Data Stories Are Human Stories with Doug Smith

Claire Boccon-Gibod is senior data visualization designer at the International Crisis Group (ICG). ICG’s latest explainer, “The Fight for Sittwe,” maps the current conflict in Myanmar. Claire joins Scott and Alberto to go behind-the-scenes on this timely and detailed piece.The⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠music this episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, made with⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠TwoTone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, represents Google searches for “Sittwe” over the past five years. 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!

Doug Smith is a reporter at the Los Angeles Times who’s been with the paper for over 50 years. He was also the database editor there from 2004 to 2015. We sat down with him at NICAR to talk about what’s changed in journalism over his time in the industry, and what he’s working on today.Special thanks to the NICAR team for all of their support! The⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠music this episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, made with⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠TwoTone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, represents Google searches for the term “data journalism” since 2004. 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!

Ben Welsh is the news applications editor at Reuters. He joins the hosts to discuss his and Scott’s recent article, “Journalism lost its culture of sharing: Here’s how we rebuild it.” They share the ways they’ve seen open source culture change over time, and advice for increased collaboration across newsrooms.Special thanks to the NICAR team for all of their support! The⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠music this episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, made with⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠TwoTone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, represents Google searches for the term “data journalism” since 2004. 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!

Greg Morton is the data editor for The Baltimore Banner. His story, “Transit nightmare: Thousands of Baltimore kids can’t get to school on time” won first place at the 2025 Philip Meyer Awards. We sat down with him at NICAR to go behind the scenes on the project.Special thanks to the NICAR team for all of their support! The⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠music this episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, made with⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠TwoTone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, represents Google searches for the term “data journalism” since 2004. 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!

Our very own Simon Rogers is coming out with a book on May 5th! It’s called “What We Ask Google: A Surprisingly Hopeful History of Humankind.” Scott and Alberto got a chance to ask him all about the research and writing process, as well as what Simon hopes people take away from the book. You can preorder it now on the Penguin Random House website, or wherever you get your books.Work mentioned in the episode:trends.google.comSome of the book illustrations on Simon’s websiteThe⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠music this episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ was made with⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠TwoTone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, an app that turns numbers into tunes. 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!

The Data Journalism Podcast went live at the NICAR conference! On March 7, Simon, Scott and Alberto spoke with the team behind ProPublica’s Meyer Award-winning series, “Life of the Mother.” Reporter Andrea Suozzo and Deputy Data Editor Hannah Fresques go behind-the-scenes on their investigation into preventable deaths after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Plus, a montage of mini-interviews from the halls of NICAR!You can find ProPublica’s full “Life of the Mother” series on their website, at propublica.org/series/life-of-the-mother. The Github page for the project is available at github.com/propublica/tx-pregnancy-loss-sepsis-analysis.Special thanks to the NICAR team for all of their support! The⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠music this episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, made with⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠TwoTone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, represents Google searches for the term “data journalism” since 2004. 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!

The Open Visualization Academy is a new open-access education project, spearheaded by our very own Alberto Cairo! It launched last month, and two of the other instructors, Hannah Dormido and Frank Elavsky, join us to talk about their courses. Check out the project at openvisualizationacademy.org.The⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠music this episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, made with⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠TwoTone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, represents Google searches for “data visualization.” 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!

MaryJo Webster is data editor at the Minnesota Star Tribune. She joins Alberto, Scott and Simon to talk about her team’s ongoing coverage of federal immigration troops deployed in Minnesota. They discuss analyzing data in a breaking news environment, and what reporters in other places can learn from the Star Tribune’s approach.Subscribe to the Minnesota Star Tribune to read more of their coverage.Work mentioned in the episode:Homeland Security presence in Minnesota dwarfs Twin Cities’ largest police forcesWave of immigrants file lawsuits to fight ICE detentionThe Trump administration calls them the ‘worst of the worst.’ Here’s what we found.Deportation Data ProjectTRAC immigration recordsData Mindset for Editors courseThe⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠music this episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, made with⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠TwoTone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, represents Google searches for “Minneapolis” in recent weeks. 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!

As a new year begins, Alberto, Scott and Simon reflect on the broader state of the industry. They discuss dataviz favorites from 2025, what they're working on in 2026, and thoughts on the upcoming year in data journalism.Work mentioned in the episode:Computation + Journalism conference"Organ Transplant System 'in Chaos' as Waiting Lists Are Ignored""The Legislative Network Behind State Trans Laws"Copy, Paste, Legislate project"The Men Trump Deported to a Salvadoran Prison""Buildings wrapped in solid gasoline"Scott’s Nieman predictionEmpire of AI by Karen HaoThe AI Con by Emily M. Bender and Alex HannaPredatory Data by Anita Say ChanDisabling Intelligences by Rua M. WilliamsAI Engineering by Chip HuyenWhat We Ask Google by Simon Rogers (!!)Open Visualization AcademyCUNY AI Journalism Builders LabThe⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠music this episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, made with⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠TwoTone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, represents Google searches for "data storytelling" overtaking those for "data journalism." 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!

The Trans News Initiative is a new project that tracks and analyzes news coverage of trans communities in the U.S. Our very own Alberto Cairo helped create it, and this week we're joined by three other guests who made it happen: Kae Petrin, Caitlyn Ralph, and Jan Diehm.Check it out at ⁠TransNewsInitiative.org⁠.Caitlyn Ralph is the studio director and partner at Polygraph, The Pudding's in-house agency. Jan Diehm is a journalist-engineer at The Pudding. Kae Petrin is a data and graphics reporter for Civic News Company.The⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠music this episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ was made with⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠TwoTone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, based on data from the Trans News Initiative. 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!