Harvard Data Science Review Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

As September marks the start of the NFL regular season, this month's episode explores how data science and AI are used in professional football to make the sport more entertaining, competitive, and safe. How has the way data is used to enhance the game advanced? What is the most underutilized piece of data that could offer teams a significant advantage? How do teams balance human instinct with AI-driven analysis when making decisions in games? For aspiring sports analysts, what technical or soft skills and experiences are most important to develop? Listen to our fascinating discussion as we delve into the intersection of sports analytics and data science. 

Our guest:

• Michael Lopez, Senior Director of Football Data and Analytics at the National Football League (NFL).

In July 2024, we witnessed one of the most significant internet disruptions in history when CrowdStrike released a faulty update to its security servers. This update impacted approximately 8.5 million systems, triggering outages across various sectors, including airlines, banks, stock markets, and even government emergency services. Even once activity was restored, threat actors sought to take advantage of the situation through phishing schemes and other cyberattacks.  Though caused by an internal error rather than malicious intent, incidents like CrowdStrike’s outage underscore the growing importance of reliable security measures on technologies that impact daily life. On this month’s podcast, we explore the ins and outs of cybersecurity, how cyberattacks occur, and what steps you can take to protect your data.

Our guests:

• Milena Rodban, independent geopolitical risk consultant and former senior advisor at the National Risk Management Center at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
• Arun Seelagan, Senior Data Scientist at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)

In recent years, police departments nationwide have increasingly embraced data and AI tools to enhance their crime prevention, investigation, and conviction efforts. These technologies range from image analysis on body cameras to license plate trackers predicting potential involvement in drug trafficking. However, a crucial question arises: Are these technologies both accurate and fair? Is law enforcement adequately trained to utilize them effectively? Is legislation adapting swiftly enough to keep pace with these transformative changes?

On today’s episode we engage in a conversation with a professor of law and a police chief who together provide us insights into the evolving landscape of policing technologies. 

Our guests:

• Andrew Guthrie Ferguson, Professor of Law, American University Washington College of Law
• Virgil Green, Chief of Police for Golden Valley, Minnesota, and co-host of  “You And The Law” podcast

According to the UN Refugee Agency, a staggering 108.4 million people were displaced from their homes by the end of 2022 due to reasons such as persecution, conflict, violence, or human rights violations. On today’s episode, we discuss the pressing issue of the global refugee crisis and how data is playing a crucial role in addressing it. To help shed light on this topic, we talk to Dr. Seema Iyer, Senior Director of The Hive, USA for UNHCR’s innovation lab responsible for bringing data science, machine learning, and new technologies into the organization’s operations to enhance fundraising for refugees. During the conversation we discuss the pivotal role of data science in addressing the refugee crisis and delve into the types of data gathered to understand the needs of refugees, the challenges in utilizing this data, and the potential role of AI in facilitating new approaches.  Listen now to this month's insightful episode.

Our guest:

• Dr. Seema Iyer, Senior Director, The Hive, USA for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR)

In recent years, our fascination with the cosmos has reached new heights. From ground-breaking research missions to the emergence of interstellar consumerism, our universe has transformed into a thriving hub of exploration and innovation. How are we currently engaging with space and where might we be headed in terms of future interactions? What are the economic dynamics surrounding space exploration, and how might the emerging space economy affect future research? Is AI helping to unlock the secrets of the universe? On today’s episode we explore these questions and more during an out-of-this-world conversation with two distinguished experts.

Our guests:

• Avi Loeb, Frank B. Baird Jr. Professor of Science, Director of the Institute for Theory and Computation at the Center for Astrophysics, and Founder of the Black Hole Initiative at Harvard University
• Kelli Kedis Ogborn, Vice President of Space Commerce and Entrepreneurship at Space Foundation

We’ve been inundated with questions from our listeners on what defines a data scientist, how to break into analytics, and ways for the average person to assess data reliability. That is why for this month, we interview our very own Xiao-Li Meng, who has contemplated many such questions during his distinguished career. In this episode we delve into Xiao-Li’s personal journey—notably being named the best statistician under the age of 40 by the Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies—to becoming the founding editor-in-chief of Harvard Data Science Review. Join us as we trace the steps that led to his remarkable accomplishments and illuminate the path you can follow to understand the data that shapes our world in our very first listener question special!

Our guest:

• Dr. Xiao-Li Meng, Founding Editor-in-Chief of Harvard Data Science Review and Whipple V. N. Jones Professor of Statistics at Harvard University. Meng has published over 150 publications. His article, “Seeking Simplicity in Statistics, Complexities in Wine, and Everything Else in Fortune Cookies” was published in Fondata, Issue 3, Winter 2022. 

In 2022, the sports analytics sector was valued at 2.98 billion USD and is expected to grow to 22.13 billion USD by 2030, at a CARG of 28.7% (source). In today's episode, we do a deep dive into this rapidly growing field from both industry and academic perspectives. What metrics do companies and researchers use to predict the next big winner? How are statistical tools and modeling applied differently to measure an individual player’s performance versus that of a team? How does an aspiring data scientist break into the sports analytics industry? We explore these questions and more with the help of  two experts. Listen now!

Our guests:

• Dr. Mark Glickman, senior lecturer on statistics and head of the Sports Analytics Laboratory at Harvard University
• Michael Schwimer, founder and CEO of Big League Advantage

How can the data collected by AI sex toys be used to help understand a wide variety of medical conditions and prescription side effects? Are companies storing and selling your most intimate data? When in your life is tracking your sexual satisfaction most important? In March we covered the Kinsey report for its 75th anniversary and discussed ways we conduct sex research in the present day. In response to the positive feedback on that episode, we decided to bring on specialists from the field to talk about the future of AI and the data of sex.

Our Guests:

• Liz Klinger, co-founder and CEO of Lioness and inventor of the Lioness AI vibrator.
• Justin Lehmiller, social psychologist at The Kinsey Institute and host of The Sex and Psychology Podcast.

Why are we seeing an unprecedented rise in prescription drug use in the U.S.? Is Ozempic really the magic cure for weight loss? How has the landscape of prescription medicine changed over time, and why are currently facing supply issues? On today’s episode, we explore hotly debated drugs and what the data says about prescribing them.

Our Guests:

• Dr. Heather Levites, fellowship-trained plastic surgeon with a special interest in advanced cosmetic surgery. She earned her undergraduate degree at MIT and her MD from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and completed her plastic surgery training at Duke University. She currently practices in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 
• Dr. John Schneider, Associate Professor of Otolaryngology and Division Chief of Rhinology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. 

This month, we are diving into the important and currently hot topic of artificial intelligence. Do we think rising platforms like ChatGPT are going to be running the world anytime soon? Does technology not only have the ability to be intelligent, but also rational? In this episode we get the pleasure of discussing these issues with Steven Pinker, an experimental cognitive psychologist and a popular writer on language, mind, and human nature. Listen to the conversation and find out what happens when an expert on the human mind sits down to discuss intelligence in machines with two data scientists!

Our Guest:

• Dr. Steven Pinker is the Johnstone Family Professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University. He conducts research on language, cognition, and social relations; writes for publications such as the New York Times, The Guardian, Time, and The Atlantic; and is the author of twelve books, including The Language Instinct, How the Mind Works, The Blank Slate, The Stuff of Thought, The Better Angels of Our Nature, The Sense of Style, Enlightenment Now, and Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters.