The PolicyViz Podcast

Amanda Makulec is the current Executive Director of the Data Visualization Society (DVS), and in this week’s episode of the PolicyViz Podcast, we discuss her journey and the DVS’s evolution as it approaches its fifth anniversary. Amanda shares her experience starting as a volunteer all the way to leading the entire organization. With her second term coming to an end, she emphasizes the importance of term limits and her commitment to ensuring the organization’s sustainability by focusing on operational systems, finances, compliance, and community responsiveness. Topics Discussed Leadership and Evolution of DVSCommunity Building and Knowledge SharingData Literacy and Supportive InitiativesNavigating Social Media and Communication PlatformsFinancial Challenges and Operational Sustainability➡️ Check out more links, notes, transcript, and more at the PolicyViz website. Sponsor: Ant Design System for Figma Design and develop Ant Design projects faster than ever! The powerful UI kit for Figma based on the most popular React UI library - Ant Design. Create and implement well-documented Ant Design apps in no time! Figma Plugin

In this week’s episode, I chat with Dietmar Offenhuber about his new book, Autographic Design and the concept of autographic data analysis. Dietmar stresses the significance of recognizing the material origins of data and the influence of extraneous variables. He advocates for a qualitative approach that pays attention to data traces, which can uncover deeper narratives. In our conversation, we explore what is meant by autographic design and urge a wider lens on data to grasp multifaceted problems thoroughly. Additionally, Dietmar’s work underscores the interplay between qualitative and quantitative methods, emphasizing the role of subtlety and conjecture in data interpretation to bring a more nuanced understanding of the stories behind the numbers. Topics Discussed The Material Context of Data CollectionThe Impact of the Third VariableUnintentional Digital TracesQualitative Meets Quantitative.The Speculative Nature of Data AnalysisA Call for Collaboration➡️ Check out more links, notes, transcript, and more at the PolicyViz website. Sponsor: Maryland Institute College of Art The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) application deadlines for summer and fall are April 22 and August 1. Spots are limited, so start your application now and talk to an enrollment coach by filling out our form at online.mica.edu/dav/.

In this week’s episode of the podcast, I welcome author, speaker, and professor Alberto Cairo to the show. We discuss his most recent book, The Art of Insight, and our conversation extends to acquiring reliable data and challenges people across the world face in creating useful and accessible data visualizations. We also discuss the current state of social media as it relates to the data visualization community and Alberto contemplates the future landscape for both the community and data-related conferences in a post-pandemic world. Topics Discussed The Quest for Reliable Data:The Shifting Platforms of DataViz Communities:The Post-Pandemic Outlook:Spotlight on Alberto:The Art of Insight➡️ Check out more links, notes, transcript, and more at the PolicyViz website. Sponsor: Maryland Institute College of Art The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) application deadlines for summer and fall are April 22 and August 1. Spots are limited, so start your application now and talk to an enrollment coach by filling out our form at online.mica.edu/dav/.

In this week’s episode, we delve into the pivotal role of visual clarity in scientific research. Join me and Professor of Clinical Epidemiology Maarten Boers as we discuss his new book, Data Visualization for Biomedical Scientists. If you are at all interested in being a better science communicator—and especially if you are interested in publishing your work in academic journals—this episode is for you! We talk about how Maarten’s book extends beyond the world of biomedical science into good table design, small multiples, and how academic publishing needs to get its act in order. Topics Discussed The Necessity of Clear Experimental Procedures:Deciphering Scientific Terminology:Graphical Excellence in Research Communication:Impactful Captions and Visual Storytelling:Challenges in Academic Publishing:Ensuring Accuracy in the Publication Process:➡️ Check out more links, notes, transcript, and more at the PolicyViz website. Sponsor: Tube Buddy TubeBuddy is the main tool that I use to manage the backend of my YouTube channel. It has been a huge lifesaver when it comes to time management and properly optimizing my channel. They have tons of free tools you can check out right here!

On this week’s episode of the podcast, we dive into the transformative work of Neighborhood Nexus, led by Tommy Pierce. This civic data intermediary is making waves in Georgia by harnessing the power of data to create a lasting social impact. Here are the highlights of our discussion on how Neighborhood Nexus is revolutionizing the nonprofit sector through data-driven strategies: Topics Discussed The Mission of Neighborhood Nexus:Data Utilization and Technical Assistance:Quantitative vs. Qualitative Data:Bridging the Gap:Understanding Local Nonprofit Sectors:Navigating the Political Landscape:Capacity Building and Community Engagement:➡️ Check out more links, notes, transcript, and more at the PolicyViz website. Sponsor: Tube Buddy TubeBuddy is the main tool that I use to manage the backend of my YouTube channel. It has been a huge lifesaver when it comes to time management and properly optimizing my channel. They have tons of free tools you can check out right here!

