Data are rarely neutral. In this episode, data storyteller and author of The Data Storyteller's Handbook, Kat Greenbrook, makes the case that before we can communicate data well, we need to understand where it came from and why. Who collected it? For what purpose? Under what constraints? Because the answers shape everything that follows. Kat unpacks why metadata isn't a technical afterthought but a critical lens for interpreting meaning, and why data are better understood as mirrors of the organisations and moments that produced them than as objective records of reality.

We also explore the "curse of knowledge" — the all-too-common trap where deep expertise makes it harder, not easier, to communicate clearly — and what data professionals can do to bridge the gap between what they know and what their audience actually needs. Practical, provocative, and genuinely useful for anyone trying to turn numbers into decisions.

Hosted by Rhetta Chappell, Data Scientist at RIDL, Griffith University.

Show Notes:

• Kat Greenbrook | LinkedIn
• The Data Storyteller’s Handbook | Rogue Penguin
• PGAI Framework Templates and Resources | Rogue Penguin
• NAPLAN Achievement Data Explorer | Griffith University RIDL