Data science is becoming an ever more visible and important part of our lives with universities around the US, working to create or strengthen data science programs. At the same time there's a growing recognition of the need for data science outreach, particularly in order to reach underrepresented populations. Data science outreach is the focus of this episode of stats and stories with guest James Dickens. 

James Dickens is a Professorial Lecturer of Mathematics and Statistics at American University (Washington DC) since 2014; specializing now in Data Science. Specifically, teaching graduate courses in the Data Science program. Research topics of interest focus on the usage and the applications of the R programming language and the infusion of Python as learning aid in standard classes of mathematics.

Coding in the Classroom | Stats + Stories Episode 186

A statistician walks into a bar, and a comedy and art show begins. Creative work for scholars can extend beyond novel research and application. In today's episode of stats and stories, we see how the intersection between interest in statistics and art, as well as the intersection of statistics and comedy, with Dr Greg Matthews.

Dr. Matthews is Associate Professor of Statistics and Director of the Center for Data Science and Consulting at Loyola University. He also is a data artist who developed and promoted the Data Art Show, which debuted at the 2016 Joint Statistical Meetings. He performs with the Uncontrolled Variables comedy troupe at the Lincoln Lodge in Chicago and you can see his data art, links to his comedy performance, and much more at his website, Stats in the Wild.

Comedy, Art, and ... Statistics? | Stats + Stories: Episode 370

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.

Reading Racy Research | Stats + Stories Episode 371

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).

Viral Statistical Capacity Building | Stats + Stories Episode 293 (REPOST)

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 cell culture techniques for corneal epithelial replacement. In conjunction with collaborators in The Royal Victoria Eye & Ear Hospital, Dublin and the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) he has developed the technique of using such cultures to treat corneal-limbal epithelial stem deficiency. This technique received regulatory approval in January 2016 and was used on June 2016 in the clinic for the first time.

Douglas Nychka is a statistician who works in applications for the environment. Douglas Nychka is a statistician and data scientist whose areas of research include the theory, computation and application of curve and surface fitting with a focus on geophysical and environmental applications. Currently he is a Professor in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics at the Colorado School of Mines and Senior Scientist  Emeritus  at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Boulder, Colorado. Before moving to Mines he directed the Institute for Mathematics Applied to Geosciences at NCAR.  His  current focus in research is the computation of spatial statistics methods for large data sets and the migration of these algorithms into easy to use R packages. He has coauthored more than 100 research articles and with an h-index of 50.  He is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association,  Fellow of the Institute for Mathematical Statistics and a recipient of the Jerry Sacks Award for interdisciplinary research.

Intl Prize Stat Winner Grace Wahba Legendary, Statistician & Mentor | Stats + Stories Episode 372

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

Choosing a College in the Era of Polarization | Stats + Stories Episode 373

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.

The Age of the Supercentenarian | Stats + Stories Episode 229 (REPOST)

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


Deciphering Dishonest Charts | Stats + Stories Episode 374

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 Statistics, Stat-Spotting.



No One is Poisoning Your Kids' Candy, Trust the Numbers | Stats + Stories Episode 206 (REPOST)

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's also a singer-songwriter whose passion for combining music and STEM has made its way into his research, grant writing, teaching, outreach, and service, and most of his published poems and songs are STEM-related. 

Mark Glickman is a senior lecturer of statistics at the Harvard University Department of Statistics and a senior statistician at the Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research, a Veterans Administration center of innovation. He's also a fellow of the American Statistical Association. Before joining Harvard, he was a research professor of health policy and management at the Boston University School of Public Health. He's also served as an elected member of the American Statistical Association's board of directors, as representative of the Council of sections, governing board from night from 2019 to 2021.

Enhancing Statistical Literacy | Stats + Stories Episode 375

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.

Thankful For A Bountiful Harvest - How Bountiful Was It And Who Produced It? | Stats + Stories Episode 45 (REPOST)

Statistics need Stories to give them meaning. Stories need Statistics to give them credibility. Every Thursday John Bailer & Rosemary Pennington get together with a new, interesting guest to bring you the Statistics behind the Stories and the Stories behind the Statistics.