Welcome to the Season 11 Finale of the PolicyViz Podcast! I’m ready for a summer break and am super excited to close the season talking with Shirly Wu—data visualization artist, technologist, and community thought leader. We talk about Shirley’s journey from creating vibrant, web-based data visualizations to developing physical, multi-sensory data art. Shirley shares what she learned during her recent graduate studies in art and technology, her reflections on data, emotion, and the role of art, ...
Jun 25, 2025•46 min•Season 11Ep. 285
In this week’s episode of the PolicyViz Podcast , I am reposting my 2015 interview with Edward Tufte, one of the pioneers of data visualization and author of seminal books like The Visual Display of Quantitative Information . At the time, Tufte was a well-known and hugely influential figure in the field. Over time, his influence has waned, and I find that fewer and fewer people are aware of his work and his impacts on the field of data visualization. Before closing up this season next week, I th...
Jun 18, 2025•53 min•Season 11Ep. 274
My friend Andy Kirk joins the show to reflect on the changing landscape of data visualization. We discuss the evolution of tools like Tableau and Flourish, the dispersion of social media communities, and how, how AI is reshaping workflows and data visualization. Andy shares insights from his freelance experience, the challenges of teaching data preparation, and his measured take on critique and awards in the field. This episode captures a moment of introspection in data viz—where progress is evi...
Jun 10, 2025•37 min•Season 11Ep. 283
In this episode of the PolicyViz Podcast, Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic joins me to discuss the evolution of her work in data storytelling—from corporate workshops to her newest venture into children’s literature. We explore how the pandemic transformed training formats, the collaborative nature of her team, and the creative process behind her latest book, Daphne Draws Data . Cole reflects on the importance of introducing kids to the visual language of data early in life and shares how simple storytel...
Jun 03, 2025•38 min•Season 11Ep. 282
Amanda Cox reflects on her career path from the New York Times to Bloomberg News, highlighting her efforts to make data more accessible and meaningful through journalism. We dive into the shifts in data journalism—from scarce print real estate to the rise of AI tools—and how these transitions affect newsroom priorities, audience interaction, and storytelling techniques. Amanda emphasizes the importance of reducing friction for domain experts and considers the future implications of AI in data an...
May 28, 2025•36 min•Season 11Ep. 281
In this episode, I chat with Mandy Spaltman and Sebastian Graeff, co-leads of the data team at The European Correspondent , a volunteer-driven journalism initiative covering news across Europe. They discuss how their team of passionate designers and analysts craft daily data visualizations, their creative process, the tools they use, and the challenge of maintaining a cohesive style while allowing artistic freedom. Hear how they balance storytelling and design, and what the future might hold for...
May 07, 2025•39 min•Season 11Ep. 280
In this episode of the PolicyViz Podcast, I speak with Yanni Loukissas, an Associate Professor at Georgia Tech, about the importance of context in working with data. Yanni argues that data are not universal but local—shaped by their origins, environments, and the intentions of those who collect them. Our conversation dives into how this perspective challenges dominant narratives in data science, particularly the assumption that datasets are neutral or universally applicable. We also discuss how ...
Apr 09, 2025•40 min•Season 11Ep. 279
In this week’s episode of the PolicyViz Podcast, I sit down with data visualization expert Moritz Stefaner to reflect on his journey in the field. We discuss Stefaner's work on the Data Stories Podcast, his shift from bespoke data visualization projects to scalable design systems, and his collaborations with organizations like the World Health Organization. Moritz shares insights on the evolution of data visualization trends, the importance of clear communication, and the challenges of building ...
Mar 19, 2025•42 min•Season 11Ep. 278
In this episode of the PolicyViz Podcast, I chat with communication expert Davina Stanley about the power of clear and structured messaging in business communication. Davina shares insights from her books Engage and Elevate, discussing how leaders and teams can improve their communication efficiency through message mapping. She explains how a well-structured message can reduce back-and-forth revisions, build trust, and lead to faster decision-making. Drawing from her diverse career—from teaching...
Mar 05, 2025•40 min
In this week’s episode of the PolicyViz Podcast , I speak with Braden Crooks, co-founder of Designing the We , about their project Undesign the Redline , an interactive exhibit that explores the history and lasting impact of redlining in the U.S. Braden shares how his background in landscape architecture and urban design led him to develop this project, which combines research, storytelling, and community engagement. He discusses the importance of making history tangible through physical exhibit...
