Podcasts by Whats The Point
A show about our data age. Each week, Jody Avirgan brings you stories and interviews on how data is changing lives.
Further podcasts by FiveThirtyEight, 538, ESPN, Jody Avirgan
Podcast on the topic Gesellschaft und Kultur
All episodes
.50 How To Hate-Like from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Tom Vanderbilt is accounting for taste. More at fivethirtyeight.com/podcasts
Listen.49 Hearing Philly from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A new project is testing different polling techniques to get input from Philadelphians about their civic lives. fivethirtyeight.com/podcasts
Listen.48 The Schmidt Sting Pain Index from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Entomologist Justin Schmidt is developing a way to measure painful insect stings - by stinging himself with as many creatures as possible.
Listen.47 Rivers Cuomo Has Spreadsheets (from Song Exploder) from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Song Exploder talks with Rivers Cuomo of Weezer about his very nerdy songwriting style. Plus, we're collecting your playlists at DefeatedJoy.com
Listen.46 Gut Week, Gut Strong from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
It's Gut Week at FiveThirtyEight. Chad Matlin, filling in for Jody (who's on jury duty) discusses the world of pro- and psycho-biotics. fivethirtyeight.com/podcasts
Listen.45 The Stompers Get Stats from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Ben Lindbergh describes what happened when a professional baseball team let him take over as general manager and apply the most cutting edge analytics to real games.
Listen.44 An Unusual Pattern from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
WTP presents a data murder mystery, reported by Joel Werner.
Listen.43 Every Song Ever from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
How algorithmic listening is changing our relationship to music. With New York Times music critic Ben Ratliff. Find more at fivethirtyeight.com/podcasts
Listen.42 Tagging Banksy from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A geospatial mapping formula may hold the clues to the graffiti artist Banksy's real identity.
Listen.41 How To Change Minds from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
New developments in the story of the fraudulent research about persuasion and empathy. Visit fivethirtyeight.com/podcasts for more.
Listen.40 Mahler By The Numbers from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A visit to the NY Philharmonic archives. For 147 years, the Phil has had a data-collection streak. Now it's all going to the cloud. More at fivethirtyeight.com/podcasts
Listen.39 Let's Move To The Country from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Christopher Ingraham used a data sat to determine "the worst place to live in America." Then he visited Red Lake Falls, MN; and now he's moving there.
Listen.38 Wall St. vs. Internet from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Doug Rushkoff is one of our favorite media/tech thinkers. His new book is about how our economy is wired for growth that stifles innovation.
Listen.37 52 Postcards from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Every week for a year, Stefanie and Giorgia collected info about their lives and mailed each other postcards with a data visualization. Now it's your turn! More on our site.
Listen.36 Yemen Calling from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In countries like Yemen, cell phone metadata can serve as an end-around to paint a picture of daily life, the effect of drone strikes, and more.
Listen.35 The Academy from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Walt Hickey's been trying to crack the tricky data problem that is the Oscars. He talks about his reporting, and we host the first ever WTP data debate.
Listen.34 Who's A Good Dog from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A visit to the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show with Oliver Roeder, who wrote about the rise and fall of the terrier dynasty.
Listen.33 A Privacy Mea Culpa from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We've been screwing up in the way we talk about privacy on the show. Kashmir Hill of Fusion sets us straight.
Listen.32 Big-Time Sports from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
As you watch the Super Bowl this weekend, tons of data -- and millions of dollars -- will be zipping around. Jim Glanz of the New York Times discusses his reporting.
Listen.31 Don't Drink The Water from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In Flint, Michigan, bad data decisions made the water crisis much worse. FiveThirtyEight's Anna Barry-Jester recently reported on the story.
Listen.30 A History Of Political Data (Part Two) from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Obama 2008 to the present, including reporting from Iowa. With Daniel Kreiss of UNC.
Listen.29 A History Of Political Data (Part One) from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
William Jennings Bryan to Barack Obama. With Daniel Kreiss of the University of North Carolina.
