Harvard Data Science Review Podcast

What is Data Science?

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. 

Big League Advantage and Harvard Sports Analytics Lab: What Do They Do and How Can I Join?

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

Under the Sheets: Producing, Protecting, and Probing Intimate Data

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.

How Do Data Help Us Weigh the Benefit, Risk, and Cost of Ozempic (and other “Magic” Drugs)?

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. 

 

The Intelligence and Rationality of AI and Humans: A Conversation With Steven Pinker

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.

70 Years After the Kinsey Reports: Is Data Science Improving Our Sex Studies (and Lives?)

On today’s episode we commemorate the publication of the Kinsey Reports, two scholarly books by Alfred Kinsey on human sexual behavior, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953). These reports were among the earliest research studies to look at sexual behavior, but they also raise important questions for the data science community concerning ethics and bias. We explore those questions and more with the help of two experts. 

Our Guests:

• Dr. Justin Garcia, Executive Director of the Kinsey Institute and the Ruth N. Halls Professor of Gender Studies at Indiana University, and Co-Chair of Human Sexuality and Health at the Indiana University School of Medicine. 
• Dr. Carlos Rodriguez-Diaz, Associate Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Prevention and Community Health at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University. Dr. Rodriguez-Diaz is also the President of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality. 

From Financial Markets to ChatGPT: A Conversation With Andrew Lo

What can data tell us when it comes to how our money is invested? Are there data science tools that can help us manage the ups and downs of the financial markets? How has machine learning impacted forecasting? Can we rely on AI for investment advice? On today’s episode we explore these questions and more during a deep dive discussion on financial markets with our expert guest, Professor Andrew Lo.

Our Guest:

Andrew W. Lo is the Charles and Susan Harris Professor of Finance at the MIT Sloan School of Management, Director of the MIT Laboratory for Financial Engineering, and a principal investigator at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. Professor Lo was recognized for his work on financial markets by being named one of TIMEMagazine’s 100 most influential people in the world.

I Promise to Exercise Every January: Can Data Science Help My New Year’s Resolution?

It's the post-holiday season and the time when people are focused on self-improvement and getting in shape for the new year. But how do we keep and meet our fitness goals? How many days a week should we exercise? Do diet and food tracking apps actually work? In this episode we explore the data on fitness and health and discover successful strategies for keeping those New Year’s goals.  

Our guests:

• Dr. Michele Patel, clinical psychologist and instructor at Stanford University School of Medicine who conducts research on optimizing digital health interventions for treating obesity. Her latest work focuses on identifying what exactly people should be tracking (such as their steps, diet, body weight) to promote weight loss.
• Erin Como, anchor/reporter with FOX 5 DC who covers the fitness and food scene in the nation's capital. Erin hosts the popular Cooking With Como series and is a co-host of the new hit show, LION Lunch Hour, airing daily at 11am EST. 

Does Praying Work? Let’s Pray Data Science Can Help to Answer

For centuries religion has played an important role in shaping our society as a whole and determining the basis of life/purpose for individuals. Whether it’s several daily prayers, Sunday church, or the determination of what time you can eat, religion dictates day-to-day life for many. In this episode, we explore religion’s relationship to health and civic society.  Can religious practices deeply increase your quality of life, or even save it? What does the data tell us?

Our guests are:

• Dr. Melissa Deckman, CEO of Public Religion Research Institute and political scientist studying the impact of gender, religion, and age on public opinion and political behavior. She is currently working on a book about the impact of gender on the politics of Generation Z. Her most recent book is Tea Party Women (NYU Press: 2016), which examined the role of women in conservative politics.  She is also a co-author of Women and Politics, a top-selling textbook on gender politics in the United States, now in its updated fourth edition.
• Dr. Harold Koenig, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Associate Professor of Medicine, Senior Fellow in the Center for Study of Aging and Human Development, and Founding Co-Director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health at Duke University. 

I Want a Perfect Face (and Bra): Can Data Science Help?

In this month’s episode, we dive into the glamorous side of data science by exploring the ways the field is being integrated in the beauty and fashion industries. We talk to two experts, a plastic surgeon and a fashion designer, about the tools and techniques they use.

Our guests are:

• Dr. Heather Levites, a fellowship-trained plastic surgeon with a special interest in advanced cosmetic surgery. She earned her undergraduate degree at MIT, 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. 
• Nini Hu, a designer and art director with over 20 years of experience working with global fashion lifestyle brands and author of AI and Creativity for HDSR. Nini is also the founder of &HER, building customizable bras using AI, eco-friendly fibers, and automated production technology. &HER uses machine learning models to bring body shape and measurements directly to production.