The Data Journalism Podcast

Documenting a Transit Nightmare with Greg Morton

Greg Morton [http://gregmortonweb.site/] is the data editor for The Baltimore Banner [https://www.thebanner.com/author/greg-morton/]. His story, “Transit nightmare: Thousands of Baltimore kids can’t get to school on time [https://www.thebanner.com/education/k-12-schools/baltimore-city-school-buses-HF3HHWC67ZF7BCRJ66WMB3VWDI/]” won first place at the 2025 Philip Meyer Awards. We sat down with him at NICAR to go behind the scenes on the project. Special thanks to the NICAR team for all of their support! The⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠music this episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, made with⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠TwoTone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://datavized.github.io/twotone/], represents Google searches for the term “data journalism” since 2004. 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 [datajournalismpodcast@gmail.com]⁠⁠, and we might feature it on the show. Subscribe to make sure you never miss an episode!

What We Ask Google

Our very own Simon Rogers is coming out with a book on May 5th! It’s called “What We Ask Google: A Surprisingly Hopeful History of Humankind.” Scott and Alberto got a chance to ask him all about the research and writing process, as well as what Simon hopes people take away from the book. You can preorder it now on the Penguin Random House website [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/798252/what-we-ask-google-by-simon-rogers/], or wherever you get your books. Work mentioned in the episode: * trends.google.com [http://trends.google.com] * Some of the book illustrations on Simon’s website [https://simonrogers.net/2026/01/07/new-pages-from-what-we-ask-google/] The⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠music this episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ was made with⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠TwoTone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://datavized.github.io/twotone/], an app that turns numbers into tunes. 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 [datajournalismpodcast@gmail.com]⁠⁠, and we might feature it on the show. Subscribe to make sure you never miss an episode!

DJP LIVE! with ProPublica’s data team

The Data Journalism Podcast went live at the NICAR conference [https://www.ire.org/training/conferences/nicar-2026/]! On March 7, Simon, Scott and Alberto spoke with the team behind ProPublica’s Meyer Award-winning series, “Life of the Mother [https://www.propublica.org/series/life-of-the-mother].” Reporter Andrea Suozzo [https://andreasuozzo.com/] and Deputy Data Editor Hannah Fresques [https://hannahfresques.com/] go behind-the-scenes on their investigation into preventable deaths after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Plus, a montage of mini-interviews from the halls of NICAR! You can find ProPublica’s full “Life of the Mother” series on their website, at propublica.org/series/life-of-the-mother [http://propublica.org/series/life-of-the-mother]. The Github page for the project is available at github.com/propublica/tx-pregnancy-loss-sepsis-analysis [http://github.com/propublica/tx-pregnancy-loss-sepsis-analysis]. Special thanks to the NICAR team for all of their support! The⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠music this episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, made with⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠TwoTone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://datavized.github.io/twotone/], represents Google searches for the term “data journalism” since 2004. 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 [datajournalismpodcast@gmail.com]⁠⁠, and we might feature it on the show. Subscribe to make sure you never miss an episode!

Data for Everyone: The Open Visualization Academy

The Open Visualization Academy [https://openvisualizationacademy.org/] 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 [https://hannahdormido.com/] and Frank Elavsky [https://www.frank.computer/], join us to talk about their courses. Check out the project at openvisualizationacademy.org [http://openvisualizationacademy.org]. The⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠music this episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, made with⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠TwoTone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://datavized.github.io/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 [datajournalismpodcast@gmail.com]⁠⁠, and we might feature it on the show. Subscribe to make sure you never miss an episode!

Data journalism in the face of ICE and subzero temperatures in MN

MaryJo Webster [https://www.maryjowebster.com/] is data editor at the Minnesota Star Tribune. She joins Alberto, Scott and Simon to talk about her team’s ongoing coverage of federal immigration troops deployed in Minnesota. They discuss analyzing data in a breaking news environment, and what reporters in other places can learn from the Star Tribune’s approach. Subscribe to the Minnesota Star Tribune [https://www.startribune.com/subscribe] to read more of their coverage. Work mentioned in the episode: * Homeland Security presence in Minnesota dwarfs Twin Cities’ largest police forces [https://www.startribune.com/how-ice-numbers-compare-to-twin-cities-largest-police-forces/601562617] * Wave of immigrants file lawsuits to fight ICE detention [https://www.startribune.com/wrongful-detainment-complaints-spike-during-ice-surge/601567955] * The Trump administration calls them the ‘worst of the worst.’ Here’s what we found. [https://www.startribune.com/the-trump-administration-calls-them-the-worst-of-the-worst-heres-what-we-found/601555390] * Deportation Data Project [https://deportationdata.org/index.html] * TRAC immigration records [https://tracreports.org/immigration/] * Data Mindset for Editors course [https://journalismcourses.org/product/data-mindset-for-editors/] The⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠music this episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, made with⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠TwoTone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://datavized.github.io/twotone/], represents Google searches for “Minneapolis” in recent weeks. 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 [datajournalismpodcast@gmail.com]⁠⁠, and we might feature it on the show. Subscribe to make sure you never miss an episode!