The Data Journalism Podcast

Kae Petrin, a data and graphics reporter at Chalkbeat, Votebeat, and Healthbeat, specializes in education and voting rights. Kae shares insights on beat-centric news organizations and the critical role of data in shaping education policies. They discuss the complexities of collecting reliable K-12 education data and the challenges posed by the decentralized U.S. system. Additionally, Kae highlights the importance of the Trans Journalists Association in improving media representation of trans issues, blending advocacy with impactful storytelling.

Garrett Archer is the data analyst at ABC15 in Phoenix, Arizona, where he is a data storyteller and one of the foremost experts on Arizona's election system. As America votes, Garrett will be responsible for reporting the facts in one of the most tightly-fought US elections for decades. Find out how he approaches election data, what makes it different to polling reporting and what will happen on election day in the key swing state on November 5. The⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠music this episode⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠ made with⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠TwoTone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠from Garrett and represents Arizona party registrations over time.

Sisi Wei, Chief Impact Officer at CalMatters & The Markup, discusses measuring impact in journalism, empowering communities through solutions journalism, and exploring career paths beyond journalism in an informative and engaging podcast interview.

Garance Burke is a global investigative reporter for the Associated Press, with a focus on reporting around Artificial Intelligence. She wrote the chapter of the AP style guide around reporting on AI and leads a team which works with data to tell stories every day. She joins Simon and Alberto to discuss the implications for data journalism. The⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠music this episode⁠⁠,⁠ made with⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠TwoTone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠from Garance and represents Bills brought before Congress around AI over time.

How does the Pulitzer Center create such great data journalism? Alberto and Simon are joined by Doménica Montaño, the Center's program coordinator for environmental investigations. Working with terrific data journalists like director Gustavo Faleiros and Kuek Ser Kuang Keng, the team produces groundbreaking data work. Doménica explains what it takes to make that work come to life. The⁠ ⁠⁠⁠music this episode⁠,⁠ made with⁠⁠⁠ ⁠TwoTone⁠⁠⁠⁠, is ⁠⁠⁠based on tree cover in Brazil.

Dan Kopf and Nami Sumida join Simon and Alberto to discuss how the SF Chronicle tells data stories, such as Sumida's recent exploration of the city's Japantown (sub required) and the WW2 internment that nearly destroyed it. The team discuss what makes the Bay Area such a rich source of data journalism and how the Chron approaches it each day. The⁠ ⁠⁠music this episode,⁠ made with⁠⁠ ⁠TwoTone⁠⁠⁠, is ⁠US Berkeley’s in-state acceptance rate⁠.

Anna Brand, Managing Editor for Data and Graphics at CNN Digital, discusses building a data journalism team, balancing breaking news and long-term projects, creating impactful evergreen content, collaborative work on mass shootings, and impactful career development resources.

It’s a different kind of podcast this week: Simon and Alberto talk about Alberto’s latest book, The Art of Insight, why data journalism is still a dream job and our approaches to working with numbers to tell stories. Find out what books got us here - and what we care about most, when it comes to data storytelling. The ⁠music this week⁠, made with ⁠TwoTone⁠, is based on snowfall in Central Park from 1869 from ⁠this dataset⁠, via weather.gov.

Attila Bátorfy is a data journalist operating in Viktor Orbán's Hungary, heading up ATLO and pioneering the field in the country as a teacher and practitioner. Find out why he believes Hungary is the country to watch for data storytelling. Music by ⁠TwoTone⁠, based on data about rising Hungary's falling population. You can hear the ⁠full (long) track here⁠.

The Guardian's Pamela Duncan and Ashley Kirk join Simon to talk about how data journalism has changed since he was there, how the news organisation works today and what is coming next. Music by TwoTone, based on data from this story about rising surface temperatures. You can hear the full (long) track here.