ListenBONUS: Elections Pilot (Iowa!) from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
From a Des Moines hotel room, we talk about the Iowa caucus and the latest polling numbers. Let us know what you think by emailing podcasts@fivethirtyeight.com
Listen.28 Algorithmic Arugula from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A visit to a data-driven farm, where the light, water, nutrients and more are all optimized and controlled from an iPad.
ListenBONUS: Election Podcast Pilot from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
538 is launching an election podcast in January! We're piloting now with Nate Silver, Harry Enten, Clare Malone, and Jody Avirgan. Take a listen, let us know what you think.
Listen.27 The 2015 Data Awards (Part 2) from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
More of the most interesting stories and people of the year. Be sure to check out the special site fivethirtyeight.com/dataawards. We'll be back with new shows in 2016!
Listen.26 The 2015 Data Awards (Part 1) from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A very special evening, brought to you by FiveThirtyEight.
Listen.25 The Dark Side Of Forensic DNA from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Forensic evidence has the promise of leading to science-based convictions. But for it to be reliable we need a better understanding of data and statistics, says Erin Murphy.
Listen.24 Building Pixar's Landscapes from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Good Dinosaur features vast, hyperrealistic landscapes -- powered by terabytes and terabytes of US Geological Survey data.
Listen.23 A WTP Compendium from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
For your holiday travels, excerpts of our favorite conversations: Neil deGrasse Tyson - (15:50) Farai Chideya - (25:40) Bike Lanes - (37:30) Police Violence - (54:10) Drones
Listen.22 God, In One Chart from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Religion is personal, nuanced, evolving -- which makes it particularly resistant to easy quantification. Emma Green (Atlantic) and Leah Libresco (538) discuss stats and faith.
Listen.21 Rejoice! The Canadian Longform Census Is Back from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Turns out, the Canadian census was a pretty big flashpoint in the recent elections, and the fight over it tells us a lot about why government data matters.
Listen.20 Fighting Outbreaks With New Tech (And Paper) from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In a country like Niger, Doctors Without Borders epidemiologists use a combination of advanced technology and old-fashioned paperwork.
Listen.19 Why The Bronx Burned from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In 1970's NYC, huge swaths of the city were engulfed in flames. Bad stats may have been to blame. Joe Flood, author of "The Fires," tells the story.
Listen.18 That's Just, Like, Your Opinion, Man from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Walt Hickey recently discovered that Fandango's movie ratings are weirdly inflated. What he learned says a lot about trust online and the wisdom of the crowd.
Listen.17 Little Bird, Big Data from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We take a hike in the woods north of Santa Cruz in search of the marbled murrelet, an elusive bird that's being tracked using remote sensors and machine learning. Tweet tweet.
Listen.16 The $2000/Month Chat Service from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A tour of the Bloomberg terminal -- it's clunky, powerful, addictive and ubiquitous on Wall Street. It also costs $2000/month and has everything a trader could need.
ListenBONUS: Nate, Harry and Micah Talk Election 2016 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Nate Silver, Harry Enten and Micah Cohen talk about the 2016 election as part of an Advertising Week panel. Stay tuned for the FiveThirtyEight Politics channel coming soon!
Listen.15 Cloud Self vs. Physical Self from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Your data creates its own data. Farai Chideya discusses how she thinks of data, security, and why your information is like your pet -- you own it, but you can't control it.
Listen.14 Everyone Is Your Cousin from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A.J. Jacobs is trying to build the world's biggest family tree, connecting him to everyone on earth. The data-driven revolution genealogy is helping.
Listen.13 Moneyball For Movies (w/ Andy Greenwald) from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Josh Lynn says his "consumer engagement" algorithm can predict how a movie will do - months before it's even made. A special co-podcast with Grantland's Andy Greenwald.
Listen.12 Your Boss Is Watching from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
From Amazon to UPS, the data-driven workplace is here. Is your humanity being traded for your company's efficiency?
Listen.11 Make It Viral from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The people behind @buzzfeed and @nba discuss how analytics help them decide what to post and when, plus the behind-the-scenes story of how Buzzfeed got that dress to go viral.
Listen.10 Science Is Hard from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
After a deluge of retractions, fraudsters, and high-profile failures, is it time to ask: "Is science broken?" FiveThirtyEight's Christie Aschwanden answers.