On this week’s episode of the show, I talk with Nate Braun, author of several Python books, all having to do with sports. Nate shares his journey from having a background in economics to writing books on sports data analysis and visualization using Python. Despite not initially being skilled in coding, Braun was inspired by his work in environmental issues and modeling, leading him to develop fantasy football models and later educational books on coding and data analysis with a focus on various sports. We cover Nate’s data scraping and writing process, as well as the ins and outs of why he likes to work with Python and the various libraries he uses in his work. Topics Discussed Background and Transition:Fantasy Football and Education:Challenges and Opportunities:Sport-by-Sport Learning Curve:Data Gathering and Visualization:Python Over R:Technical Deep-Dive into Web Scraping:Future Plans:➡️ Check out more links, notes, transcript, and more at the PolicyViz website. Sponsor: Pixasquare Pixasquare offers a variety of high-quality, low-cost design goods, from mockups to websites, logos, presentations, stock photos, and more. Head over to their website to learn more and grab great images for your next project!

Happy New Year and welcome back to the PolicyViz Podcast! In this first episode of 2024, I welcome welcome Sheila Pontis and Michael Babwahsingh, authors of the new book Information Design Unbound. They delve into the heart of information design, sharing their experiences in creating a pivotal resource for both students and professionals. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the ever-evolving world of design thinking and information conveyance. Topics Discussed ➡️ Check out more links, notes, transcript, and more at the PolicyViz website. Sponsor: Whisper Transcribe Whisper Transcribeis a transcription game-changer! It turns a three-hour video into accurate, well-punctuated text in just 8 minutes, saving hours of work. Not only does it transcribe audio and video, but the underlying AI model will generate sample summaries, social media content, bullet points, and more. Check it out!

It's the final episode of 2023! I hope you have a great holiday season and a happy new year! Gulrez is a father of three beautiful kids and works as a Data Science Leader in his day job. He has almost two decades of experience under his belt and has a knack for turning boring numbers into captivating stories. When he's not busy working, you can find him passing on his skills to the next generation in the hopes of creating a world of data literate children. A strong believer in the power of data literacy, Gulrez is on a mission to improve the way people make sense of data. He's known for delivering corporate workshops that are equal parts informative and entertaining. Check out more links, notes, transcript, and more at the PolicyViz website. Sponsor: BlendJet Use my special link (https://zen.ai/policyviz12) to save 12% at blendjet.com. The discount will be applied at checkout!

William Gray is the guy behind Floor Charts, the website and Twitter feed that documents all things graphic in the US Congress. During the day, Bill oversees the strategic communications efforts at R Street and manages its growing Communications team, including overseeing the public relations, digital and events units. He joined the organization in 2020. Previously, William was communications director at Issue One, the leading cross partisan political reform group in Washington, where he helped launch and executive produce the first conservative political reform podcast, Swamp Stories. Prior to Issue One, he managed press and negotiated news partnerships as the media relations specialist for the Center for Public Integrity, one of the oldest nonprofit investigative newsrooms in the country; and was a producer at C-SPAN, delivering daily public affairs programming and coverage of Congress and the White House to viewers around the world. Check out more links, notes, transcript, and more at the PolicyViz website. Sponsor: Nom Nom Nom Nom delivers fresh food made with whole ingredients, backed by veterinary science. And science tells us that dog health starts in the bowl so improving their diet is one of the best ways to help them live a long, happy life. All you have to do is order, pour and serve. Try Nom Nom today, go to Nom Nom and get 50% off your first order plus free shipping with the code policyviz

Andrea Pacini is the author of the best-selling book Confident Presenter, a presentation coach and Head of Ideas on Stage UK. He specializes in working with business owners, leaders and their teams who want to become more confident presenters. Since 2010 Ideas on Stage has worked with thousands of clients around the world, including organizations like Microsoft, Spotify, eBay, The World Bank and over 500 TEDx speakers. Andrea is on a mission to stop great ideas from failing just because of the way they are presented. His vision is to help hundreds of thousands of business leaders inspire their audiences, increase their influence, and make a positive impact in the world. Check out more links, notes, transcript, and more at the PolicyViz website. Sponsor: Nom Nom Nom Nom delivers fresh food made with whole ingredients, backed by veterinary science. And science tells us that dog health starts in the bowl so improving their diet is one of the best ways to help them live a long, happy life. All you have to do is order, pour and serve. Try Nom Nom today, go to Nom Nom and get 50% off your first order plus free shipping with the code policyviz.

