Explore Explain
Andy Kirk
Explore Explain is a long-form podcast and video series hosted by Andy Kirk and launched early 2020. It goes deep behind the scenes of data visualisation projects.
Each episode is structured around a conversation with visualisation designers, developers, or data journalists to explore the design story behind a single visualisation or a related major project. Guests explain the thought-process behind and share insights about the myriad little decisions that underpin the finished works they produce.
Audiences will gain an appreciation of the what, the why and the how, learning about the hidden problems and challenges, the breakthroughs and the eureka moments. You'll learn about the things that were done and the things that were not done, the pressures and frustrations as well as successes and failures.
Each season comprises nine episodes and always seeks to include guests representing a diverse cast of talented practitioners from across the field and around the world, showcasing a wide variety of different types of visualisation work.
Every episode is published as both an audio interview as well as an enhanced video conversation, enriched by detailed visuals that illuminate the discussions. Visit the Youtube channel to see all the recordings, including shorter highlight episodes.
To read more about each episode, and browse through the full archive of conversations, visit the Podcast page on Andy Kirk's Visualising Data website. Explore Explain is a Bethany Andrew production.
Each episode is structured around a conversation with visualisation designers, developers, or data journalists to explore the design story behind a single visualisation or a related major project. Guests explain the thought-process behind and share insights about the myriad little decisions that underpin the finished works they produce.
Audiences will gain an appreciation of the what, the why and the how, learning about the hidden problems and challenges, the breakthroughs and the eureka moments. You'll learn about the things that were done and the things that were not done, the pressures and frustrations as well as successes and failures.
Each season comprises nine episodes and always seeks to include guests representing a diverse cast of talented practitioners from across the field and around the world, showcasing a wide variety of different types of visualisation work.
Every episode is published as both an audio interview as well as an enhanced video conversation, enriched by detailed visuals that illuminate the discussions. Visit the Youtube channel to see all the recordings, including shorter highlight episodes.
To read more about each episode, and browse through the full archive of conversations, visit the Podcast page on Andy Kirk's Visualising Data website. Explore Explain is a Bethany Andrew production.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 30, 2026 • 46min
S6E8 - Moritz Stefaner & Enrico Bertini (Part 2)
Welcome to episode 7 of season 6 of Explore Explain, a long-form video and podcast series all about data visualisation design.
This is the second of a special two-part episode featuring my esteemed guests, Moritz Stefaner, 'Truth & Beauty Operator' based in Germany, and Enrico Bertini, Associate Professor, Data Visualization Researcher and Educator at Northeastern University in the USA.
The conversations explored Moritz and Enrico's respective selections of FIVE significant visualisation-related works, produced by other people, that have most influentially shaped their thinking about data visualisation. They then each offer a further +1 selection from their own body of work that they felt had had most significance on their career story. In this second-part episode we covered Enrico's selections.
As well as listening to this show, you can watch the video of this conversation. Head over to Youtube and visit the Explore Explain channel.
Mar 20, 2026 • 43min
S6E7 - Moritz Stefaner & Enrico Bertini (Part 1)
Welcome to episode 7 of season 6 of Explore Explain, a long-form video and podcast series all about data visualisation design.
This is the first of a special two-part episode featuring my esteemed guests, Moritz Stefaner, 'Truth & Beauty Operator' based in Germany, and Enrico Bertini, Associate Professor, Data Visualization Researcher and Educator at Northeastern University in the USA.
The conversations explored Moritz and Enrico's respective selections of FIVE significant visualisation-related works, produced by other people, that have most influentially shaped their thinking about data visualisation. They then each offer a further +1 selection from their own body of work that they felt had had most significance on their career story. In this first-part episode we covered Moritz’s selections.
As well as listening to this show, you can watch the video of this conversation. Head over to Youtube and visit the Explore Explain channel.
Feb 25, 2026 • 1h 14min
S6E6 - Nicola Rennie & Ansgar Wolsing
Welcome to episode 6 of season 6 of Explore Explain, a long-form video and podcast series all about data visualisation design.
I am delighted to welcome Nicola Rennie, Data Visualisation Specialist based in the UK, and Ansgar Wolsing, Principal Data & Analytics Consultant based in Germany. In this episode we explore five pieces each of their wonderful contributions to the annual '30 Day Map Challenge' campaign, as well as two of their favourites from other participants.
As well as listening to this show, you can watch the video of this conversation. Head over to Youtube and visit the Explore Explain channel.
Feb 4, 2026 • 59min
S6E5 - Chaz Hutton
Welcome to episode 5 of season 6 of Explore Explain, a long-form video and podcast series all about data visualisation design.
I am delighted to welcome Chaz Hutton, currently based in the UK, who is a man with many creative hats and talents, but it is his role as a cartoonist that we're focusing on in this show. We explore five distinct pieces of his brilliant work that help to illustrate (pun intended) themes of his inspiring craft that we, as data visualisation practitioners, can maybe learn to bring into ours.
As well as listening to this show, you can watch the video of this conversation. Head over to Youtube and visit the Explore Explain channel.
