

Quantitude
Greg Hancock & Patrick Curran
A podcast dedicated to all things quantitative, ranging from the relevant to the highly irrelevant. Co-hosts Patrick Curran and Greg Hancock talk about serious statistical topics, but without taking themselves too seriously. Think: CarTalk hi-jacked by the two grumpy old guys from the Muppets, grousing about quantitative methods, statistics, and data analysis, all presented to you with the production value of a 6th grade school project. But in a good way.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 12, 2024 • 44min
S5E18 Probability on Spring Break
In this week’s episode, Patrick and Greg play with some of the basics of probability in the context of some classic, fun, and often counterintuitive examples. Along the way they also discuss arguments with relatives, a feel for the roulette wheel, Xeroxing your butt, “The coin has spoken.”, Quantitude BooqQlub, the Bellagio Fountains, Clooney and Pitt look-alikes, the Flippier, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Monty Hall, Ferraris and goats, the birthday problem, how to carve an elephant, and pick-6 lotteries. Stay in contact with Quantitude! Web page: quantitudepod.org TwitterX: @quantitudepod YouTube: @quantitudepod Merch: redbubble.com

10 snips
Feb 27, 2024 • 51min
S5E17 Classification and Regression Trees with Yi Feng
Exploring classification and regression tree analysis with Yi Feng, they discuss prediction, explanation, validation, and data visualization. Humorous anecdotes about drunken interactions, spam filters, and Moneyball. From hair loss to rainbows & unicorns, a fun and informative episode!

Feb 20, 2024 • 34min
S5E16 Simpson's Paradox
Greg and Patrick explore Simpson's Paradox, The Simpsons' uncanny predictions, radiation levels, and the complexities of data analysis. They discuss humor paradoxes, lurking variables, and encourage critical thinking in data analysis.

17 snips
Feb 6, 2024 • 50min
S5E15 Classical Test Theory (in bed)
The hosts discuss classical test theory and its relation to modern latent variable models. They explore the restrictions of classical methods and ways to relax and test them. They also touch on various random topics throughout the conversation, including fortune cookies, personal experiences, and controversies surrounding reliability measures in psychological research.

6 snips
Jan 30, 2024 • 35min
S5E14 Regression to the Mean
In this week's episode Patrick and Greg launch a new occasional series called Stuff You Should Know. The topic for today is regression to the mean: what the heck is it, how does it arise in every day life, and what can we do about it. Along the way they also discuss the space-time continuum, Kai Ryssdal, inflation, witches of MacBeth, the hidden curriculum, oh dang, sh*t (ummm...STUFF) you should know, SAT prep courses, the triumph of mediocrity, angstroms, blobs. reinventing history, and being patronizing. Stay in contact with Quantitude! Web page: quantitudepod.org TwitterX: @quantitudepod YouTube: @quantitudepod Merch: redbubble.com

35 snips
Jan 23, 2024 • 47min
S5E13 The Confidence Interval's Tale
Greg and Patrick from Quantitude discuss confidence intervals, including symmetric and asymmetric ones, their misinterpretation, and the significance of constructing them. They also touch on unrelated topics like tire pressure gauge mysteries, conference travel reimbursement, phases of the moon, and more.

5 snips
Jan 16, 2024 • 43min
S5E12 Meta-Analysis With Paschal Sheeran
In this week's episode Patrick and Greg have great fun talking about meta-analysis with Paschal Sheeran, a social psychologist from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He describes what meta-analysis is, what it offers, and how to apply it in your own work. Along the way they also discuss taking off into the north vs the south, flipping people off, being subtle, metaphysics, say my name, most effective tactic available, fleeing Ireland, struggling to fit in, falling off a bus, taking the piss out of your own work, opposable thumbs, descriptive descriptions, sleepwalking reviewers, the wild west, the importance of cake, living the dream, and the five stages of meta-analysis. Stay in contact with Quantitude! Web page: quantitudepod.org TwitterX: @quantitudepod YouTube: @quantitudepod Merch: redbubble.com

5 snips
Dec 12, 2023 • 44min
S5E11 Statistical Ideas That Die Hard
The hosts debate whether Die Hard is a holiday movie, discuss statistical ideas that are hard to let go, analyze 'It's a Wonderful Life' and its themes, explore methodological differences, talk about model fit evaluation, and examine the psychoanalytic analysis of 'Die Hard' and holiday sentiments.

Dec 5, 2023 • 50min
S5E10 Nonlinear Latent Growth Curve Models (Taylor's Version)
In this week's episode Greg and Patrick explore alternative parameterizations of the SEM-based latent curve model to capture various forms of nonlinearity, some that are approximations and others that are exact. Along the way they also discuss Swifties, remastering your life, bull testicles, the world's worst RA job, Yerkes-Dodson law, show a little ankle, the St. Louis Arch, bachelorette parties, deck screws, DIY-ing a model, being a little too quiet, complete nonsense, blasting your pecs, haters gonna hate, the worst day ever, Frankenspline's monster, being left off at the third floor, and looking for a new cohost. Stay in contact with Quantitude! Web page: quantitudepod.org TwitterX: @quantitudepod YouTube: @quantitudepod Merch: redbubble.com

Nov 28, 2023 • 52min
S5E09 Regularized Variable Selection Methods
In this podcast, the hosts discuss regularization methods such as ridge, LASSO, and elastic net procedures for variable selection. They also touch on topics like bowdlerizing, disturbance in the force, and letting go of truth. They explore the concept of regularization, its applications in statistics, and the tension between explanation and prediction in model selection. The advantages of regularization methods, such as enhanced replicability and handling collinearity, are highlighted.