Data Brunch Podcast

Data Brunch

An ICPSR Podcast

Stories about data, the people who use, seek, or create data, and why you should care. From ICPSR, the world's largest social science data archive. Proudly recorded at the University of Michigan.

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Show Notes

Episode 17: Democracy's Data

Dr. Dan Bouk is on to talk about his new book, "Democracy's Data: The Hidden Stories in the U.S. Census and How to Read Them." He tells us about why the U.S. House of Representatives is stuck at 435, the ways that the census was weaponized during World War II, and how queerness found a way to be visible to the statistical system. A transcript for this episode is available: Transcript for Episode 17: Democracy's Data

Links from this episode:

• Dan Bouk's website: Shrouded in a cloak of boringness
• Democracy's Data on Bookshop
• Democracy as Musical Chairs
• What Langston Hughes Understood About How Power Relations Shaped US Census Data
• Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey, United States, 2020 from ICPSR’s Health and Medical Care Archive
• COVID-19 High Frequency Phone Survey of Households, Indonesia, 2020-2021
• COVID-19 High Frequency Phone Survey of Households, Kenya, 2020-2021 

Bonus Episode: The ICPSR 2021 Research Paper Winners and Measuring Daily Stressors

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In this special bonus episode of Data Brunch, guest-hosted by ICPSR summer interns Evie Katmanivong and Varshini Kashyap, we hear from three Singapore Management University students (Ng Hok Shan Matthew, Verity Lua, and Nadyanna Majeed) whose undergraduate entry won the ICPSR 2021 Research Paper Competition.  Interviewed by ICPSR’s Kathryn Lavender, Data Project Manager at the National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging or (NACDA), the trio earned First Place in the Undergraduate Competition with a paper titled “Is trait self-esteem a resilience factor against daily stressors? A multilevel analysis.” Their paper uses data from Midlife in the United States (MIDUS 2), and the Daily Stress Project. A transcript for this episode is available: Bonus Episode: The ICPSR 2021 Research Paper Winners and Measuring Daily Stressors Transcript.

Links from this episode:

• Bonus Podcasts & Interviews YouTube Playlist 
• Winning Paper: Is trait self-esteem a resilience factor against daily stressors? A multilevel analysis
• MIDUS 2, ICPSR study 4652
• MIDUS 2 Daily Stress Project, ICPSR study 26841
• Health and Retirement Study (HRS)
• ICPSR Research Paper Competition Winners page
• Singapore Management University
• DawnLab
• NACDA-OAR

Episode 15: Pandemic & Policy

Join us for a talk with 3 of the researchers behind the COVID Border Accountability Project (COBAP), which tracked international border closures and policies related to COVID-19. How countries reacted, how they didn't, and how a small dog helped fund this massive dataset. A transcript is available for this episode: Pandemic and Policy transcript

Learn more at covidborderaccountability.org

Links from this episode:

• Did border closures slow SARS-CoV-2? (Nature)
• COBAP's Dataset Descriptor in Scientific Data
• University of Michigan resource: Support for Ukraine
• Current Events in the ICPSR Bibliography of Data-related Literature
• Upcoming events, job openings, and other important dates

Episode 14: Metadata and Mimosas

It's Love Data Week 2022! We talk to one of our favorite people and the "mother" of our beloved mascot DataJeff, Stephanie Labou, about what Love Data Week is all about, the importance of making analysis accessible, and the joys of Eggs Benedict. A transcript of this episode is available.

Links from this episode:

• Love Data Week 2022: International Events (Feb. 14-18)
• ICPSR Director Maggie Levenstein
• The original Data Jeff thread from Love Data Week 2019
• Data Jeff's "Mom" @stephlabou 
• DataJeff joins ICPSR staff at IASSIST 2019 in Australia
• Data Jeff celebrates ICPSR winning a national medal from IMLS

Episode 13: Data Brunch Live! A Joint Podcast with CESSDA

Earlier this week we hosted a joint webinar/podcast recording with the Consortium of European Social Science Data Archives (CESSDA) and its director, Ron Dekker. Ron talks with Maggie Levenstein, ICPSR's director, about what it's like leading two of the world's largest data consortia through the years, and what might change for social science data in 2022 and beyond. This episode was recorded live and a video is available on YouTube (with accompanying closed captions): Live podcast: Leading Data Communities - A CESSDA/ICPSR Discussion

Links from this episode:

• CESSDA (Consortium of European Social Science Data Archives)
• Open Data Flint
• Recipe: Russian herring under fur coat salad

Episode 12: Sampled Beginnings

In this episode, we dug into the not insignificant vaults at ICPSR to show off part of a series of interviews conducted by StoryCorps, a non-profit dedicated to gathering and archiving interviews of everyday people. Abay Israel and Kilsang Kim talk about their earliest memories of ICPSR and what keeps bringing people back even decades later. A transcript for this episode is available.

