
Ken's Nearest Neighbors
The Ken's Nearest Neighbors Podcast is about telling the unique stories of the people in the data and AI space. In highly technical fields, we often lose sight of the individuals who are making the positive change. The podcast focuses on who these people are and how they have approached the big decisions in their life that shaped their world view and career. While the podcast is centered on a technical domain, the conversations often touch on personal philosophy, the pursuit of meaning, and how we define success in our career and lives.
Latest episodes

Dec 7, 2023 • 47min
The Past and Future of Healthcare and AI? (Eric Doherty) - KNN Ep. 176
Today I had the pleasure of interviewing Eric Doherty. Eric is a global executive leader in the healthcare space. He has held senior executive roles in 5 different companies focused in the pharmaceutical and medical device spaces. In this episode, we will learn a bit more about past and future of healthcare, especially how they relate to AI. Podcast Sponsors, Affiliates, and Partners:- Pathrise - http://pathrise.com/KenJee | Career mentorship for job applicants (Free till you land a job)- Taro - http://jointaro.com/r/kenj308 (20% discount) | Career mentorship if you already have a job - 365 Data Science (57% discount) - https://365datascience.pxf.io/P0jbBY | Learn data science today- Interview Query (10% discount) - https://www.interviewquery.com/?ref=kenjee | Interview prep questionsEric's Links- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericdohertypresidentpersown/

Nov 29, 2023 • 1h 10min
Why His Data Tik-Tok is so Addicting (Elijah Butler) - KNN Ep. 175
Today I had the pleasure of interviewing Elijah Butler. Elijah is a Data Analyst at Humana who has developed an impressive following on tik tok for his short form, informative, data related content. Elijah had a great conversation about how he developed his audience, how he gets over the "overwhelm" associated with the data career, and with how content can be difficult when dealing with confirmation bias.Podcast Sponsors, Affiliates, and Partners:- Pathrise - http://pathrise.com/KenJee | Career mentorship for job applicants (Free till you land a job)- Taro - http://jointaro.com/r/kenj308 (20% discount) | Career mentorship if you already have a job - 365 Data Science (57% discount) - https://365datascience.pxf.io/P0jbBY | Learn data science today- Interview Query (10% discount) - https://www.interviewquery.com/?ref=kenjee | Interview prep questionsElijah's Links:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elijahbutler/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@imelijahbutler?_t=8hhKPqKXm5z&_r=1

Nov 22, 2023 • 1h 9min
Why Your Company May Need a Part Time Chief Data Officer (Eric Gonzalez) - KNN Ep. 174
Today I had the pleasure of interviewing Eric Gonzalez. Eric is the VP of Business Intelligence Architecture at Eastern Bank. He also works as a for hire fractional data leader. Before data leadership, Eric cut his teeth in consulting. In this episode, we learn about the benefits and drawbacks of working in consulting, what data leaders are missing with generative AI, and how being introspective about our mindset can transform our careers in the long run. Podcast Sponsors, Affiliates, and Partners:- Pathrise - http://pathrise.com/KenJee | Career mentorship for job applicants (Free till you land a job)- Taro - http://jointaro.com/r/kenj308 (20% discount) | Career mentorship if you already have a job - 365 Data Science (57% discount) - https://365datascience.pxf.io/P0jbBY | Learn data science today- Interview Query (10% discount) - https://www.interviewquery.com/?ref=kenjee | Interview prep questionsEric's Links: LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/egdataguyUpcoming newsletter - https://datinuum.beehiiv.com/subscribeListen to Ken's Nearest Neighbors on all the main podcast platforms! On Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kens-nearest-neighbors/id1538368692 (Please rate if you enjoy it!)On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7fJsuxiZl4TS1hqPUmDFblOn Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8xNDMwMDQxLnJzcw?sa=X&ved=0CAMQ4aUDahcKEwjQ2bGBhfbsAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ

Nov 15, 2023 • 21min
Life / Podcast Update! - KNN Ep. 173
It's been a while since I've done an update! Have some life changes coming up. Wanted to share and talk about how these may impact the podcast (Hopefully positively)Podcast Sponsors, Affiliates, and Partners:- Pathrise - http://pathrise.com/KenJee | Career mentorship for job applicants (Free till you land a job)- Taro - http://jointaro.com/r/kenj308 (20% discount) | Career mentorship if you already have a job - 365 Data Science (57% discount) - https://365datascience.pxf.io/P0jbBY | Learn data science today- Interview Query (10% discount) - https://www.interviewquery.com/?ref=kenjee | Interview prep questionsListen to Ken's Nearest Neighbors on all the main podcast platforms! On Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kens-nearest-neighbors/id1538368692 (Please rate if you enjoy it!)On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7fJsuxiZl4TS1hqPUmDFblOn Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8xNDMwMDQxLnJzcw?sa=X&ved=0CAMQ4aUDahcKEwjQ2bGBhfbsAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ

28 snips
Nov 1, 2023 • 1h 47min
Confronting the Biggest Problem with the Data Science Interview (Jack Blandin) - KNN Ep. 172
In this episode, Jack Blandin, a brilliant data scientist and manager, discusses his distaste for the data science interview process and how he plans to improve it. They also explore building an ideal data science team, the importance of product/business intuition, and the challenges of pursuing a PhD while working. Plus, they emphasize the need for customization in the hiring process and challenging conventional wisdom in the data science industry.

