The Data Journalism Podcast

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!

A Look Ahead to 2026

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 [https://cplusj2025.com/] * "Organ Transplant System 'in Chaos' as Waiting Lists Are Ignored" [https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/02/26/us/organ-transplants-waiting-list-skipped-patients.html] * "The Legislative Network Behind State Trans Laws" [https://cj-robinson.github.io/trans-model-leg/] * Copy, Paste, Legislate project [https://publicintegrity.org/topics/politics/state-politics/copy-paste-legislate/] * "The Men Trump Deported to a Salvadoran Prison" [https://projects.propublica.org/venezuelan-immigrants-trump-deported-cecot/] * "Buildings wrapped in solid gasoline" [https://www.reuters.com/graphics/BUILDING-FIRES/byprqyryzve/] * Scott’s Nieman prediction [https://www.niemanlab.org/2025/12/show-your-work-makes-a-triumphant-return/] * Empire of AI by Karen Hao [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/743569/empire-of-ai-by-karen-hao/] * The AI Con by Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna [https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-ai-con-emily-m-benderalex-hanna?variant=43065101189154] * Predatory Data by Anita Say Chan [https://www.ucpress.edu/books/predatory-data/paper] * Disabling Intelligences by Rua M. Williams [https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-032-02665-1] * AI Engineering by Chip Huyen [https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/ai-engineering/9781098166298/] * What We Ask Google by Simon Rogers (!!) [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/798252/what-we-ask-google-by-simon-rogers/] * Open Visualization Academy [https://openvisualizationacademy.org/] * CUNY AI Journalism Builders Lab [https://www.journalism.cuny.edu/j-plus/ai-journalism-labs/] The⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠music this episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, made with⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠TwoTone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://datavized.github.io/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 [datajournalismpodcast@gmail.com], and we might feature it on the show. Subscribe to make sure you never miss an episode!

Launching the Trans News Initiative

The Trans News Initiative [https://transnewsinitiative.org/] 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 [https://transnewsinitiative.org/]. Caitlyn Ralph [https://caitlynmralph.github.io/] is the studio director and partner at Polygraph [https://polygraph.cool/], The Pudding [https://pudding.cool/]'s in-house agency. Jan Diehm [https://pudding.cool/author/jan-diehm/] is a journalist-engineer at The Pudding. Kae Petrin [https://petrinkae.github.io/] is a data and graphics reporter for Civic News Company [https://dataviz.chalkbeat.org/]. The⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠music this episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ was made with⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠TwoTone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://datavized.github.io/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 [datajournalismpodcast@gmail.com], and we might feature it on the show. Subscribe to make sure you never miss an episode!