Additional resources mentioned in this episode:

• The ICPSR Collection in StoryCorps 
• 2016 Latino Immigrant National Election Study also known as (LINES). This is a panel study of Latino foreign-born residents of the United States. It includes variables like, “​​Do you think that what happens generally to Hispanic people in this country will affect you a lot, a little, not very much, or not at all?” This is an incredible study and really important for research into immigration, politics, voting, all kinds of things.
• ICPSR has some great new Research Spotlights in the ICPSR Bibliography of Data-Related Literature, including three new spotlights including Mental Health, Criminal Justice and Physical Health, all three of those focus on the LGBTQ population.
• ICPSR is hiring! Check out our latest job openings.

Episode 11: Wealth Inequality

In this episode, we chat with Fabian Pfeffer, associate professor at the University of Michigan, co-investigator of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, and founding director of the Center for Inequality Dynamics. Fabian talks about the important distinction between income inequality and wealth inequality, the overall state of wealth in the United States today, and the swings between cornflakes and homemade crepes for breakfast. A transcript of this episode is available.

Additional resources mentioned in this episode:

• Fabian Pfeffer (@FabianPfeffer)
• Center for Inequality Dynamics (@umichCID)
• William "Sandy" Darity on “The Case for Reparations”
• Panel Study of Income Dynamics (@umpsid)
• Elizabeth Wrigley Field
  • “US racial inequality may be as deadly as COVID-19”

Episode 10: Data Brunch Live! Extremism in Social Media

In this special live episode, we talk to Dr. Libby Hemphill about extremism in social media. A transcript for this episode is available.

Additional resources mentioned in this episode:

• More about Dr. Libby Hemphill
• The Role of Social Networks in the Evolution of Al Qaeda-inspired Violent Extremism in the United States, 1990-2014

Episode 9: Media Bias and Reliability

Welcome to season two! In this episode, we talk to Vanessa Otero, founder and CEO of Ad Fontes Media and the creator of the Media Bias Chart. Vanessa tells us how the chart came to be, how it's evolved, and how the team of analysts behind the chart measure accuracy, bias, and reliability across the dozens of news media outlets they measure. A transcript of this episode is available.

More on the Media Bias Chart on Ad Fontes Media's website: adfontesmedia.com/

Additional resources mentioned in this episode:

• News literacy curriculum from Ad Fontes Media
• Register for the ICPSR Biennial Meeting
• Register for ICPSR Announce to receive ICPSR newsletters
• Book recommendation: Think Again by Adam Grant
• TransPop study
• Baby's First Years (BFY), New York City, New Orleans, Omaha, and Twin Cities, 2018-2019 (ICPSR 37871)

Bonus Episode: Research on Twins

In our second bonus episode, we are featuring an episode from another podcast at ICPSR, hosted by the National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging (NACDA). Dr. Margaret Gatz joins NACDA's Kathryn Lavender to discuss Dr. Gatz's work on the Study of Dementia in Swedish Twins and the National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council Twin Registry (NAS-NRC).

Links to all referenced data and resources are available on the original recording from NACDA at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRAaSSQUb2I.

You can listen to all of NACDA's episodes on YouTube or find them on the ICPSR website: https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/pages/NACDA/researcher-interviews.html

Bonus Episode: STEM Education

In this episode, we're featuring an interview with Dr. Joanne Goodell about her newest book, "Preparing STEM Teachers: The UTeach Replication Model.” This interview is part of one of our fellow ICPSR podcasts from the archive Partnership for Expanding Education Research in STEM (PEERS). All of the PEERS episodes are available on YouTube and from the ICPSR website. A transcript of this episode is available.

Links from this episode:

• Original PEERS book talk recording
• Preparing STEM Teachers: The UTeach Replication Model

Episode 7: Liberal Arts Education

College and Beyond II measures the impact and importance of a liberal arts education: how it's defined, how it's used, and how, like everything else, it has been changed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Three members of the team, Jennifer Brady, Susan Jekielek, and Kevin Stange, join us to talk about the project, and more. A transcript of this episode is available.

