Government Data: How Do They Serve Us but Also Concern Us

11/19/21 • 35 min

On this episode we examine how the U.S. government collects data to serve the public and how to ensure such a process does not hurt the people it aims to serve. We discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of this topic including privacy issues, the 2020 U.S. Census, how well-intended methods may adversely affect minority populations, and why it’s important for local communities to collect and report their own data. We also ask how transparent should the federal government be about its data collection and who should the public be most worried about when it comes to data privacy?

Our guests are Tim Persons, Chief Scientist for the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Managing Director of its Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics team and Julia Lane, New York University professor and co-founder of the Coleridge Initiative, a not-for-profit organization that is working with governments to ensure that data are more effectively used for public decision-making.

Previous Episode

Pollsters: The Discoverers and Guardians of Public Opinion

This episode focuses on the art and science of measuring public opinion. We discuss the challenges pollsters face when trying to predict how public opinion may change over time, review both the innovative and time-tested methods of polling and discover which recent polls have revealed the most surprising data.

Our guests are Kristen Soltis Anderson, pollster, speaker, commentator, author and co-founder of Echelon Insights, an opinion research and analytics firm; and Cliff Young, President of US Public Affairs at Ipsos, Adjunct Lecturer at Johns Hopkins University and a frequent writer, analyst, and commentator on elections, electoral polling, and public opinion.

Next Episode

Can Data Science Help the Wine Industry (and me, to pick up a good bottle)?

‘Tis the season to be merry and bright, and doesn’t a glass of wine go a long way to help ring in the festivities? We think so because this month's episode of the HDSR Podcast is devoted to the wine industry – from production to consumption. We discuss the impact of COVID on the global supply chain, the idiosyncrasies of local government regulations, the effects climate change is having on traditional and emerging grape growing regions, how winemakers use data analysis, and most important, what are the key data points that every potential wine connoisseur should know in order to impress their families and friends at holiday gatherings this season.

We are joined by two expert guests: Orley Ashenfelter, the Joseph Douglas Green 1895 Professor of Economics at Princeton University and President of the American Association of Wine Economists and Don St Pierre, the Executive Chairman of Vinfolio, the U.S.’s leading fine wine marketplace, investment advisor, and professional wine storage facility.