Feb 19, 2025•36 min•Season 11Ep. 276
Rich Harris, creator of the Svelte framework, stops by the podcast to talk about his work. Rich shares how Svelte originated from his work in newsrooms at The Guardian and The New York Times , where he developed tools for building interactive data visualizations under tight deadlines. We talk about how Svelte simplifies web development by bridging the gap between HTML/CSS knowledge and interactive applications, making it accessible to both experienced and novice developers. Our chat touches on t...
Feb 05, 2025•35 min•Season 10Ep. 275
Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you’re having a great start to 2025 and are poised to have a happy, healthy, and successful year. I’m excited to start off the podcast this year with my friend Kevin Wee, a Tableau creator and visualizer, who shares his journey into data visualization. Kevin’s Tableau journey starts in 2019 at Purdue University where he faced challenges working with data, but grew in his ability to create interesting and engaging dashboards through creative projects and community...
Jan 22, 2025•35 min•Season 11Ep. 274
The PolicyViz Podcast wraps up 2024 with David Keyes, author of the new book, R for the Rest of Us: A Statistics-Free Introduction ! We not only talk about how you can get started in R using David’s book, but also building data and data visualization workflows with R, RMarkdown, and Quarto. We also talk about how to create consistent visualizations through themes and functions in R to help new R users leverage its features without being intimidated by complex statistics. I hope you enjoy this ep...
Dec 18, 2024•36 min•Season 11Ep. 273
I’ve been super excited for this episode of the podcast for a while! This week, I speak with John Medina, author of one of my favorite books on the brain—Brain Rules! John and I talk about brain science generally and also dive into some specific aspects that are particularly important to the work of any data communicator: the importance of capturing and maintaining audience attention during presentations, emotional engagement as a way to counteract boredom and stress, and how stories can be a po...
Dec 04, 2024•44 min•Season 11Ep. 272
Dr. Laura Sikola, a cognitive linguist and communications expert, visits the podcast to talk about how to be a better presenter and communicator. Laura’s work focuses on how to have better presence, telling stories, and connecting with your audiences. We talk about communication challenges like the “expert’s curse” and how developing your “executive presence” can command attention and build rapport. Keywords: data, data visualization, DrLauraSikola, CognitiveLinguist, CommunicationExpert, Presen...
Nov 20, 2024•35 min•Season 11Ep. 271
I’m so excited to welcome Ellen Lupton to the PolicyViz Podcast! Ellen Lupton is a designer, writer, and educator. The all-new edition of her bestselling book Thinking with Type launched in March 2024. Other books include Design Is Storytelling , Graphic Design Thinking , Health Design Thinking , and Extra Bold: A Feminist, Inclusive, Anti-Racist, Nonbinary Field Guide for Graphic Designers . She teaches in the Graphic Design MFA program at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore (MICA), ...
Nov 07, 2024•35 min•Season 11Ep. 270
In this week’s episode, I interview Natalia Kisileva about her transition from engineering to data visualization and her work in data art and physicalization. We discuss her great Substack newsletter “ Flowers and Numbers ” and how she shifted her focus to data art, fostering community-building efforts, after the pandemic. Natalia emphasizes making data accessible through tangible experiences and highlights the importance of community, particularly in initiatives like a Telegram group for women ...
Oct 23, 2024•35 min•Season 11Ep. 269
In this episode of the PolicyViz Podcast, I talk with Zach Bowders on the intricacies of data visualization, the impact of dashboards on decision-making, and the fine line between plagiarism and inspiration. We discuss the importance of context-driven visualization choices over rigid adherence to traditional formats and highlight the need for flexibility. Our conversation stresses the balance between complexity and user familiarity, the value of learning from failures, and the necessity of clien...
Oct 09, 2024•38 min•Season 11Ep. 268
On this week’s episode, I talk with Jessica Calarco about her book “Holding It Together: How Women Became America’s Safety Net” and the role of qualitative data in research and data visualization. Calarco, a sociologist from UW Madison, discusses her research on family life inequalities and the shift to a “DIY society,” where individuals, particularly women, manage risks without government support, leading to reliance on low-wage caregiving. She critiques the wealthy elite for discouraging colle...
Sep 25, 2024•39 min•Season 11Ep. 267
Welcome to Season 11 of the PolicyViz Podcast! After a relaxing summer full of travel and reading and fun, I’m ready to kick off a whole new season of the show. To kick off this season, I’m excited to be joined by Federica Fragapane, an independent designer known for her intricate and beautiful data visualizations. Our conversation delves into her creative process, the tools she uses, and where she finds inspiration. Fragapane, with a Master’s degree in visualization design and experience at Acc...