Nov 26, 2025 • 1h 2min
S6E4 - Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic & Mike Cisneros
Welcome to episode 4 of season 6 of Explore Explain, a long-form video and podcast series all about data visualisation design.
I am delighted to welcome Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic, Founder & CEO of Storytelling With Data, and Mike Cisneros, a Data Storyteller and colleague of Cole's, both based in the US. In this episode we explore the story behind their new book, also co-authored with Alex Velez, titled 'Before & After', showcasing 20 case studies of data visualisation makeover designs.
As well as listening to this show, you can watch the video of this conversation. Head over to Youtube and visit the Explore Explain channel.
Oct 24, 2025 • 1h 3min
S6E3 - Liuhuaying Yang
Welcome to episode 3 of season 6 of Explore Explain, a long-form video and podcast series all about data visualisation design.
In this latest episode, I am delighted to welcome Liuhuaying Yang, a Data Visualisation Designer who works at the Complexity Science Hub Research Center in Vienna, Austria. We explore the story behind Liuhuaying's unique data visualisation 'Not My Name', which explores the process and components of translating Chinese names into Pinyin.
As well as listening to this show, you can watch the video of this conversation. Head over to Youtube and visit the Explore Explain channel.
Sep 11, 2025 • 1h 15min
S6E2 - Dr Anna Lombardi
Welcome to episode 2 of season 6 of Explore Explain, a long-form video and podcast series all about data visualisation design.
In this latest episode, I am delighted to welcome Dr Anna Lombardi, Climate Data Visualiser for Copernicus ECMWF, who is based in the UK. We explore the story behind Anna's extensive data visualisation and design contributions to the 'The European State of the Climate 2024', which offers a detailed overview of climate conditions in Europe and the Arctic region in 2024, based on the close collaboration of 100 scientists and experts across the world.
As well as listening to this show, you can watch the video of this conversation. Head over to Youtube and visit the Explore Explain channel.
Feb 12, 2025 • 1h 13min
S6E1 - SPECIAL GUEST PANEL - Data Viz Freelancing
Welcome to episode 1 of season 6 of Explore Explain, a long-form video and podcast series all about data visualisation design.
This episode is taken from a recorded webinar held on 27th January 2025 titled ‘Data Viz Freelancing’ and featuring a panel of guests including:
Julie Brunet - Data Designer and Creative Director for Nightingale MagazineTiziana Alocci - Data Artist, LecturerObinna Iwuji - Content and Business Development ManagerAnne-Marie Dufour - Data Visualization Designer & DeveloperVivian Andreozzi - Information Designer and Data Analyst
Steven Nijman, Data Journalist and Storytelling Specialist, was unfortunately unable to join due to illness.
With contributions from the audience we explore the pleasures and pitfalls of working professionally as a freelancer in the data visualisation field. The panellists offer valuable insight about their experiences, motivations, and advice about ways of working, with plenty of tips and tactics along the way. Non-freelancers are always quite intrigued by what freelancers do and, similarly, freelancers are always intrigued by what other freelancers do. In this conversation we try to satisfy both dimensions of interest!
As well as listening to this show, you can watch the video of this conversation. Head over to Youtube and visit the Explore Explain channel.
Jan 17, 2025 • 1h 2min
S5E9 - Alan Smith
Welcome to episode 9 of season 5 of Explore Explain, a long-form video and podcast series all about data visualisation design.
In this latest episode, I am delighted to welcome Alan Smith, Head of Visual and Data Journalism at the Financial Times in London.
We explore the story behind a unique project Alan worked on titled the 'FT Money Machine': faithfully recreating an analogue computer - built in 1949 by Bill Phillips designed to model the flow of an Economy using water and pumps - but translating it to be experienced in VR, with the FT's first application built for the Apple Vision Pro.
As well as listening to this show, you can watch the video of this conversation. Head over to Youtube and visit the Explore Explain channel.
Dec 12, 2024 • 42min
S5E8 - SPECIAL GUEST PANEL - The State of Data Viz (Part II)
Welcome to episode 8 of season 5 of Explore Explain, a long-form video and podcast series all about data visualisation design.
This episode is the second of a two-part special taken from a recorded webinar held on 4th December 2024 titled ‘The State of Data Viz’ and featuring a panel of guests including:
Evelina Parrou, Founder & Creative Director at Parabole StudioRasagy Sharma, Senior Design Manager for DataLabs at Capital One Joe Sharpe, Co-Founder of Applied WorksJuuso Koponen, Co-Founder of Koponen+Hildén Lisa Charlotte Muth, Data Vis Writer at Datawrapper...as well as invaluable co-hosting by Obinna Iwuji
With contributions from the audience, in this second-part episode - 'the research and the resources' - we explore the current state of the data viz field, where its come from, and where its heading in relation to academic developments, tools and technology, and the resources available for people to develop and participate in this field.
As well as listening to this show, you can watch the video of this conversation. Head over to Youtube and visit the Explore Explain channel.
