Charts as Political Theater

Not since Ross Perot’s famous TV presentations using cardboard charts have we had a national figure who uses data visualization props quite like Donald Trump. This week, Philip Bump joins Scott and Simon to talk about Trump’s use of data, and how politicians more generally approach information visuals. Plus, they discuss Philip’s background, how he measures success as a solo blogger, and the future of AI in data journalism.Philip Bump was a columnist at the Washington Post for more than a decade, where he wrote the newsletter “How To Read This Chart.” Since leaving the Post, he’s continued to cover data in all kinds of interesting ways on his blog, pbump.net. His 2023 book, The Aftermath, covered the future of power as the baby boom generation recedes.Work mentioned in the episode:9/12 rallies visualizationMonty Hall problem simulator (more info on the Monty Hall problem here)“How Trumpworld inflates the perceived danger of the left”Ross Perot using charts on C-SPANPhilip’s coverage of Trump’s Hurricane Dorian chartPhilip’s coverage of Trump’s immigration chart from May 2024 and October 2024Trump and Stephen Moore presentation on BLS dataAxios interview with Trump on Covid numbers⁠⁠⁠The⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠music this episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠ made with⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠TwoTone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, represents votership in US presidential elections since 1856. The Data Journalism Podcast is produced by Ozzy Llinas Goodman.Do you have a new data-driven story or project coming up? Tell us about it at [email protected], and we might feature it on the show. Subscribe to make sure you never miss an episode!

Data analysis is at an inflection point, with new technologies entering the field, and increasingly more practitioners working outside of journalism. This week, Alberto, Simon and Scott reflect on how they got into data journalism, and what’s changed over the years. They discuss how each of their career paths took them into newsrooms — and then out of them again — and identify key takeaways for those looking to get into data visualization today.⁠⁠⁠The⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠music this episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠ made with⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠TwoTone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, represents Google searches for the word "webmaster" over time. The Data Journalism Podcast is produced by Ozzy Llinas Goodman.Do you have a new data-driven story or project coming up? Tell us about it at [email protected], and we might feature it on the show. Subscribe to make sure you never miss an episode!

Outlier is a one-of-a-kind conference, held annually by the Data Visualization Society. This year it was hosted at the University of Miami, where our very own Alberto gave the closing keynote. In this special episode, Scott and Simon chat with Alberto about the conference, his keynote, and the state of the data visualization industry today.Check out Alberto's presentation here to learn more about his keynote. The⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠music this episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠ made with⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠TwoTone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, represents Google searches for the word “outlier” over time. The Data Journalism Podcast is produced by Ozzy Llinas Goodman.Do you have a new data-driven story or project coming up? Tell us about it at [email protected], and we might feature it on the show. Subscribe to make sure you never miss an episode!

“40 Acres and a Lie” tells the true story behind the Civil War–era “40 acres and a mule” program. It was the result of over two years of painstaking research by Alexia Fernández Campbell, April Simpson and Pratheek Rebala. The project won a Sigma Award and a Philip Meyer Data Journalism Award, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in explanatory reporting.Alexia, April and Pratheek join Alberto, Scott and Simon to share their research process in detail. They explain how they used historical data to identify breaking news, and how genealogical tools helped them find living descendants of those impacted by the program.The⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠music this episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠ made with⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠TwoTone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, represents historical US Census data on ethnicity over time. The Data Journalism Podcast is produced by Ozzy Llinas Goodman. Subscribe to make sure you never miss an episode!

Cheryl Phillips is Hearst Professional in Residence at Stanford University’s journalism program, and founder of Big Local News, which empowers journalists with data – and has twice been on Pulitzer prize winning news teams. Now she has devoted herself to empowering journalists with access to the data they need to tell great stories.She joins Alberto, Scott and Simon to discuss the state of public data in the US in 2025, and what her team is doing about it.⁠⁠⁠The⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠music this episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠ made with⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠TwoTone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, represents the Dow Jones Industrial Index in the week before we recorded this podcast. See if you can guess what happens to it at the end. The Data Journalism Podcast is edited by Ozzy Llinas Goodman. Subscribe to make sure you never miss an episode.Key links from this episode:New York Times: “How Tariffs Work” Reuters: “Tariffs don’t all act the same”Washington Post: “Trump’s reversal actually increased tariff rates”. This one also used data from the Budget Lab at Yale UniversityData Rescue ProjectData Liberation ProjectData.gov Archive

Chiqui Esteban is Design & Art Director at the Washington Post Opinion section. In the first episode with new co-host Scott Klein, he talks to us about the lessons he's learned during his amazing career, from his early days as a student at a famous visual journalism program in Spain all the way to running the Washington Post’s graphics desk, one of the best in the world —and beyond. Chiqui talks about how data journalism and graphics help news stay relevant — and popular—with audiences.  ⁠⁠The⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠music this episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠ made with⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠TwoTone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, represents attendence at Chiqui's beloved Cadiz CF football club games. See if you can spot something a little extra in it too.

It was a year in which a Presidential candidate said a chart saved his life, generative AI changed journalism and we worried about whether the field is getting less innovative. Scott Klein is an entrepreneur in residence at Newspack, helping publishers on WordPress and other platforms do great election coverage by building and adopting innovative tools and by working together. He was previously at ProPublica and at THE CITY. He’s also on the board of Muckrock. He’s based in Brooklyn. ⁠The⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠music this episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠ made with⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠TwoTone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, represents snowfall in NYC's Central Park.

David Spiegelhalter is Emeritus Professor of Statistics in the Statistical Laboratory, University of Cambridge and author of new book The Art of Uncertainty We live in chaotic times and David makes that world a little clearer with humour and clarity in this special interview with Alberto and Simon. The⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠music this episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠ made with⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠TwoTone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, comes from David, and represents the death rates of the patients of murderer Dr Harold Shipman.

Kae Petrin is a data and graphics reporting at Chalkbeat, Votebeat, and Healthbeat, where they produce stories on education and voting rights. Kae is also a co-founder and part of the leadership of the Trans Journalists Association. In the episode we discuss Kae's work, their view of beat-centric news organizations, and the challenges of K-12 education data. The⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠music this episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠ made with⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠TwoTone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, comes from Kae, and represents truancy rates by different demographic groups.

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.