Stats + Stories

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Countering Vaccine Skepticism | Stats + Stories Episode 383 Pt. 2 Mar 19, 2026

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In early January 2026, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced changes to the childhood immunization schedules, reducing the number of vaccines recommended for children. This change led to the U.S. being an outlier in terms of required vaccines for children. One reason people express concern about vaccines is fear of adverse reactions. It may surprise many that there is a comprehensive system in place to monitor adverse outcomes, and this is the topic of this episode with guest Dr. Jeffrey Morris. Dr. Jeffrey Morris is the George S. Pepper Professor of Public Health and Preventative Medicine and Director Biostatistics Division, Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics at the Perelman School of Medicine University of Pennsylvania. He has been actively involved in scientific communication efforts on social media and with various media outlets. He is also a distinguished research fellow at the Annenberg Center for Public Policy.

Countering Vaccine Skepticism | Stats + Stories Episode 383 Pt. 1 Mar 12, 2026

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Three hundred and thirty-two days, that was the international statistic of the year in 2020, as identified by the Royal Statistical Society. That was the length of time between scientists publishing the genetic sequence of COVID-19 on the 11th of January, and an effective vaccine being administered on the 8th of December. This vaccine was an integral part of the world's pandemic response. Vaccines aren't new. In a World Health Organization report describing the history of vaccines, Dr. Edward Jenner is credited with the world's first successful vaccine for smallpox in 1796. In the last 100 years, vaccines were developed for yellow fever, pertussis, polio, hepatitis B, measles, mumps, rubella, and more. Well, how do we know vaccines are safe and effective? Why do some people argue against using vaccines? That's the topic of this episode with guest Dr. Jeffery Morris. Dr. Jeffrey Morris is the George S. Pepper Professor of Public Health and Preventative Medicine and Director Biostatistics Division, Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics at the Perelman School of Medicine University of Pennsylvania. He has been actively involved in scientific communication efforts on social media and with various media outlets. He is also a distinguished research fellow at the Annenberg Center for Public Policy.

Measuring Poverty | Stats + Stories Episode 382 Feb 26, 2026

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According to the World Bank, some 3.5 billion people live on less than $7 a day. That's more than 40% of the global population. Almost 700 million of those individuals live in extreme poverty, getting by on less than $2.15 a day. In the US in 2024, almost 40 million Americans were living in poverty, according to the U.S. Census. But what do all these numbers mean? How do the people researching income inequality measure poverty, and how reliable are those measurements? That's the focus of this episode of Stats and Stories with guest David Johnson. David Johnson is the executive director of the International Association for Research in Income and Wealth. Prior to that, he served as a study director for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and medicine, for a report called, "Creating an integrated system of data and statistics on household income, consumption and wealth.". Johnson also served for 25 years in the Federal Statistical system, where he was the only senior executive to have leadership roles at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the US Census Bureau. At the Census, he led the implementation of the supplemental poverty measure and the reengineering of the Survey of Income and Program Participation.

Tracking Health Over Time | Stats + Stories Episode 85 (REPOST) Feb 19, 2026

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Dr. Lloyd Edwards is Professor and Chair of Biostatistics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Edwards has an extensive background in collaborating with researchers in a broad range of areas in biomedical research, including cardiovascular disease, cystic fibrosis, cancer, aging, pediatrics, and minority health. His primary area of applied statistical research relates to the analysis of longitudinal data. Specifically, his statistical research includes derivation of techniques for computation of power, control of Type I error, and measuring model fit in linear and generalized linear mixed models.

The Classic “Will They, or Won’t They?” and the Kiss Effect | Stats + Stories Episode 381 Feb 12, 2026

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Television is filled with "will they or won't they" couples. Friends had Ross and Rachel. Parks and Rec had Leslie and Ben. The Gilmore Girls, had Lorelei and Luke. But what happens after the couple's kiss? Do we keep watching? One statistician dug into the data behind the kiss effect, and that's the focus of this episode of Stats and Stories with guest Ashley Mullan. Ashley Mullan is a PhD student and research assistant in Vanderbilt University's Department of biostatistics. Currently, Mullan works on a team focusing on the care children receive in Tennessee's child welfare and juvenile justice systems. She's also interested in pop culture, and in her spare time, analyzes her own consumption of popular media. That led Mullan to author a Significance article on The Kiss Effect, the impact of a "will they won't they?" couple's first kiss on a TV show's ratings.

