Podcast
Conversations with users around the world about interesting things they are doing with R.
R for the Rest of Us Podcast Episode 16: Cara Thompson
June 13, 2024
In this episode, I speak with Cara Thompson about color, delving into several aspects of its use in data visualization. Cara is a UK-based data visualization consultant with over 15 years of experience in transforming data insights into clear, compelling visual stories. We explore how she finds inspiration for selecting colors, her reasons for not simply using organizations' brand colors in her visualizations, and the importance of dedicating time to thoughtfully consider color choices in...
R for the Rest of Us Podcast Episode 15: Nicola Rennie
May 15, 2024
In this episode, I talk with Nicola Rennie about making data viz for mobile devices. Nicola is a lecturer in health data science based within the Center for Health Informatics, Computing, and Statistics at Lancaster University in the UK. She recounts her initial encounter with R and how she got deeper into data visualization in R as a means of creative expression. Amidst the plethora of programming languages available, Nicola sheds light on why she chose R specifically for data visualization....
R for the Rest of Us Podcast Episode 14: Will Landau
April 17, 2024
In this episode, I’m joined by Will Landau, a statistician and software developer currently working with Eli Lilly and Company. Will specializes in Bayesian methods, high-performance computing, and reproducible workflows. He is the creator of the {targets} R package, a pipeline tool for reproducible computation in statistics and data science. The package became part of ROpenSci in early 2021. Will talks about his journey into R and using it for open source projects. He gives a detailed...
R for the Rest of Us Podcast Episode 13: Ahmadou Dicko
March 20, 2024
In this episode, I talk with Ahmadou Dicko, a statistician based in Senegal working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Ahmadou shares insights on utilizing data-driven approaches to address development obstacles, especially within humanitarian settings. He explores the innovative packages and strategies developed by his team using R for data management, analysis, and communication. Among these innovations is robotoolbox , an extensive R package designed for...
R for the Rest of Us Podcast Episode 12: Chris Knox
June 6, 2023
In this episode, I speak with Chris Knox, who is currently the Head of Data Journalism at the New Zealand Herald. Prior to that, he worked at the New Zealand ministry of health, where he led an analytics team focused on New Zealand's COVID response. During our conversation, Chris highlights why he considers R as the optimal tool for data analysis and reporting, especially when dealing with frequently changing data sources and parameters. He also emphasizes the benefits of using R in a...
R for the Rest of Us Podcast Episode 11: Garrick Aden-Buie and Travis Gerke
May 23, 2023
In this episode, Travis Gerke and Garrick Aden-Buie join me to demystify the process behind developing custom packages in R. Travis is the Director of Data Science at The Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials Consortium (PCCTC), and Garrick is a Data Science Educator and R developer at R Studio. During the discussion, Travis and Garrick highlight the numerous benefits of having a custom package, including making it easier to access data, automation & documentation of functions, and enhanced...
R for the Rest of Us Podcast Episode 10: Kyle Walker
May 9, 2023
In this episode, I speak with Kyle Walker, Associate Professor of Geography and Director of the Center for Urban Studies at Texas Christian University. Kyle has developed several packages, but the one we talk about in this chat is called tidycensus. tidycensus allows R users to return Census and ACS data as tidyverse-ready data frames. Kyle had a rough start with R programming and he didn’t want anything to do with it for 3 years. What made him come back to R and become one of its renowned...
R for the Rest of Us Podcast Episode 9: Meghan Harris
May 9, 2023
In this episode, I speak with Meghan Harris, a data integration specialist at the Primary Care Research Institute, University of Buffalo. There, she brings together data from multiple sources to create insights that benefit people affected by opioid use disorder. Meghan talks about how she uses R to pull data directly from Google Sheets, and highlights the advantages of this workflow as opposed to working on a manually downloaded Google Sheets file. Fun fact: When Meghan is not creating data...
R for the Rest of Us Podcast Episode 8: Matt Herman
April 25, 2023
In this episode, I chat with Matt Herman about building websites in R. Matt shares lessons from his experience building a self-updating Covid-19 tracking site for Westchester County. Matt is a Data Scientist at the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center, where he focuses on research and policy analysis. Matt has created automated and reproducible workflows to generate outcome measures and performance indicators for several projects within the justice system. Connect with Matt:...