Tomas Pueyo is the author of Uncharted Territories, a newsletter where he tries to deeply understand how the world works to understand where it's going and nudge it in the right direction. He became world viral with his COVID articles, notably The Hammer and the Dance. He has 75,000 readers, and 300,000 on Twitter. Before Uncharted Territories, he has worked in tech companies in Silicon Valley for 15 years. Sponsor: Maryland Institute College of Art MICA’s Master of Professional Studies degrees offer intensive, online education designed to develop both creative and professional skills. Now accepting applications for the spring, summer, and fall semesters. Check out more links, notes, transcript, and more at the PolicyViz website.

Running your own data literacy and data consulting shop is no easy task. And helping customers not only build better visualizations and dashboards, but helping them create a better (or new) data culture is even harder. But Serena Roberts and her team at Moxy Analytics has been fighting that good fight for a few years now. Serena and I talk about what Moxy is up to, how to build better data teams, getting over imposter syndrome, and much, much more. Sponsor: Maryland Institute College of Art MICA’s Master of Professional Studies degrees offer intensive, online education designed to develop both creative and professional skills. Now accepting applications for the spring, summer, and fall semesters. Check out more links, notes, transcript, and more at the PolicyViz website.

Creating data visualizations in the physical world is not a new phenomenon. Humans have been drawing on walls, tallying money and crops, and carving on stone tablets for thousands of years. Today, though the practice of data visualization is largely done in the digital world, there is an exciting area of working in the physical space--the real world, as it were--to create, share, and communicate data and information. That brings us to the exciting new book, Making with Data, that provides a snapshot of the diverse practices contemporary creators are using to produce objects, spaces, and experiences imbued with data. In this week's episode of the podcast, I chat with the editors of the book to get their take on this exciting field. Sponsor: Nom Nom Nom Nom delivers fresh food made with whole ingredients, backed by veterinary science. And science tells us that dog health starts in the bowl so improving their diet is one of the best ways to help them live a long, happy life. All you have to do is order, pour and serve. Try Nom Nom today, go to Nom Nom and get 50% off your first order plus free shipping with the code policyviz. Check out more links, notes, transcript, and more at the PolicyViz website.

Welcome back to a whole new season of the PolicyViz Podcast! I'm excited to bring you a whole new exciting slate of guests this year covering a huge array of data visualization and data communication strategies, technologies, and techniques. Maureen Stone (Tableau Research) has been involved with Tableau since 2004, when she was asked to design the initial data colors for Tableau 1.5. She joined the company in late 2011 and became a founding member of the Research Team in 2012. As a member of Tableau Research, she continued her work on optimizing the use of color in visualization. She served as research director (2017-2021), and has recently retired (June, 2022). While best known for her expertise in digital color, she has a broad experience in information visualization, interactive graphics and user interface design. She is a member of the IEEE VGTC Visualization Academy and the author of A Field Guide to Digital Color. Sponsor: Nom Nom Nom Nom delivers fresh food made with whole ingredients, backed by veterinary science. And science tells us that dog health starts in the bowl so improving their diet is one of the best ways to help them live a long, happy life. All you have to do is order, pour and serve. Try Nom Nom today, go to Nom Nom and get 50% off your first order plus free shipping with the code policyviz. Check out more links, notes, transcript, and more at the PolicyViz website.

Nigel Holmes is a British/American graphic designer, author, and theorist, who focuses on information graphics and information design. Graduating from Royal College of Art in London in 1966, Holmes ran his own successful graphic design practice in England. From 1966 to 1977, he worked as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer for clients such as British Broadcasting Corporation, Ford Motor Company, and Island Records. His work appeared in New Scientist, Radio Times, The Observer, Daily Telegraph, and The Times. In 1977, art director Walter Bernard hired him to work in the map and chart department of Time magazine, where Holmes later became graphics director. After a sabbatical he started his own company, which has explained things to and for a wide variety of clients, including Apple, Fortune, Nike, The Smithsonian Institution, Sony, United Healthcare, US Airways, and Visa. See links, notes, transcript and more at the PolicyViz website.