Listen.09 Our Military Is Drowning In Data from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Our military collects terabytes and terabytes of data every day. Is the drone-driven obsession with tactical information preventing a conversation about the morality of war?
Listen.08 A Year Since Ferguson from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
It's been a year of protest and unrest -- and a year of data collection -- in the effort to understand the scope of police violence in America.
Listen.07 Pre-crime from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
New tools use data to predict whether someone who has committed a crime may do so again. Does this mean we'll be locking people up for crimes they haven't yet committed?
ListenBONUS: Totally Subjective 2016 Odds (Early August) from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
FiveThirtyEight's latest "totally subjective odds," where we handicap the (very early) presidential race. Featuring Nate Silver, Harry Enten, and Katherine Miller of Buzzfeed.
Listen.06 Behind The Browser from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Journalist and internet activist Quinn Norton discusses the cookies and algorithms that track you online -- including on FiveThirtyEight.com -- and how they shape identity.
Listen.05 How Numbers Drive The Book Industry from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The head of one of the world's biggest book publishers talks about how data is changing the industry, from deciding to sign an author to the war with Amazon.
Listen.04 Doctors And Data from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Dr. James Hamblin, writer for The Atlantic, discusses how big (and bad) data will affect your next visit to the doctor.
Listen.03 Dear Mona, How Many People Regret Their Tattoos? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In the first audio version of our popular (and statsy) "Dear Mona"€? column, Mona Chalabi and Jody Avirgan investigate how many folks have tattoos and people's tattoo regrets.
Listen.02 Solving Our Most Vexing Transportation Problems (With Data) from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
During Janette Sadik-Khan's tenure as NYC transportation commissioner, the city's streetscape altered dramatically. She discusses her data-driven (and controversial) approach.
Listen.01 Neil deGrasse Tyson - "Are you wired for doubt?" from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Star Talk's Neil deGrasse Tyson on how data is revolutionizing astronomy, why he hates "balance," and why his being black often leads people to confuse him for a sportscaster.
ListenSparks: The Eclipse Of 1878 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Sparks gang discusses "American Eclipse" by David Baron, and the solar eclipse coming to the U.S. later this month.
ListenWTP Best Of: DNA Evidence from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Jody discusses the rise of forensic DNA with Erin Murphy, professor at New York University and author of the book "Inside the Cell."
ListenWTP Best Of: Adam Ruins Everything from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Jody interviews Adam Conover of TruTV's Adam Ruins Everything on how his show covers stats heavy topics.
ListenSparks: Interview with Charles Ornstein from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Christie Aschwanden talks to journalist Charles Ornstein about how he reports on how money can influence doctors.
ListenSparks: Conflicts of interest from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Sparks crew discusses how politicians and scientists wrestle with conflicts of interest, and what the science says about how conflict of interest can change our decisions.
ListenSparks: Interview with Bob Holmes from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Anna Maria Barry-Jester talks to Bob Holmes, the author of "Flavor: The science of our most neglected sense."
ListenSparks: Flavor Science from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
FiveThirtyEight's science team discusses "Flavor: The science of our most neglected sense," a book by Bob Holmes. They also go flavor tripping.
ListenWTP Best Of: Bear Mapping from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Rae Wynn-Grant, a conservation researcher at the American Museum of Natural History, discusses her work tracking black bears in the American West.
ListenSparks: Interview with Thomas Levenson from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
FiveThirtyEight's Christie Aschwanden interviews the author of "The Hunt for Vulcan."
ListenSparks: "The Hunt for Vulcan" from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
What does it take to revise a cold, hard science fact? This montha€™s Sparks podcast explores that question in the context of a€œThe Hunt for Vulcana€? by Thomas Levenson.
ListenWTP Best Of: Baseball from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Jody interviews Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller, authors of "The Only Rule Is It Has To Work," a chronicle of their summer spent as general managers for the Sonoma Stompers.
ListenSparks: Interview with Elisabeth Rosenthal from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Anna Maria Barry-Jester interviews the author of "An American Sickness: How healthcare became big business and how you can take it back."
