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Stats + Stories

Stats + Stories

The Stats + Stories Team 443 Episodes Aug 20, 2026

Stats + Stories explores the intersection of statistics and storytelling, emphasizing how numbers gain meaning through narrative and vice versa. Hosts John Bailer and Rosemary Pennington interview a new guest each week to discuss the statistics behind the stories and the stories behind the statistics. The podcast airs every Thursday, making complex statistical concepts accessible through real-world examples and engaging conversations.

Episodes

What is Nutrition Science | Stats + Stories Episode 214 (REPOST)
What is Nutrition Science | Stats + Stories Episode 214 (REPOST) Aug 20, 2026 00:25:48 An entire industry has grown up around nutrition and health. People pushing everything from shakes, to meal kits, to special diets. While some of the claims surrounding such products can be questionable at best, the field of nutrition science is growing. Filled with researchers who are working to truly understand the science of food that is a focus of this episode of Stats and Stories with guest M
Leadership and Women in Statistics | Stats + Stories Episode 392
Leadership and Women in Statistics | Stats + Stories Episode 392 Aug 13, 2026 00:25:33 Women regularly hold leadership roles in stats departments at universities and in major statistical organizations, but it wasn't so long ago that women had to fight to be included. At one point, women faculty had to climb through the windows of the faculty club at Berkeley to attend meetings there; the stories of the struggles of women to be accepted in the profession aren't always visible. But on
The Best Sports Stats from the Past Year | Stats + Stories Episode 391
The Best Sports Stats from the Past Year | Stats + Stories Episode 391 Jul 23, 2026 00:24:55 Sports and statistics go hand-in-hand. But some of those statistics are more interesting than others. Each year, the Royal Statistical Society highlights some of the most compelling sports stats in its Sports Statistic of the Year competition this year’s winners are the focus of this episode of Stats and Stories with Jessica Hargreaves and Robert Mastrodomenico. Jessica Hargreaves is the chair of
The Impact of College Vaccine Mandates | Stats + Stories Episode 244 (REPOST)
The Impact of College Vaccine Mandates | Stats + Stories Episode 244 (REPOST) Jul 17, 2026 00:24:36 Last academic year colleges and universities across the US struggled with whether to mandate COVID vaccinations for their students. While colleges often require vaccines, the political controversy surrounding the COVID shots made adopting a vaccine policy a complicated undertaking. But according to one study, it had a profound impact on the national COVID death toll last fall. That's the focus of
Taylor Swift and Markov Chains | Stats + Stories Episode 390
Taylor Swift and Markov Chains | Stats + Stories Episode 390 Jul 9, 2026 00:27:53 Taylor Swift is an entertainment juggernaut. She's become one of the best-selling musical artists of all time, with her Eras tour grossing more than $2 billion. During that tour, Swift surprised her audience each night with costume changes to mark different eras of her career. Now, a couple of researchers have figured out how to predict what costumes Swift would wear, when, and if these outfit col
Urban Displacement | Stats + Stories Episode 389
Urban Displacement | Stats + Stories Episode 389 Jun 25, 2026 00:30:05 It can take decades for an urban community to develop, but a fraction of that time for it to be torn apart. Each year, urban residents are forced out of their homes and out of their communities to make way for gentrification or other kinds of urban development. When these individuals are forced to leave their homes, they're also forced to leave behind their histories and cultures. These changes of
Public Health Equity | Stats + Stories Episode 388
Public Health Equity | Stats + Stories Episode 388 Jun 11, 2026 00:28:14 The World Health Organization defines health equity as a public health concept describing equity of access to health resources for genetic, socio-environmental, and economic determinants of health, varying according to individuals, families, and social or societal groups. Concerns about data equity have surfaced, which may result in many populations, including those in rural areas with disabilitie
Running the Numbers: Portraits of Human Mass Culture | Stats + Stories Episode 387
Running the Numbers: Portraits of Human Mass Culture | Stats + Stories Episode 387 May 28, 2026 00:30:33 A 2010 statistic reports that, on average, there are 29,000 personal bankruptcy filings per week in the US, while another states that, on average, 50,000 pieces of floating plastic per square mile are observed in the Pacific Ocean. How might art be used to convey the magnitude of these statistics, suppose 29,000 credit card images of them were arranged to compose a larger image of a full moon, or
Step Out in the Sunshine | Stats + Short Stories Episode 325 (REPOST)
Step Out in the Sunshine | Stats + Short Stories Episode 325 (REPOST) May 21, 2026 00:11:39 As you reach the end of a long day with an excess of stress how do you recharge? Have you found that a long stroll in the sun or through the woods can provide this renewal? Walking in nature is the focus of this episode of Stats+Stories with guest Dr. Altea Lorenzo-Arribas. Dr. Altea Lorenzo-Arribas is a socio-economic statistician at Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland (BioSS) working in coll
Building Statistical Capacity in Africa | Stats + Stories Episode 386
Building Statistical Capacity in Africa | Stats + Stories Episode 386 May 14, 2026 00:28:03 In order to promote the economic and social development of countries, you have to be clear about what economic and social development even means and how you'll measure these concepts. This is where official statistics excels. Many nations continue to build the capacity of their statistical systems to address the needs of their countries. Our episode today focuses on official statistics and statist
The Etymology of the Word Statistics | Stats + Stories Episode 248 (REPOST)
The Etymology of the Word Statistics | Stats + Stories Episode 248 (REPOST) Apr 30, 2026 00:23:42 In the late 1600s, a book was published satirizing politics in Europe. Published two decades after the end of the 30 Years’ War, it focuses on the power of the Holy Roman Empire. That book’s impact on statistics is the focus of this episode of stats and stories, with guest Wallace Ferguson. Wallace Ferguson has taught mathematics and statistics at Chatham and Clarendon Grammar School, Kent, Engla
Odds of the Derby | Stats + Stories Episode 385
Odds of the Derby | Stats + Stories Episode 385 Apr 23, 2026 00:26:37 With the arrival of spring, anticipation grows for the start of horse racing in the United States. The pinnacle of success in the sport is achieved by a horse that will win each leg of the Triple Crown, which includes the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes. The excitement and anticipation of these three races are also associated with pre-race bookmaking and betting as wel

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