Joe Sharpe has been founder and creative director at Applied Works since 2005, a design studio using data visualisation, user-centred design and storytelling to create digital tools and products that drive positive change. Joe also teaches on the BA Graphic Design degree at Kingston School of Art, running an elective pathway for second and third year students that explores how emerging technology is transforming the way we communicate, work, play and consume. Mike Orwell is a digital executive producer, filmmaker and consultant. Between 2009 & 2018, he was a producer and commissioning editor at the BBC and since then has worked with award-winning digital production studios like Unit9, Marshmallow Laser Feast and Applied Works to explore new storytelling methods. At the BBC, he pioneered various mass-audience, data-driven storytelling & branching narrative projects , including the Great British Class Calculator and the BBC Lab UK platform. His boutique film-making collective Elastic Semantic specialises in telling research-driven science & engineering stories for clients such as Arup. See links, notes, transcript and more at the PolicyViz website.

Jonathon Reilly is an innovative and results-driven executive with over 20 years of experience in product management, business development, and operations. As the Co-Founder and COO of Akkio, he has helped create an easy-to-use AI platform that empowers users to build and deploy AI solutions to data problems in minutes. Prior to founding Akkio, Jonathon served as the VP of Product & Marketing at Markforged, where he played a critical role in the company's growth and success. With a strong background in the tech industry, Jonathon held various leadership positions at Sonos, Inc., including Leader of the Music Player Product Management Team, Global Channel Development, and Senior Product Manager. He began his career at Sony Electronics, where he contributed significantly to the development of a wide range of consumer products as a product manager and electrical engineer. Jonathon holds an MBA in Entrepreneurship/Entrepreneurial Studies from Babson College - Franklin W. Olin Graduate School of Business and a BSEE in Electrical Engineering from Gonzaga University. See links, notes, transcript more at the PolicyViz website. Episode Notes Jonathon | Medium | Twitter Akkio How to Lie with Statistics by Darrell Huff and Irving Geis Data at Urban: How We Used Machine Learning to Predict Neighborhood Change autoML Related Episodes Episode #227 with Max Kuhn Episode #225 with Julia Silge Episode #227 with Claire McKay Bowen Episode #227 with Steve Franconeri and Jen Christiansen

On this week's episode of the PolicyViz podcast, I chat with Susan Schulten and Georges Hattab, authors of the new books on dataviz luminaries Emma Willard and Etienne-Jules Marey. We talk about these two creators and their impacts on the data visualization field today. Susan Schulten is Distinguished University Professor of History at the University of Denver, where she has taught since 1996. Georges Hattab is the Visualization Group Leader at the Center for Artificial Intelligence in Public Health Research at the Robert Koch Institute since 2022.

Micah is a mathematician who likes to use pictures to understand things. He runs a website, hockeyviz.com, where he stores pictures about hockey. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia with his wife and his two children. Episode Notes Micah | Twitter | Site Bubble physics Python Beautiful Soup svgwrite Matplotlib Line-width illusion Related Episodes Episode #238: Jeremy Ney Episode #237: Tristan Gullevin Episode #194: Charlie Smart iTunesSpotifyStitcherTuneInGoogle PodcastsPolicyViz NewsletterYouTube Sponsor Use my special link (

Jeremy is the author of American Inequality, a biweekly newsletter that uses data visualization to highlight U.S. inequality topics and to drive change in communities. His work has been published in TIME, Bloomberg, and the LA Times. He was a dual-degree masters student at MIT Sloan and the Harvard Kennedy School and was formerly a macro policy strategist at the Federal Reserve. He now works at Google and lives in Brooklyn. Episode Notes Jeremy on Twitter | Op-ed in Time American Inequality newsletter: americaninequality.substack.com Federal Reserve Bank of New York Food Deserts and Inequality Technology and Disability: The Relationship Between Broadband Access and Disability Insurance Awards Some coverage of the map: American InequalityPaul KrugmanDavid Wallace-WellsLA TimesRelated Episodes Episode #228: Ethan Mollick Episode #224: Pieta Blakely and Eli Holder Episode #191: Sarah Williams iTunesSpotifyStitcherTuneIn