Stats + Stories

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 often rob communities of support systems, which is a focus of this episode of Stats and Stories with guest Dr. Tim Thomas.

News stories are filled with tales of risk and uncertainty. We're told the probable chance of a weather event or how likely it is we might contract an illness. There's an art to telling stories with uncertainty that provides context and nuance that is often missing. That is the focus of this episode of Stats+Stories with guest David Spiegelhalter.

The use of force by police has been in the news a lot lately, in connection to everything from protests on college campuses to the death of individuals during arrests. There’s no singular, shared definition of what use of force is according to the National Institute of Justice. A local police department will set a standard, but that threshold for when an office should use force varies from place to place. Having no standard set of rules or definitions makes it difficult for researchers to study the issue. That’s the focus of this episode of Stats and Stories with guest Claire Kelling. 

After Hurricane Helene left a path of destruction from Florida through North Carolina in 2024 you may not expect to see a lot of little Helene's in kindergarten rosters 6 years from now. But what names are emerging, and why? Will popular songs or singers be influencing name choices? If so, will lots of little Taylors be on our hypothetical kindergarten roster 6 years in the future? What influences baby names and what has changed over the decades is the focus of today's episode of Stats and Stories with guest Chris Dalla Riva.

One thing that we always value at Stat+Stories is the story of, “How did we get here?”. Today’s episode follows our colleague, from work that she did in the federal government to now leading the charge at a biocomplexity institute. That's the focus of this episode of Stats and Short Stories with guest Stephanie Shipp.

Dennis Trewin is a pioneer of social statistics that are leading to meaningful measurement of social capital in Australia. He was the head of the Australian Bureau of Statistics between 2000 and 2007, and held other senior appointments in Australia such as Electoral Commissioner and an Adjunct Professor at Swinburne University. Dennis is also a member of the Committee charged with responsibility for producing an independent report on the State of the Environment.

Community leaders regularly make decisions that impact the lives of community members. From where green space will be located to what businesses to approve to what public health interventions to put in place. There’s a growing recognition that such decisions should be informed by data that come from the community itself. Community analytics are the focus of this episode of Stats and Stories with guest Kathy Ensor.

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.

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 Stats and Stories with guest Volker Schimmel.

Where do you live? Who are your neighbors? Do you rent or own? What housing is available in your community? Today’s episode of stats and stories focuses on how and why we want to understand Americans’ experience with housing, with guest Dr. Emily Molfino. 

A recent blog post in The Hill stated, “reliable research on data and crime is more valuable than ever.” With more and more headlines about spiking crime rates, the question has to be asked. Do data back that up? Who better to answer that question than our guests who coordinate agencies to give us an accurate assessment of these questions, Nancy La Vigne Alexis Piquero.

By the end of March, Education Week had reported that 13 school shootings had already taken place in the US this year, that’s coming off of 2022, which saw 51 school shootings, the most since Education Week started tracking them in 2018. As communities recover and victims heal, experts, educators, and parents all search for ways of preventing gun violence in schools. That’s the focus of this episode of Stats and Stories, with guests Nancy La Vigne and Alexis Piquero.

The spread of misinformation is of increasing interest to researchers around the world. It’s been tied to the 2016 and 2020 US elections, Brexit, the COVID pandemic, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Some have called the glut of misinformation a pandemic in its own right. A researcher at Cambridge University suggests that, as with other pandemics, the solution just might be a vaccine. That’s the focus of this episode of Stats and Stories with guest Sander van der Linden. 

According to AARP, 70% of Americans who live to be 65 will need long term care at some point, though what kind of long term care depends upon an individual's physical, emotional, and mental health? A project at Miami University has been studying long term care and that's the focus of this episode of stats and stories

Native communities around the world are looking for ways to maintain their culture and their language. Meanwhile, some colleges and universities in the U.S. are trying to come to terms with the fact that their campuses are located on what were once tribal lands. The Myaamia Center at Miami University is a partnership between the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and the university which works to preserve the Myaamia culture and language while also exposing undergraduate and graduate students to those efforts. The Center's work is the focus of this episode of stats and stories with guest Haley Shea.

Stats and Stories recently marked its 250th episode with a contest. We asked you to share with us(via Twitter or email) a stat-related story with a headline you didn’t like and then a new headline that you thought was better. We had a number of great entries, including another stats haiku, but there can be only one winner and they’re joining us on this episode of Stats and Short Stories with Dan Gaichas.

Measurement accuracy is something all quantitative researchers strive for, as you want to make sure you're measuring what you want to be measuring. When it comes to gathering gender and sex data, though measurements are complicated, beyond simply teasing apart sex and gender, there's also the imperative to ensure the language and measurement tools researchers use are inclusive of all experiences.

Measurement accuracy is something all quantitative researchers strive for, as you want to make sure you're measuring what you want to be measuring. When it comes to gathering gender and sex data, though measurements are complicated, beyond simply teasing apart sex and gender, there's also the imperative to ensure the language and measurement tools researchers use are inclusive of all experiences.

Retirement is a threshold - crossing a finish line of sorts. As a new emeritus professor. this is at the front of my mind. Our guest today knows and has studied, this third age of life; a beginning of all kinds of new activities personal, professional, and more. The third age of life is the focus of this episode of Stats and Short Stories.