Links from this episode:

• Global Entrepreneurship Monitor [GEM]: Adult Population Survey Data Set, 1998-2017 (ICPSR 20320)

• Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey (L.A.FANS) Wave 3 Public Data| Mixed Income Project (MIP) (ICPSR 37845)

• Endangered Species Day: Trends in Illegal Wildlife Trade, “Cloning help preserve endangered species” variables and United States Congressional Roll Call Voting Records

• About College and Beyond II, including links to recordings of previous events and: https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/pages/about/cbII/index.html 

• CBII Project page: https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/pages/about/mellon-project.html

• Colloquium series website: https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/liberalarts/

• Reading suggestion: How Can We Understand "Liberal Arts Education"? by Harry Brighouse

• Current Events in the Bibliography

• Current open jobs at ICPSR

• Upcoming events at ICPSR

Episode 6: Cruise Ships and Empowerment

ISR's Ryan McWay joins us to talk about how cruise ships can affect women in developing countries, including raising employment rates and education. Anna also highlights some of the data ICPSR holds about policing, use of force, and body cameras. A transcript is available for this episode.

This research is now published in an article in The American Economist: Cruising Through School: General Equilibrium Effects of Cruise Ship Arrivals on Employment and Education

Links from this episode:

• National Crime Victimization Survey: Identity Theft Supplement, [United States], 2018
• 852 variables referencing "police" from our Civic Learning, Engagement and Action data sharing archive 
• Studies related to police use of force from the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data
• Los Angeles County Social Survey, 1992 (LACSS) (ICPSR 36599) 
• Study of Sworn Nonfederal Law Enforcement Officers Arrested in the United States, 2005-2011 (ICPSR 35648)
• Role of Police Psychology in Controlling Excessive Force in 50 Large Cities in the United States, 1992 (ICPSR 6402)
• Police Use of Force [United States]: Official Reports, Citizen Complaints, and Legal Consequences, 1991-1992 (ICPSR 6274)

Ryan McWay Interview

• Cruise ship geolocation info
• About Ryan McWay

Other links mentioned

Current Events in the Bibliography

Current open jobs at ICPSR

Upcoming events at ICPSR

Episode 5: Baby Brains & Sleep

Tamara Qawasmeh joins us to talk about a new paper that examines the link between stressful pregnancies and brain development in utero, especially related to sleeping habits in children. A transcript of this episode is available.

Links from this episode:

• Paper: "Maternal stress during pregnancy alters fetal cortico-cerebellar connectivity in utero and increases child sleep problems after birth"
• Data on unicorns
• Current Events in the Bibliography: “Misogynistic tweets correlate with violence against women” 
• ICPSR Summer Program session, “Racial Identities and Politics” with Ashley Jardina
• Project Positive Attitudes Towards Health, Michigan, 2017
• Chitwan Valley Family Study: Changing Social Contexts and Family Formation, Nepal, 1995-2017
• Current open jobs at ICPSR
• Upcoming events at ICPSR

Episode 4: Measuring Transgender Populations

Skylar Hawthorne and David Thomas join us to discuss three specific surveys of the transgender population in the United States, how best to measure "unseen" populations, and the ideal thickness of French toast. A transcript of this episode is available.

Links from this episode:

Current events in the Bib:

• National Archive of Criminal Justice Data
• Predicting Crime through Incarceration: The Impact of Prison Cycling on Crime in Communities in Boston, Massachusetts, Newark, New Jersey, Trenton, New Jersey, and Rural New Jersey, 2000-2010

New and Updated Data: 

• 37884 Survey of Consumer Attitudes and Behavior, June 2016
• 37912 Survey of Consumer Attitudes and Behavior, May 2017

Transgender data and resources:

• National Transgender Discrimination Survey, [United States], 2008-2009 (ICPSR 37888)
• 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey (USTS) (ICPSR 37229)
• Williams Institute at UCLA 
• Dr. Powers Family Medicine
• ICPSR Resource Center for Minority Data
• Resources for Research on Gender Identity, Sexual Behavior, and Sexual Orientation

Presentation by Dr. Raj Chetty: Improving Equality of Opportunity in America: New Insights from Big Data

Upcoming events and current job listings at ICPSR

Episode 3: Census and Migration

Trent Alexander, Associate Director of ICPSR, talks about a project linking every United States Census from 1850 all the way through present day and beyond to learn about how Americans moved, or how they stayed put. A transcript of this episode is available.