ListenSparks: "An American Sickness" from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Our science podcast crew discusses the state of American health care, and what consumers can do about it. This month's book: "An American Sickness" by Elisabeth Rosenthal.
ListenWTP Best Of: Internet Tracking from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Jody interviews Arvind Narayanan about the latest in online tracking, and what you can do to shield yourself.
ListenWTP Best Of: Your Certainty Bubble from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Jody Avirgan and Carl Bialik discuss research into how we get information and what information we trust.
ListenSparks - Interview with Alondra Nelson from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
FiveThirtyEight's Maggie Koerth-Baker discusses The Social Life of DNA: Race, Reparations, and Reconciliation After the Genome with author Alondra Nelson.
ListenSparks - The Social Life of DNA: Race, Reparations, and Reconciliation After the Genome from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
This month, we're discussing Alondra Nelson's The Social Life of DNA: Race, Reparations, and Reconciliation After the Genome.
ListenWTP Best Of: Life In Yemen from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
What cell phone metadata can reveal about the patterns of daily live -- and the effect of drone strikes.
ListenWTP Best Of: James Hamblin from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
From the archives, Jody Avirgan and James Hamblin discuss modern medicine, personal health tracking, and why health journalism is broken.
ListenSparks: Interview with the author of "The Unpersuadables" from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
FiveThirtyEight's Maggie Koerth-Baker talks with author Will Storr about his book "The Unpersuadables: Adventures with the enemies of science."
ListenSparks - The Unpersuadables from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
FiveThirtyEight's science team discusses Will Storr's book, "The Unpersuadables: Adventures with the enemies of science."
ListenThe Amazing Postcards You Mailed Us from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Jody Avirgan and Kate Larue discuss the postcards we received for our "Dear Data" project, and then rerun our original conversation. Check it out: fivethirtyeight.com/deardata
ListenSparks (Part 2) Nate Silver and Michael Lewis from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
This month we're discussing Michael Lewis's new book "The Undoing Project." Here he talks with Nate Silver about his work. Be sure to check out part 1!
ListenSparks - The Undoing Project from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Our science team discusses Michael Lewis's new book, which is about the rise of behavioral economics. Check out part 2, coming soon, in which Nate Silver talks with Lewis.
Listen.72 That Was The Point from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
What's The Point is coming to an end with Jody Avirgan as the host. We discuss what we've learned over the last year and a half. Stay tuned for our next big thing!
Listen.71 How Adam Ruins Everything from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Adam Conover on the challenge of explaining tough topics - while being funny. Catch "Adam Ruins Everything" on TruTV.
Listen.70 Sparks (Pt 2) Kenji Lopez-Alt from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In part two of our Thanksgiving special, Anna Maria Barry-Jester talks about the science of food with Kenji Lopez-Alt.
Listen.69 Sparks: Let's Eat, With Science! from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A Thanksgiving cooking special from our science team as they discuss Kenji Lopez-Alt's "The Food Lab."
Listen.68 Sparks (Pt 2) Risk from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Maggie Koerth-Baker talks with Kayt Sukel about how we define risk, and how to write about it responsibly.
Listen.67 Sparks: Risk from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Our monthly science series looks at why humans make, or don't make, risky choices. Part 2 of this conversation - and interview with author Kayt Sukel - airs next week.
Listen.66 When The Algorithm Decides from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Cathy O'Neil discusses her book "Weapons Of Math Destruction," about algorithms that are widespread, harmful, and secretive.
Listen.65 Optimized Or Monetized? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Julia Angwin of Pro Publica discusses their investigations into "black box" algorithms.
Listen.64 Do You Feel Informed? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Carl Bialik discusses a new study that shows how Americans get their information, how they make decisions, and how they change their minds.
Listen.63 Sparks (Pt 2) Mental Health Stigma from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Maggie Koerth-Baker talks with Dr. Patrick Corrigan about the stigma of mental health and how it relates to public figures.
Listen.62 Sparks: Politicians' Mental Health from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Our monthly science series looks at the ethics and laws of discussing and diagnosing the health of political figures. Part 2 of this show airs next week.
