Numbers Geek with Steve Ballmer

Imagine you’ve been working in the same job for the same organization for your entire career, through all the ups and downs, and suddenly you find yourself in the midst of your best year ever. That’s what happened to basketball legend Sue Bird in 2018, as she led the Seattle Storm to the WNBA title. On this episode of our Numbers Geek podcast, we talk with Sue Bird about the numbers behind her record season, hear how she uses numbers to understand the game, and challenge her to solve a new "box score mystery" involving one of her most legendary games.

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How big is the U.S. trade deficit, in reality, and what are the implications of trade negotiations with China and other major countries around the world? This week, we dive into the numbers behind the U.S. trade deficit, the trade war with China, and the implications for the U.S. economy, with our resident Numbers Geek, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, the founder of our podcast partner USAFacts. For more episodes, go to geekwire.com/numbersgeek, and for charts, data and more, see usafacts.org.

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Mandy Manning is uniquely qualified to offer her perspective on education, one of the subjects we’ve been exploring this season on Numbers Geek. She also has day-to-day experience with another of our key topics: immigration. Manning is the 2018 National Teacher of the Year, as recognized by the Council of Chief State School Officers, and she teaches immigrant and refugee students at the Newcomer Center at Joel E. Ferris High School in Spokane, Wash. On this episode of Numbers Geek, she shares the numbers she would use to grade U.S. education.

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On this episode of Numbers Geek, we put the adjectives and arguments aside and explore the long-term U.S. immigration numbers and trends, including the implications for the population and economy. Featuring Steve Ballmer, the former Microsoft CEO and the founder of USAFacts, GeekWire's partner on the Numbers Geek podcast. See geekwire.com/numbersgeek and usafacts.org for more.

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On this episode of Numbers Geek, we’ll talk with someone who specializes in recognizing "bogus and misleading" numbers in media coverage and public statements: Brian Kernighan, a Princeton University computer science professor and the author of a new book, “Millions, Billions, Zillions: Defending Yourself in a World of Too Many Numbers.” Then we'll use those techniques to sniff out false and misleading statements from public officials on military spending, with help from our Resident Numbers Geek, Steve Ballmer.

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Can Steve Ballmer identify a famous basketball game purely by the numbers? Can you? That's our fun and enlightening challenge on this new episode of the Numbers Geek podcast, featuring the former Microsoft CEO and current owner of the L.A. Clippers. With cameos by Stephen A. Smith, Steve Kerr and Sue Bird. We’ve given Steve multiple pages of statistics from a specific legendary NBA game -- a box score showing the scoring by quarter plus a bunch of other numbers about the game and players. But the stats we’ve given him are missing some very important details. We’ve removed all references to the teams and players, and taken away everything except the numbers. Follow along with Steve to see if you can figure it out before he does. 

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Arlan Hamilton looks at the number of startup investments going to companies run by women, people of color and LGBT entrepreneurs, and doesn’t just see disparity, or inequity. She sees financial opportunity. These startup leaders aren’t simply underrepresented. They’re underestimated. And she is betting on that fact by investing tens of millions of dollars in people and companies that others have overlooked. 

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Something remarkable happened in the White House this week, as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer met with President Trump to talk about border security amid their standoff over the federal budget. The president attempt to ground the discussion in numbers. We'll go further on this bonus episode of Numbers Geek, exploring the key numbers and long-term trends behind U.S. border security. 

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Student-teacher ratio, teacher pay, graduation rates and test scores. What do the numbers really say about K-12 public education in the U.S.? We'll find out this week with our Resident Numbers Geek, Steve Ballmer, with some twists along the way, including a surprise guest from Steve's past. We’ll also test Steve’s knowledge of algebra, and offer a chance to win your very own Numbers Geek shirt, if you can solve the problem. See geekwire.com/numbersgeek for show notes, data citations and behind-the-scenes videos, and USAFacts.org for more on the numbers we discuss on the show.

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Can facts heal America's political divide? We attempt to find out on the first episode of Numbers Geek with Steve Ballmer, the podcast where we use facts and numbers to make sense of the world. This episode takes Numbers Geek Host Todd Bishop to Politicon, a two-day political conference that showcases America's deep partisanship. He tries to get political figures like Ann Coulter and Michael Avenatti to stop the theatrics and focus on the facts. See geekwire.com/numbersgeek for show notes, data citations and behind-the-scenes videos, and USAFacts.org for more on the numbers we discuss on the show.

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