Protecting Seaside Cities from Possible Future Impacts of Climate Change | Stats + Stories Episode 53 (REPOST) Jan 29, 2026

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Peter Guttorp (@pgseattle) is a Professor at the Norwegian Computing Center in Oslo, Norway, and Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington, Seattle. He is also a vice-president of the International Statistical Institute . His research focuses on stochastic models of scientific data and their statistical analysis. He has worked in seismology, hydrology, climatology, hematology and biology.

Counting Costs of Conflict | Stats + Stories Episode 380 Jan 22, 2026

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When it comes to studying conflict, there is obvious data to examine: spending on arms, the number of people killed or injured, and the amount of land won or lost. What's harder to track are the indirect effects of conflict, the ways it produces deaths over time, or its impacts on public health. Researchers are trying to find ways to account for the sometimes less obvious impacts of conflict, and that's the focus of this episode of Stats and Stories with guest Xiao Hui Tai. Xiao Hui Tai is an assistant professor of statistics at the University of California Davis' Department of Statistics. Her research interests include the use of non-traditional data sources to study problems in data-scarce settings. With the current focus on global public health and estimating the consequences of violent conflict, she's the author of the Significance article Counting the True Cost of War.

Health Benefits of Riding an Electric Bike | Stats + Short Stories Episode 319 (REPOST) Jan 15, 2026

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Hybrid cars are everywhere now but what is your best option if you want to feel the wind in your hair, or at least under your helmet and you want to get a little exercise as well? Well, e-bikes are an answer and that’s the topic on this episode of Stats + Short Stories with guest Helaine Alessio. Helaine Alessio, PhD, FACSM is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Kinesiology, Nutrition, and Health at Miami University and is a past President of the MWACSM and a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine. She teaches Exercise Science-related courses and has received university commendations for her teaching. She has been funded by NIH, private foundations, and corporations to support research, teaching, and service projects. She has published 2 books, 13 book chapters, and 56 journal articles, as well as national and international peer reviewed blogs, infographics, and NPR broadcasts. She is listed in the top 2% of Exercise Scientists cited in the world by Stanford University researchers. Her work on academic integrity includes co-editing a special edition of a journal on the topic that was the most widely published for the Journal of Excellence in College Teaching.

Hit Songs by the Numbers & What They Reveal About Us | Stats + Stories Episode 379 Jan 08, 2026

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The Billboard Hot 100 has been ranking the week's most popular music since 1958. The first song to top the chart was Ricky Nelson's Poor Little Fool. The most recent song to do so is Taylor Swift's The Fate of Ophelia. A lot has changed in the music industry between those two songs, not only in the types of songs that top the charts, but also in how they're promoted and how they're determined. A new book explores the statistics behind the Hot 100, and it's the focus of this episode of Stats + Stories with guest Chris Dalla Riva. Chris Dalla Riva is an analyst for the music streaming service Audiomack by day while spending his nights writing and recording music and writing about music for his newsletter Can’t Get Much Higher.

Data for Good | Stats + Stories Episode 378 Dec 24, 2025

Show notes

On the podcast, we talk about the ways we live in and with data, as well as the ways data shape our lives and our politics. Public discourse around data is often wrapped up in the negative ways it can impact our lives. A movement among statisticians, data scientists, and other researchers shows the positive impacts of data when used to work towards solutions to humanitarian problems. The data for good movement is a focus of this episode of Stats and Stories with guest David Corliss. David Corliss is the founder and director of Peace Work, a volunteer cooperative of statisticians and data scientists applying statistical methods to issue-driven advocacy. Human trafficking research is a major initiative at Peace Work. Corliss is also a research scholar and a member of the Global Association of Human Trafficking Scholars.

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