This week on our politics podcast, we kick off 2017 with a look at something FiveThirtyEight cares about, and uses a lot: government data. Clare Malone recently wrote about what to expect from Donald Trump’s administration when it comes to government data, and talked to watchdogs who warned that such data might be at risk.
In this special episode, Clare and Jody Avirgan talk to a few of their FiveThirtyEight colleagues in different fields about government data and transparency — and what data we will use as journalists to judge the Trump administration’s performance. In the show:
- Nate Silver and Harry Enten discuss political data and the state of empiricism under Trump.
- Ben Casselman talks about the census, job reports, and other economic data.
- Maggie Koerth-Baker explains why some climate scientists are rushing to back up environmental data.
- Carl Bialik discusses recent improvements in criminal justice data and whether those will continue under Trump.
You can listen to the episode by clicking the “play” button above or by downloading it in iTunes, the ESPN App or your favorite podcast platform. If you are new to podcasts, learn how to listen.
The FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast publishes on Monday evenings, with occasional special episodes throughout the week. Help new listeners discover the show by leaving us a rating and review on iTunes. Have a comment, question or suggestion for “good polling vs. bad polling”? Get in touch by email, on Twitter or in the comments.