Sharing statistical stories with the world at large—through a book, a talk, a social media post, or the pages of your favourite statistics and data science magazine—can be arduous. No matter how riveting and relevant those stories, common parlance and complex mathematics are not easy bedfellows. You can’t assume everyone’s keeping up, but instinctively feel dumbing down is wrong. How do you strike the right balance, get your story noticed, and make your voice heard?

In this issue, three statistical communicators bring you their experiences and advice for communicating statistics to broad audiences—each in their own way—with the hope they will inspire you to capture your own audiences.

Additionally, a regular series called Bad Stats that includes salutary lessons from the world of statistics premieres in this issue.

May 2024 Highlights

The R Number
The second in our six-part series by Gavin Freeguard on the evolution and usefulness of the pandemic’s famous epidemiological tool

What Is Data Science?
The burning question, inspected through a statistical lens

The Thirteenth Floor
Buildings in New York City often don’t have a thirteenth floor—superstition, or something else?

The Philosophy of Statistics
Understanding the philosophical foundation of probability and statistics