The Data Journalism Podcast

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 ⁠⁠datajournalismpodcast@gmail.com⁠⁠, and we might feature it on the show. Subscribe to make sure you never miss an episode!

MaryJo Webster, data editor at the Minnesota Star Tribune who leads a small data team, describes mobilizing for intense local crises. She talks about fast data work under pressure, scraping PACER and public records, keeping ready datasets for rapid reporting, and visualizing federal agent counts alongside local police to provide context.

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 ⁠datajournalismpodcast@gmail.com⁠, 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 datajournalismpodcast@gmail.com, and we might feature it on the show. Subscribe to make sure you never miss an episode!

Join Stephanie Adeline, Hannah Ong, and Charlene Chua from The Straits Times, who are shaping data journalism through innovative visual storytelling. They discuss how their team united journalism and design to tackle pressing issues like sea-level rise and climate change. The trio shares insights on using 3D visuals, collaboration across time zones, and the creative process behind impactful stories. They also offer valuable advice for aspiring data journalists on networking and embracing new skills.

Philip Bump, a data journalist and columnist known for his sharp analysis of political data, dives into the colorful world of political charts. He explores how figures like Trump leverage visuals to sway public opinion and the art of misleading representation, like the notorious Sharpie Hurricane map. Bump shares insights into the evolution of his career and the importance of clear chart interpretation. He also discusses the rising accessibility of data tools and the role of AI in data journalism, making powerful data insights easier than ever.

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 datajournalismpodcast@gmail.com, 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 datajournalismpodcast@gmail.com, 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