Listen.61 Bear Tracks from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
How a digital model can help prevent bear-human conflicts. Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant discusses her work in the field, and at the computer.
Listen.60 Blythe Picks A Team from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
From Hot Takedown, how our editor Blythe Terrell used an algorithm to help pick a new NFL team to root for.
Listen.59 Your Browser's Fingerprint from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A new survey of one million websites reveals the latest tricks being used to track your online behavior. Arvind Narayanan of Princeton University discusses his research.
Listen.58 Math Gold from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The coach of the U.S. Math Olympiad team shares his secrets.
Listen.57.2 Sparks (Part Two) -- Alice Dreger from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In the second part of our new science podcast, Christie Aschwanden talks to Alice Dreger about her book "Galileo's Middle Finger."
Listen.57 Sparks: Galileo's Middle Finger from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The debut of our new science series! The FiveThirtyEight science team discusses "Galileo's Middle Finger," and what happens when activism and science cross paths.
Listen.56 A History Of Political Data (Part 4 - Trump) from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A memo from the Trump campaign reveals their attempts to go after "low P, high T" voters. Clare Malone discusses her reporting.
ListenDog Show! [Repeat] from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A visit to the Westminster Dog Show with FiveThirtyEight's Oliver Roeder.
Listen.55 Two Aspen Ideas from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Mini-interviews with Charles Duhigg and Marcus Bullock of Flikshop, from the Aspen Ideas festival.
Listen.54.7 Accidents, Guns, And Stats from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We conclude our series of mini-conversations about the FiveThirtyEight guns project. FiveThirtyEight.com/gundeaths
Listen.54.6 A Guns Program The NRA Actually Likes from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A mini-interview a day for a week about the 538 guns project. Carl Bialik discusses the criminal justice program that is gaining GOP support. fivethirtyeight.com/gundeaths
Listen.54.5 Mass Shootings from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A mini-interview a day for a week about the 538 guns project. Leah Libresco discusses how other countries have reacted to mass shootings. fivethirtyeight.com/gundeaths
Listen.54.4 - Guns And Domestic Violence from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A mini-interview a day for a week about the 538 guns project. Hayley Mungia discusses how to get guns out of the hands of domestic abusers. fivethirtyeight.com/gundeaths
Listen.54.3 - Men, Suicide, And Guns from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We're doing a mini-interview every day for a week about the the 538 guns project. Anna Maria Barry-Jester discusses her reporting from Wyoming. fivethirtyeight.com/gundeaths
Listen.54.2 - Stopping Gun Deaths In New Orleans from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Our series - a mini-interview every day for a week - on the guns project continues with reporter Ben Casselman. See the full project fivethirtyeight.com/gundeaths
Listen.54.1 - A Week Of Conversations About Gun Deaths from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Every day for a week, we'll discuss the new FiveThirtyEight project on gun deaths in America. Today, editor Simone Landon frames the issue. www.fivethirtyeight.com/gun-deaths
Listen.53 Mapping Police Violence from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A rerun of a conversation with Samuel Sinyangwe describing why data on police shootings is so murky. Samuel runs mappingpoliceviolence.org and checkthepolice.org
Listen.52 A History Of Political Data (Part 3) from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Daniel Kreiss of UNC is back to discuss what we've learned from the 2016 primaries. fivethirtyeight.com/podcasts
Listen.51 The $173,775 Data Set from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
David Yanofsky is suing the U.S. government for immigration data after they wanted to charge him $173,775 for it. fivethirtyeight.com/podcasts
Listen.00 Welcome - Nate Silver Helps Introduce What's The Point from 2015-06-22T07:00
From fake studies to bad polling to privacy fears, is data in a moment of crisis? We launch our newest podcast with a discussion about the state of big data, and some of the major themes we hope to...
Listen.00 Welcome - Nate Silver Helps Introduce What's The Point from 2015-06-22T07:00
From fake studies to bad polling to privacy fears, is data in a moment of crisis? We launch our newest podcast with a discussion about the state of big data, and some of the major themes we hope to...
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