This week, Mathematica launched On the Evidence, a podcast that examines what we know about today’s most urgent challenges and how we can make progress in addressing them. Through short interviews, the show explores cutting-edge ideas for improving public well-being and explains them in terms anyone can understand. The podcast leverages Mathematica’s deep bench of experts on a wide range of social issues, from teenage pregnancy to substance abuse, to provide fresh insights for fellow changemakers who want a better future for their communities.
“Since our beginning, Mathematica has been reimagining the way the world gathers and uses data to address the most urgent social challenges,” said President and CEO Paul Decker. “This podcast is part of our larger commitment to also reimagine how we share those insights, celebrate progress together with our partners, and help the evidence community tell its story better."
The first episode features Andrew Kleine, the chief administrative officer for Montgomery County, Maryland, who recently wrote a book about making evidence and outcomes a central part of the municipal budget process. Mathematica will post new episodes on SoundCloud and iTunes twice a month, including interviews with the following:
- Mathematica’s Johanna Lacoe on the latest research about whether school suspensions affect student performance
- Katherine Klosek, director of applied research at the Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University, on how cities can embed data and evidence in local policymaking
- Mathematica’s Jon McCay on how a county agency in Colorado used research methods and design thinking to engage more clients in its employment assistance program
On the Evidence builds on Mathematica’s efforts to highlight advances in evidence-based public policy through blogs, videos, fact sheets, interactive infographics, live events, and other publications. The show honors Mathematica’s long-held commitment to people and organizations that make policy decisions based on the best available evidence.
The show’s host, J.B. Wogan, writes about how evidence can support better public policy and practice as Mathematica’s senior manager of strategic communications. Wogan holds a master’s degree in public policy from Johns Hopkins University, and he spent 10 years as a journalist, covering politics and policy for Governing magazine, PolitiFact, the Seattle Times, and the Sammamish Review.
Listen to the trailer and new episodes on SoundCloud and iTunes.
About Mathematica
Mathematica is the insight partner that illuminates the path to progress for public- and private-sector changemakers. Reimagining the way the world gathers and uses data, we uncover the evidence that offers our partners the confidence and clarity they need to find out what can be done, how to make it happen, and where to go next. Our 1,200+ experts dive into urgent social challenges with rigor and objectivity to surface evidence and understanding that weathers the toughest tests. Mathematica. Progress together.