Sep 11, 2024•35 min•Season 11Ep. 266
In this final episode of the season, I welcome Nancy Organ to the show to discuss her new book Data Visualization for People of All Ages. Nancy’s book aims to make dataviz accessible to everyday readers. Our conversation highlights the importance of not altering data simply for aesthetics but to facilitate understanding. We also explore balancing creativity with informed design choices, and suggest alternatives to traditional graphs, such as infographics, timelines, flowcharts, and diagrams. Key...
Jun 25, 2024•38 min•Season 10Ep. 265
Georgia Lupi joins the show to discuss her work in data visualization, her journey from Accurat to Pentagram, and how she takes a human-centric perspective to working with and communicating data. Our conversation also focuses on her new book, “This is Me and Only Me.” The book encourages kids to observe and collect data to understand emotions and human questions, using symbols and colors to express emotions. Giorgia hopes the book will inspire kids and adults to be imaginative, observant, and mi...
Jun 19, 2024•41 min•Season 10Ep. 264
Nicole Lachenmeier and Darjan Hil’s new book, Visualizing Complexity: Modular Information Design Handbook , focuses on deconstructing data encodings into fundamental elements to create effective visualizations. They take an exciting and hands-on approach to data visualization design for their own work and how they teach design to others. In this week’s episode of the podcast, our conversation highlights Nicole and Darjan’s journey in data design and how they stress the importance of deliberate t...
Jun 12, 2024•40 min•Season 10Ep. 263
Nathan Yau’s Flowing Data website was one of the first data visualization websites I discovered in my own data journey. With his new book, Visualize This , now out, I thought it would be a great opportunity to talk with Nathan about his work, his book, and how his own approach to data has evolved over the last several years. Keywords: data visualization storytelling, flowing data, flowing data chart types, visualize this book, nathan yau, nathan yau data, visualize this the flowingdata guide to ...
May 29, 2024•38 min•Season 10Ep. 262
Welcome to a solo episode! In this special episode of the podcast, I talk about the recen Tableau Customer conference in San Diego, which drew over 9,000 participants. I reflect on various aspects of the conference, including its diverse sessions that ranged from showcasing new Tableau features and case studies to hands-on workshops and discussions on data visualization beyond Tableau. I was a presenter at TC and presented my work on the Urban Institute’s Do No Harm Project. My review of the con...
May 18, 2024•18 min•Season 10Ep. 261
You know Enrico Bertini, right? Writer, teacher, co-host of the Data Stories podcast, Enrico does it all. Now at Northeastern University, I invited Enrico to the show to talk about his research, great Substack newsletter, and for views on the evolving landscape of data visualization on social media. In our discussion, Enrico emphasized the significance of interdisciplinary collaboration at Northeastern University. He has some concerns about the current state of visualization theory and tools and...
May 14, 2024•37 min
On this week’s episode of the podcast, I speak to author and teacher Nick Desbarats about his new book, Practical Charts: The Essential Guide to Creating Clear, Compelling Charts for Reports and Presentations . Our conversation covers choosing appropriate chart types, emphasizing simplicity and clarity, and understanding when to use different formats. Nick aims to challenge dogmatic views on charts, such as the use of pie charts, and stresses the importance of catering to the audience’s familiar...
May 01, 2024•39 min•Season 10Ep. 259
In this week’s episode of the PolicyViz Podcast, I interview Rahul Bhargava from Northeastern University on the topic of data physicalization. We discuss the role of community engagement and societal impact in communicating data and including different people and communities. Our conversation touches upon teaching combined majors at Northeastern and expanding data engagement through Rahul’s participatory art methods. We explore the limitations of visual learning and advocate for including divers...
Apr 25, 2024•37 min•Season 10Ep. 258
Amanda Makulec is the current Executive Director of the Data Visualization Society (DVS), and in this week’s episode of the PolicyViz Podcast, we discuss her journey and the DVS’s evolution as it approaches its fifth anniversary. Amanda shares her experience starting as a volunteer all the way to leading the entire organization. With her second term coming to an end, she emphasizes the importance of term limits and her commitment to ensuring the organization’s sustainability by focusing on opera...
Apr 11, 2024•37 min•Season 10Ep. 257
In this week’s episode, I chat with Dietmar Offenhuber about his new book, Autographic Design and the concept of autographic data analysis . Dietmar stresses the significance of recognizing the material origins of data and the influence of extraneous variables. He advocates for a qualitative approach that pays attention to data traces, which can uncover deeper narratives. In our conversation, we explore what is meant by autographic design and urge a wider lens on data to grasp multifaceted probl...
Mar 27, 2024•38 min
