The Evolution of Audience Engagement in Film

Journalist Walt Hickey uses data to understand how culture works. He and Steve talk about why China hasn’t produced any hit movies yet and how he got his own avatar in the Madden NFL video game. 

• SOURCE:
  • Walter Hickey, author, journalist, and data expert.

• RESOURCES:
  • You Are What You Watch: How Movies and TV Affect Everything, by Walter Hickey (2023).
  • "France Gave Teenagers $350 for Culture. They’re Buying Comic Books," by Aurelien Breeden (The New York Times, 2021).
  • "How I Escaped a Chinese Internment Camp," by Fahmida Azim, Anthony Del Col, and Josh Adams (Business Insider, 2021).
  • "Why You Should Stop Binge-Watching," by Alan Jern (Psychology Today, 2021).
  • "China Wants Soft Power. But Censorship Is Stifling Its Film Industry," by Eduardo Baptista (CNN, 2019).
  • "The Economic Impact of On-Screen Tourism: The Case of The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit," by ShiNa Li, Hengyun Li, Haiyan Song, Christine Lundberg, and Shujie Shen (Tourism Management, 2017).
  • "A Lazy, Out-Of-Shape Amateur Won Two More Super Bowls Than Tony Romo," by Walter Hickey and Jody Avirgan (FiveThirtyEight, 2015).
  • "How Madden Helped a Schlub Like Me Make It Into the NFL," by Walter Hickey (FiveThirtyEight, 2015).
  • "'Kung Fu Panda' Prompts Soul-Searching in China," by Simon Rabinovitch (Reuters, 2008).
  • Numlock News, by Walter Hickey.

• EXTRAS:
  • "Nate Silver Says We’re Bad at Making Predictions," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2023).
  • "Adding Ten Healthy Years to Your Life," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2023).
  • "David Epstein Knows Something About Almost Everything," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021).
  • "Professor Carl Hart Argues All Drugs Should Be Legal — Can He Convince Steve?" by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021).
  • "Sendhil Mullainathan Thinks Messing Around Is the Best Use of Your Time," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021).
  • "Sue Bird: 'You Have to Pay the Superstars,'" by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021).