Oct 25, 2023 • 1h 35min
The Difference Between Working at Google and Founding a Startup (Mike Dezube) - KNN Ep. 171
Today I had the pleasure of interviewing Mike Dezube. This is Mike's second appearance on the podcast! In this episode we learn about Mike's experience working at google, why he left, and the differences he ran into when founding his own startup from the big company atmosphere.Podcast Sponsors, Affiliates, and Partners:- Pathrise - http://pathrise.com/KenJee | Career mentorship for job applicants (Free till you land a job)- Taro - http://jointaro.com/r/kenj308 (20% discount) | Career mentorship if you already have a job - 365 Data Science (57% discount) - https://365datascience.pxf.io/P0jbBY | Learn data science today- Interview Query (10% discount) - https://www.interviewquery.com/?ref=kenjee | Interview prep questionsMike's Links: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikedezube/Charles River Data - https://www.charlesriverdata.com/

Oct 18, 2023 • 56min
The Surprising Importance of Timing on AI Innovation (Marinela Profi) - KNN Ep. 170
Today I had the pleasure of interviewing Marinela Profi is the Head of Product Marketing Strategy for AI at SAS. Marinela moved to North Carolina from Rome to pursue her career in AI. In this episode we talk about how she got over the isolation of moving to a new country, what product marketing strategy is, and why timing is so important for innovating in AI. Podcast Sponsors, Affiliates, and Partners:- Pathrise - http://pathrise.com/KenJee | Career mentorship for job applicants (Free till you land a job)- Taro - http://jointaro.com/r/kenj308 (20% discount) | Career mentorship if you already have a job - 365 Data Science (57% discount) - https://365datascience.pxf.io/P0jbBY | Learn data science today- Interview Query (10% discount) - https://www.interviewquery.com/?ref=kenjee | Interview prep questionsMarinela's Links:Invisible Women (Book) - https://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Women-Data-World-Designed/dp/1419729071LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marinelaprofi/Linktree - https://linktr.ee/MariProfi

Oct 11, 2023 • 1h 5min
How a Book Landed Him His Dream Job (Tyler Richards) - KNN Ep. 169
Today I had the pleasure of bringing Tyler Richards back on the show. Last time I talked with him, he was a data scientist at Meta who had just written a book on Streamlit. Now he actually works at Streamlit and is releasing a second edition of his book. He joined Streamlit right before the were purchased by Snowflake and in this episode we talk about his experience going through an acquisition, landing a job at streamlit, and why more data scientists don't pursue entrepreneurial projects. Podcast Sponsors, Affiliates, and Partners:- Pathrise - http://pathrise.com/KenJee | Career mentorship for job applicants (Free till you land a job)- Taro - http://jointaro.com/r/kenj308 (20% discount) | Career mentorship if you already have a job - 365 Data Science (57% discount) - https://365datascience.pxf.io/P0jbBY | Learn data science today- Interview Query (10% discount) - https://www.interviewquery.com/?ref=kenjee | Interview prep questionsTyler's Links:Install Streamlit - https://docs.streamlit.io/library/get-started/installationTwitter - https://twitter.com/tylerjrichardsLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerjrichards/Website - https://www.tylerjrichards.com/Book - https://blog.streamlit.io/streamlit-for-data-science-book/

Sep 20, 2023 • 1h 20min
How He Became the Biggest Podcaster in Data Science (Jon Krohn) - KNN Ep. 168
Today I had the pleasure of interviewing Jon Krohn. Jon is the host of the Super Data Science podcast, a cofounder of Nebula, and force in the data science space. In this episode we learn how Jon became the biggest podcaster in data science, the difference between type 1 and type 2 fun, and about how Jon has been able to find passion and meaning in creating free educational resources. Podcast Sponsors, Affiliates, and Partners:- Pathrise - http://pathrise.com/KenJee | Career mentorship for job applicants (Free till you land a job)- Taro - http://jointaro.com/r/kenj308 (20% discount) | Career mentorship if you already have a job - 365 Data Science (57% discount) - https://365datascience.pxf.io/P0jbBY | Learn data science today- Interview Query (10% discount) - https://www.interviewquery.com/?ref=kenjee | Interview prep questionsJon's Links:YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@JonKrohnLearnsSDS Podcast YouTube - @SuperDataScienceWithJonKrohn Personal Website - https://www.jonkrohn.comPodcast - https://www.superdatascience.com/podcastNebula AI - https://nebula-ai.com

17 snips
Sep 15, 2023 • 1h 18min
Why He Quit Being an Analytics Manager ( @AlexTheAnalyst ) - KNN Ep. 167
In this episode of the podcast, Ken interviews AlexTheAnalyst, a YouTube content creator and founder of analystbuilder. They discuss Alex's choice to leave his analytics manager job, his new platform analystbuilder, and his perspective on new AI technologies. They also talk about their experiences of making more money through side projects, expanding skills beyond data analysis, the importance of income stability and job security, navigating LinkedIn, struggling with focus, and building a unique learning platform for data analysis.