Numbers Geek with Steve Ballmer

If GDP and the stock market don't fully capture the economic health of the U.S. and its citizens, what numbers should we be watching? What are the key performance indicators for the country, and the most important numbers for the future of the world? Those are the central questions on this final episode of Numbers Geek, the podcast that GeekWire has produced in partnership with Steve Ballmer and USAFacts, the former Microsoft CEO's non-partisan, not-for-profit civic data initiative. We'll hear a variety of perspectives, starting with the data-driven presidential hopeful Andrew Yang, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, conservative author and CNN commentator Amanda Carpenter, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and many more, including audience submissions. Thanks for listening to Numbers Geek!

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Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's non-partisan, not-for-profit civic data initiative, USAFacts, today is publishing its third annual report on U.S. local, state and federal government — compiling and analyzing the government's own data to update Americans on the state of the country in much the same way as a business reports to its shareholders. In short, it's a picture of America in numbers.

On this episode of our Numbers Geek podcast, a partnership between GeekWire and USAFacts, Steve Ballmer joins us to look at that picture, discussing highlights from the USAFacts 2019 Annual Report. Download the annual report here: https://annualreport.usafacts.org/

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People from across the political spectrum use a lot of different words to answer the question of what happened to the middle class: Hollowed out, wiped out, disappearing, declining, doesn't exist anymore. But what's really happening to the middle class? What do the numbers say? We answer that question on this episode of Numbers Geek with Steve Ballmer. Learn more at usafacts.org and find more episodes at geekwire.com/numbersgeek.

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With even more yelling and fist-pumping than normal, Steve Ballmer might not have seemed like an analytical guy to casual fans watching his LA Clippers come back from a 31-point deficit to defeat the Golden State Warriors in Game 2 of their first-round NBA playoff matchup earlier this week. It was the biggest come-from-behind victory in NBA playoff history. But as listeners to this podcast know, the former Microsoft CEO has a passion for numbers, as well. Earlier today, before recording am episode of the show about the upcoming annual report on the U.S. government from Ballmer's nonprofit civic data initiative USAFacts, we took the opportunity to have him analyze the stats from the Clippers' historic win for this quick bonus episode.

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Sure, you know how many points your favorite NBA player scored in his last game. But how do turnovers, field goal percentage and rebounds improve chances of winning? How did NBA rule changes impact average points per game this season? And how did "wins above replacement value" factor into the year's big trades?

From the boardroom to the baseline, those are a few of the numbers that make a difference in the world of basketball, and we explore all of them and more on this episode of the Numbers Geek podcast. We recorded this episode behind-the-scenes and courtside during a game at Staples Center with L.A. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, former Microsoft CEO and founder of our podcast partner USAFacts.

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Back in 2013, Jamie Siminoff was the founder and chief inventor of a struggling video doorbell company, pinning all the startup’s hopes on his appearance on the television show Shark Tank. He walked out empty handed, as all five sharks went out, but five years later, he sold the company, now known as Ring, to Amazon for a reported $1 billion. On this episode of Numbers Geek, we continue our look at the numbers behind Shark Tank with the story of what was almost certainly the biggest miss in the show's history. Our guest is Jamie Siminoff, CEO of Ring.

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$30 million. That number will forever be associated with our guest on this week's Numbers Geek podcast, Arum Kang, co-founder and co-CEO of Coffee Meets Bagel. She turned down a $30 million acquisition offer from Mark Cuban for the online dating company that she founded with her two sisters. It was, at the time, the larger offer in the show's history.

So what happened after Shark Tank? On this episode of the Numbers Geek, we get the rest of the story from Arum Kang, a Harvard MBA grad and the co-CEO of Coffee Meets Bagel, the online dating company that she founded with her sisters. In a world of swiping right or left, and judging people by appearances, their approach is to focus on quality rather than quantity of connections. We'll talk about that mission, and we'll look at the underlying data in the United States to understand how trends in the country are making this quest even more challenging and important.

This is the first of two Shark Tank-themed episodes of Numbers Geek. Later this week, we'll feature an interview with Jamie Siminoff, the CEO of smart doorbell maker Ring, who walked away from Shark Tank empty handed but later sold the company to Amazon for a reported $1 billion.

For more Numbers Geek episodes, go to geekwire.com/numbersgeek. See interactive graphics, charts and more at usafacts.org.

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Healthcare is suddenly back on the U.S. political agenda, and it remains one of the most important and misunderstood issues in the country. On this episode of Numbers Geek, former Microsoft CEO and USAFacts founder Steve Ballmer explains the handful of key numbers he uses to understand and track the state of U.S. healthcare.

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Can Steve Ballmer figure out the identity of an anonymous company just by looking at the numbers on its income statement? On this episode of Numbers Geek, we challenge the former Microsoft CEO to solve a numerical mystery, with a few surprise twists along the way. In the process, our Resident Numbers Geek gives us a glimpse into how he reads one of the most important types of documents in the business world. Follow along and see if you can crack the case before Steve does.

Numbers Geek is produced by GeekWire in partnership with USAFacts. Numbers Geek graphic design by Killer Infographics. Theme music by Daniel L.K. Caldwell. Technical support from Kevin Lisota, and production assistance from Clare McGrane. For more Numbers Geek episodes and videos, plus citations for the numbers we discuss, go to geekwire.com/numbersgeek. You can find interactive, graphics charts and government data at usafacts.org.

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Peter Sagal is best known as the host of NPR’s weekly quiz show, Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me, which marked its 20th anniversary in October. But he’s also an avid runner, a columnist for Runner’s World magazine and the author of the new memoir, The Incomplete Book of Running. And he fashions himself an amateur Constitutional scholar, especially after hosting the PBS documentary series, Constitution USA. On this special episode of our Numbers Geek podcast, the multifaceted media personality talks with us about the role of numbers in his life and the issues he cares about, from marathon times to the U.S. Constitution. And of course, we couldn't have the "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" host on a podcast without giving him a quiz of our own, which you can hear in the final segment.

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