Links from this episode:

• ICPSR Bibliography of Data-Related Literature
• General Social Survey, 1972-2014 [Cumulative File] (ICPSR 36319)
• Mortality Detail Files, 1968-1991 (ICPSR 7632)
• Bureau of Health Professions Area Resource File, 1940-1990: [United States] (ICPSR 9075)
• Nursing Home Consumer Preferences, United States, 2017 and 2019 (ICPSR 37969)
• Improving the Accuracy and Fairness of Pretrial Release Decisions: A Multi-Site Study of Risk Assessments Implemented in Four Counties, Indiana, 2015-2018 (ICPSR 37829)
• Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study [United States] Restricted-Use Files (ICPSR 36231)
• Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study [United States] Special Collection Restricted-Use Files (ICPSR 37519)
• Women's Movements & Women's Policy Offices in Western Postindustrial Democracies, 1970-2001 (ICPSR 30681) 
• Overview of ICPSR Summer Program’s Short Workshops for 2021
• Video: Telling Generational Stories from the U.S. Census (from the 2019 ICPSR Biennial Meeting)
• Upcoming events and current job openings

ICPSR's Trent Alexander shows attendees of the 2019 ICPSR Biennial Meeting a photo of a Census cave as he presents on "Telling Generational Stories from the U.S. Census."

Episode 3 correction: ICPSR's Maggie Levenstein is actually approaching her fifth anniversary as director. Apologies for the error.

Episode 2: Rhythm and Movement 

Ambyr Amen-Ra joins Data Brunch to talk about data that covers decades' worth of international travel and performances by legendary dancer, choreographer, and activist Katherine Dunham. Ambyr shares stories of the data's journey to ICPSR, as well as her own personal connection to Dunham and the communities she built. A transcript of this episode is available.

Links from this episode;

• Attacks on Asians during COVID-19 - the latest result of the practice of “othering” in the United States (ICPSR Bibliography of Data-related Literature)

• Survey of Consumer Attitudes and Behavior for November and December 2016 

• Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED) April 2020: Supplemental Survey, United States  (ICPSR 37921)

• Dunham’s Data: Katherine Dunham and Digital Methods for Dance Historical Inquiry (organizational information and visualizations) 

• Dunham's Data: Katherine Dunham and Digital Methods for Dance Historical Inquiry, Everyday Itinerary, 1950-1953 (ICPSR 37698)

• Dunham’s Data webinar recording: Digital Methods for Dance History: Finding Arts and Culture Data in Unexpected Places

• Open positions at ICPSR

• Summer Program Workshop: Joining the Data Revolution: Big Data in Education and Social Science Research (applications due March 22)

• Rewind: Love Data Week 2021

• Summer Program scholarships

• See all of ICPSR's upcoming events

Episode 1: Where Dory is Anna 

In this episode, Dory and Anna talk about some new data and publications; we interview ICPSR's Shane Redman about what French and German data, a beach mural, and falafel have in common; and laughter erupts when Dory introduces herself as Anna.  A transcript of this episode is available.

Links from this episode;

• Estimating the Financial Costs of Victimization, United States, 2017-2018 (ICPSR 37260)

• Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED) 2020: Supplemental Survey, United States (ICPSR 37921)

• Research on Offender Decision-Making and Desistance From Crime: A Multi-Theory Assessment of Offender Cognition Change, United States, 2015-2019 (ICPSR 37457)

• Data-related Publication: Does information change attitudes toward immigrants? Links to this publication and associated data are available through our Bibliography of Data-Related Publications

• Learn more about ICPSR's Physical Data Enclave

• Learn. more about the French and German data available at ICPSR through this introductory webinar: "French and German Data at ICPSR: New Opportunities for Comparative Cross-Country Research"

• Summer Program scholarships

• See all of ICPSR's upcoming events

Additional podcasts from ICPSR:

Podcasts and Researcher Interviews from the National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging

PEERS Podcast: Book talk with Dr. Ebony McGee author of Black, Brown, Bruised

Join us in a future episode!

Would you like to be on a future Data Brunch podcast? Let us know via the Data Brunch Form for Potential Guests!