stories. Dr. Kobi Abayomi is the Head of Science for Gumbel Demand Acceleration - a Software...

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...

Good data visualization can catapult a news story or research article from ho hum to extraordinary. A new book series is exploring the careers of information graphic visionaries. And that's the focus of this episode of Stats+Stories with guest RJ Andrews. Data storyteller RJ Andrews is a practicing data storyteller and creator of several books on information graphics. He helps organizations solve...

According to the Pew Research Center, three in ten US adults say they've used a dating app, with Tinder, Match and Bumble being the apps most likely to have been tried. Pew's research has also found that one in 10 partnered adults in the US met their significant other on a dating app or site. Dating app success is a focus of this episode of Stats and Stories with guest Dr. Liesel Sharabi. Dr. Lies...

Remember the pressure of taking a test when the teacher was glaring at you, daring your eyes to roam. Cheating was not a temptation unless your were desperate and willing to risk the everpresent teacher catching you. However, the offering of online classes exploded in recent years. So what happens when you’re testing during online classes that’s the focus of this episode of Stats+Stories with gues...

According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics the number of people prosecuted for human trafficking offenses has more than doubled between 2011 and 2021. The National Human Trafficking hotline reports that it has identified more than 82,000 instances of human trafficking involving close to 165,000 victims. Researching human trafficking is the focus of this episode of Stats+Stories with our gu...

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...

As researchers and medical professionals struggle to get a handle on the COVID-19 pandemic, journalists struggle to tell the pandemic’s story with many news outlets increasingly turning to info graphics and data visualizations to help them do so. Visualizing data for news is the focus of this episode of Stats and Stories with guest Harry Stevens. Harry Stevens joined The Washington Post as a graph...

For some people, shopping for clothes can feel like a step into Dante’s Inferno, all suffering and punishment. Even for those that do enjoy shopping it can hard to find something that fits well. The data for size is the focus of this episode of Stats+Stories with guest Jordi Prats who recently wrote an article about the issue in Significance Magazine. Jordi Prats studied Biology at the University...

By the end of 2023 Bourbon is expected to be an almost 9 billion dollar industry. That’s a lot of mint julips and bourbons neat. But what makes bourbon so appealing, the chemistry behind this drink is the focus of this episode of Stats+Stories with guest Michael Crowder. Dr. Michael Crowder is a Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Dean of the Graduate School at Miami University. Dr. Crowde...

Stats educators are continually looking for ways to get students excited about the subject and help them understand all stats can help them do. One high school educator discovered one way to do that was to throw out a standard curriculum and connect lessons more closely to student interests. That's the focus of this episode of stats and stories with guest Dashiell Young-Saver . Young-Saver is a Te...

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...

It's been 70 years since Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay summited Mount Everest. Since then hundreds of people attempt to climb the mountain each year. Many of those climbers are injured during their attempts. And during the 2023 climbing season 17 people died. Preparing for Everest takes years of training. Though there's disagreement among mountaineers about how to best prepare for the climb, s...

It’s been almost two years since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine with the UN estimating that more than 27,000 civilians of Ukraine have been killed or injured in the conflict. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops have been killed or injured while Russian forces have suffered over half a million casualties. The current situation has many wondering, “who is winning?” That’s the focus of thi...

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...