370: Andrea Jones-Rooy and Behind the Data

Andrea Jones-Rooy! Comedian! Scientist! Podcaster! Circus performer! Friend! Delight! More!

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ABOUT ANDREA JONES-ROOY Ph.D.:

Andrea Jones-Rooy is a unique voice who combines science with comedy to empower audiences of any education level to utilize data and tools accessible to all. AJR helps people learn to cut through the noise, better understand our world, and emboldens them to act.

AJR holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Michigan. Formerly a professor of data science at NYU and a quantitative researcher at FiveThirtyEight, Andrea speaks and trains globally at organizations that include Fortune 500s, tech companies, and the UN, on how to apply data science to their toughest problems. She currently hosts the podcast Behind the Data, and previously hosted the podcast Majoring in Everything. AJR is also a stand-up comedian and circus performer, although she has done neither at the UN (yet).

ABOUT THE PODCAST "BEHIND THE DATA" (SEASON 2 COMING SOON)

Data is all around us, and it powers a lot of our world, but where does it come from? Who collects it? How do we know if it’s any good?

Each week data scientist and standup comedian Andrea Jones-Rooy, Ph.D. brings you a new story about the humans and decisions behind important data that influences our lives - from political polls to measures of democracy, from tracking happiness around the world to powering AI. Join us on a journey to understand why making sense of the world depends not just on our ability to analyze it, but on the data we source in the first place. At the heart of any data that matters are real human stories about why we care about what we do. 

For example, crime data describes ‘reported crime’, which is different from (and less-than) ‘actual crime’. The two deviate to differing extents for different crimes - auto theft has a high rate of reporting due to insurance claims, while rape is horrifyingly underreported. Andrea Jones-Rooy will discuss how to navigate this churning ocean of data in which we are all swimming (whether we want to or not).

Joined by weekly expert guests, Andrea will bring her signature engaging style to investigate the ways data on polling, crime, jobs, movies, fitness, medicine, democracy, and happiness are created, and help us to understand what we can and cannot (yet) learn from it. If you are affected by ANY of these subjects (you are), you’re not going to want to miss this podcast!

Season 1 guests include:

• Dhrumil Mehta, Journalism professor at Columbia University, formerly database journalist at Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight

• Ben Casselman, New York Times economics and business reporter

• Christie Aschwanden, science journalist and author of the NYT bestselling book, Good to Go: What the Athlete in All of Us Can Learn from the Strange Science of Discovery

• Dr. Steven Novella, clinical neurologist and host The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe podcast

• Walt Hickey, pulitzer prize winning data journalist, author You Are What You Watch: How Movies and TV Affect Everything, creator and writer Numlock News

• And more!

Behind the Data is produced as part of the Daily Tech News Show (DTNS) network, which is dedicated to providing news about technology that is easy to understand.

With a unique blend of ‘smartypants’ comedy and actual science, Andrea seeks to help listeners understand how data shapes the world, and to teach everybody (not just scientists) to use data to inform their thinking. Remember, data doesn’t have to be a four letter word!

ABOUT THE PODCAST CONVERSATION BETWEEN ME AND ANDREA:

It is fun! Please enjoy!

And this is only the first HALF of our conversation.

For part two, subscribe via Apple Podcasts OR just head on over to Patreon!