The Random Sample

What can you do with a mathematics education? For Casey Briggs, he's turned it into a career with the ABC. In this episode, Casey talks about his role in communicating data and statistics, especially when it comes to a story like the COVID-19 pandemic. The Random Sample is a podcast by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellencefor Mathematical and Statistical frontiers. In this show, we share stories about mathematics, statistics and the people involved. To learn more about ACEMS, visit https://acems.org.au.

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From business to biology, Professor Kerry Landman has taken her love for applied mathematics and made a huge impact. For some 40-years, she has devoted her career to cross-disciplinary research to help solve a wide range of problems. In 2019, she was named a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. In this episode podcast, Kerry talks about her career, some of the people who have impacted her life over the years, and what she's doing now in retirement to make a difference. The Random Sample is a podcast by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers. In this show, we share stories about mathematics, statistics and the people involved. To learn more about ACEMS, visit https://acems.org.au.

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Do you ever stop and think about how much time you spend on your mobile phone, or binge-watching your favourite TV show? Not surprisingly, tech companies and apps actually make those predictions - and they also sell those predictions. In this episode, we look investigate the disturbing possibility that companies might take it a step further by also getting us to do what they were predicting - or at least pushing us closer to our predicted behaviour. The Random Sample is a podcast by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers. In this show, we share stories about mathematics, statistics and the people involved. To learn more about ACEMS, visit https://acems.org.au.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the biggest issues we face is the deliberate spread of false information over platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Because of the network properties of those platforms, it’s not hard to see how wrong, or even dangerous, information can end up in the news feeds and the minds a lot of people. In this episode, we explore what a team of researchers is doing to tackle this problem. The Random Sample is a podcast by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers. In this show, we share stories about mathematics, statistics and the people involved. To learn more about ACEMS, visit https://acems.org.au.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bayesian statistics help decide what email you get is spam. It can assess security and medical risks, decode DNA, enhance blurry pictures, help explain stock market volatility, predict the spread of an infectious disease, and its methods were even used by Alan Turing in World War 2 to crack the secret of the Nazi enigma code. In this episode, we explore the history of Bayes' theorem, the ideas behind it, and why it's really becoming a powerful statistical tool in the 21st century. The Random Sample is a podcast by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers. In this show, we share stories about mathematics, statistics and the people involved. To learn more about ACEMS, visit https://acems.org.au.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s one of the fastest growing areas of mathematics, and for good reason. Mathematical biology tackles problems involving things like genetics, diseases, epidemics, ecology, population growth and extinction. The list could go on and on. In this episode, we explore the field of mathematical biology as we chat with one of Australia's rising stars in the field, QUT Professor Matthew Simpson. The Random Sample is a podcast by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers. In this show, we share stories about mathematics, statistics and the people involved. To learn more about ACEMS, visit https://acems.org.au.

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Professor James McCaw is one of the leaders of the pandemic modelling group advising Australia's National Cabinet. In this episode, Professor McCaw talks about the role mathematical modelling played in Australia's response to COVID-19, and we explore how this crisis has given many people a glimpse into how maths and stats can play a key role in tackling problems they wouldn’t expect. The Random Sample is a podcast by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers. In this show, we share stories about mathematics, statistics and the people involved. To learn more about ACEMS, visit https://acems.org.au

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The closest thing to a crystal ball that many organisations and businesses have to look into the future is what’s called a forecast. Not for weather, but for so many other things like product sales, or unemployment figures, or energy usage. In this episode, ACEMS Chief Investigator Professor Rob Hyndman gives us a glimpse into how forecasting works and how it continues to develop. The Random Sample is a podcast by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers. In this show, we share stories about mathematics, statistics and the people involved. To learn more about ACEMS, visit https://acems.org.au.

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How do you know if a new drug will do what it claims to do? Or a new policy will have a desired effect on a population? Many experts believe the best way to answer questions like those are to use 'randomised trials'. In this episode, we explore why and how randomised trials are used, what happens when they're not, and how they might be used even more in Australia to drive decisions and policy. The Random Sample is a podcast by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers. In this show, we share stories about mathematics, statistics and the people involved. To learn more about ACEMS, visit https://acems.org.au.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the build up to the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals started preparing for the worst. On a normal day, they operate at or around 100 per cent capacity. But in the past few weeks – during this pandemic – something strange has happened. Those numbers have dropped. But why? In this episode, we explore that question, and also look at why ACEMS researchers are closely tracking hospital emergency department data. The Random Sample is a podcast by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellencefor Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers. In this show, we share stories about mathematics, statistics and the people involved. To learn more about ACEMS, visit https://acems.org.au.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.