Statistics
Stats show "an unprecedented depth of poverty" : Economist
A leading economist says latest statistics paint a picture of entrenched poverty, affecting hundreds of thousands of children. Audio
Out for the count: What was the response to this year's census?
Yesterday was the official Census day - but how many of us will actually have been counted? Just two million census forms had been received by Stats NZ by 9.30 last night. The 2018 Census had the… Audio
Census 2023: Getting the count right
There are high hopes that improvements made to this year's Census will result in a better turnout than 2018. Audio
How political polls work and why they can't tell you who will win
Opinion - Election year has begun with a bang, and already the punditry and speculation are ramping up, but Grant Duncan warns not to treat polls as gospel.
Statistics, Damn Statistics and their Misuse.
Dillon Mayhew, Associate Professor from the School of Mathematics and Statistics at Te Heranga Waka/Victoria University of Wellington joins us once again. He tackles one of his favourite topics: the… Audio
New Zealanders' sense of wellbeing in a pandemic
A new report on wellbeing has found New Zealanders remain satisfied with their lives, despite the major impact Covid-19 has had on the country. Stats NZ says New Zealanders were tested by… Audio
Finite Simple Groups
Nights' mathematician and Associate Professor at the School of Mathematics and Statistics, Dillon Mayhew chats about the classification of finite simple groups. Audio
Tim Harford: How to Make the World Add Up
COVID-19 has put the power and accuracy of statistics at centre stage. Infection rates, 'R' numbers, new cases, hospital admissions and the data underpinning new vaccines are being used by the media… Audio
‘Deep Knowledge’ but a shallow story
When a prestigious publisher said New Zealand was the second-safest country in the whole Covid-stricken globe, it was no surprise that made headlines here - and it was touted as evidence that we’re on… Audio
Unemployment falls unexpectedly, but underutlisation rises
New Zealand's unemployment rate has improved in the three months to June, falling slightly to 4 percent.
However, the underutilisation rate, which includes the unemployed and those who are employed… Audio
Telling the story of Covid-19 with Data
Jeff Weir is a data analyst and data enthusiast and he'd like to see more open data from the Ministry of Health to take advantage of the many data enthusiasts who could wrangle it to get the clearest… Audio
The power of P - a podcast about probability
What if there was a magic number that proved you right? There's no such thing, but we do have the p-value which is the probability that your scientific hypothesis is right. Audio
Cheap alcohol fuelling NZ's worsening drinking culture
Data released from New Zealand's largest annual health survey shows that our drinking culture is continuing to move in the wrong direction. Alcohol Healthwatch Executive Director Dr Nicki Jackson says… Audio
Mutually exclusive truths: the statistics of Question Time
Statistics are MPs favourite weapons. Question time is heavy with mutually exclusive numbers - which are usually all true. Audio
Hadley Wickham - open source data wrangler
Data scientist Hadley Wickham is developing open source ways to help people collect and analyse the information that surrounds us every day. He's yet to meet a data set he doesn't like and loves… Audio
How statistics can help us separate fact from fiction
David Spiegelhalter has built a career sorting the lies from the statistics. In his new book The Art of Statistics the Cambridge Professor shares his passion for data, scientific evidence and risk… Audio
Mediawatch for 30 June 2019
Advocacy ads needs checks before cheques; broadcasting policy goes backwards; The Spinoff recruits its readers; transport stats taken for a ride. Audio
Census 2018 - what went wrong?
Why is data from last year's census still delayed, a year after the natiowide official survey? Statistics New Zealand says it has had to delay the release of any information as it reckons with a lower… Audio
Stats NZ document grouped queer and takatāpui people with paedophiles
Statistics NZ has apologised to LGBTQI communities after its new guidance for sexual identity data collection lumped queer, takatāpui and pansexual people in the same group as paedophiles.
Visual Trumpery - the good and bad of data journalism
Good data journalism makes lots of important information easily understandable and it clarifies complicated issues for us. But visiting expert Alberto Cairo warns we must also beware of visualisations… Video, Audio