I recently had the opportunity to work on a challenging yet highly rewarding sonification project. In this post, I share the sonification designs as well as the (often messy) process for creating them. New research moves from a static to a dynamic view of school discipline disparities. What does it feel like for middle school students to experience disciplinary actions such as being sent…

This is a story about the day oil prices went negative, on April 20, 2020. To be more specific, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures contracts for May 2020 plunged to -$40 a barrel (just typing that felt awkward). …

I’m working on a project experimenting with interactive audio storytelling. You can read more about what I mean here, but basically…imagine a podcast where the host asks you questions, and the content evolves based on your answers. But I don’t know what to call it yet. In my proposal, I went with Reciprocal Podcasting (pros: apt; cons: a bit dry/confusing). But I’ve also tossed around some other options…

Listening to audio is captivating and intimate. But podcasting, as it is now, is a passive experience — whereas deep learning and engagement rely on active experiences. Podcasting on sensor-laden smartphones is an untapped opportunity for truly transformative media. But what if audiences could participate in podcasts by reacting to…

A while back, I led a data training with several of my colleagues — very smart journalists with radio, print and TV experience but very little using data to fuel their reporting. Before we dove into practical skills, I asked them to respond to three prompts (I participated, too): Data…

Wile E. Coyote (Famishius famishius) is a chronic failure. He’s the patron saint of lost causes and impossible aspirations. Journalists have used his frustrated attempts to catch the Road-Runner (Super sonicus tastius) to describe everything from the Boston Red Sox (pre-2004, of course) to efforts to mitigate climate change to…

Level Up Your Data Storytelling Game What draws me to data storytelling? The opportunity to work in the space where analysis and intuition, qualitative and qualitative, logic and emotion, overlap. In my version, data and storytelling work in concert with each other. …

Remember 2005? In the middle of a Bush presidency, Terri Schiavo and her feeding tube captured national attention, Lance Armstrong was still winning Tour de France titles, and Arianna Huffington launched a new website. …

I recently had the challenge — and opportunity — of spending a month in the middle of nowhere. Sparseness is as confining as it is liberating. It takes weeks, but desert schedules loosen their grip without changing their course.  — In the morning, the rising New Mexican sun or the showers of neighboring guests in the Super 8 or the not-quite-urgent beeping of a wristwatch wake me. In the desert, my life is mediated by schedules.