The Secret Life of Numbers

By Levannia Lildhar and Lindsay Booth

Have you ever wondered what SPF 30 means? Or asked yourself if you really need to get 10,000 steps a day? So have we! The Secret Life of Numbers is a science communication podcast that uncovers the st... more

· Science

5

11 ratings

Download on the App Store

Download on the App Store

Get it on Google Play

FAQs about The Secret Life of Numbers:

How many episodes does The Secret Life of Numbers have?

The podcast currently has 32 episodes available.

The Secret Life of Numbers episodes:

September 19, 2022 Silent Data and Spotify: How Music is Recommended to You
How does Spotify recommend music to you? What can your music tastes tell us about your personality traits? What is the Napoleon Dynamite Effect? All of this and more on the season 3 finale of The Secret Life of Numbers. Join Levannia and Lindsay as they pull back the curtain on algorithms through the example of music recommendations. If you've ever wondered how Spotify seems to just know what you want to listen to, this episode is for you. Even more, come learn about the Napoleon Dynamite effect and how Netflix set out to improve its recommendation algorithm.
Follow us on Instagram/Facebook @thesecretlifeofnumbers
Find the references we used in this episode in our Show Notes
Check out our Anchor Profile
Sound Editing/Original Music by Julian Bertino Sound [email protected]
Send us an email! [email protected]
Tags: algorithms, machine learning, artificial intelligence, music recommendations, Napoleon dynamite, Netflix, Spotify, Apple Music, women in STEM, women in engineering
...more
30min
September 12, 2022 Herd Immunity
What is herd immunity? How do individual choices affect population health? Can we eradicate infectious disease? Join Levannia and Lindsay as they wrap up our vaccine mini-series with a deep dive into herd immunity. Come learn how herd immunity is calculated and how it relates to the R naught of a virus. For a real world example of the magic of herd immunity, come learn about how the the world rid itself of smallpox.
Be sure to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. It really helps our podcast reach new listeners!
Follow us on Instagram/Facebook @thesecretlifeofnumbers
Find the references we used in this episode in our Show Notes
Check out our Anchor Profile
Sound Editing/Original Music by Julian Bertino Sound [email protected]
Send us an email! [email protected]
Tags: vaccines, Rnaught, COVID-19, virus, public health, global health, disease dynamics, pandemic, statistics, STEM, women in science, women in STEM, medicine
...more
27min
September 05, 2022 Vaccine Efficacy Versus Effectiveness
How well do vaccines work? How do we measure vaccine efficacy and effectiveness? What are some common vaccine myths? Join Levannia and Lindsay as they offer an evidence based overview of how vaccines work and how we gauge how well they work. If you've ever wondered why the percent effectiveness of a vaccine is lower in practice than it was in clinical trials this episode is for you. Even more, come learn about the real answers to some common vaccine myths including mercury content in vaccines, vaccines and autism, and whether the infant vaccine schedule is appropriate.
Follow us on Instagram/Facebook @thesecretlifeofnumbers
Find the references we used in this episode in our Show Notes
Check out our Anchor Profile
Sound Editing/Original Music by Julian Bertino Sound [email protected]
Send us an email! [email protected]
Tags: research methods, clinical trials, vaccines, vaccines cause adults, vaccines and autism, evidence-based medicine, thimerosal and vaccines, mercury and vaccines, women in STEM, science communication, sci comm
...more
37min
August 29, 2022 Rnaught: The Reproductive Number of a Virus
Since the COVID 19 pandemic, epidemiology and virology terms have entered our everyday language, but what do they really mean? What’s the reproductive number of a virus and what can it tells us about disease dynamics? And why have we been following an arms race between rabbits in Australia and a virus for over 70 years now? Join Levannia and Lindsay as they dive into disease dynamics. Come learn the math behind the numbers we’ve heard all too often during the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ll explain how Rnaught is calculated and how we factor in transmissibility, contact rate, and more. For a real world example NOT related to the COVID-19 pandemic, we share the century long story of the arms race between rabbits in Australia and bio contral with the myxoma virus.
Be sure to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. It really helps our podcast reach new listeners!
Follow us on Instagram/Facebook @thesecretlifeofnumbers
Find the references we used in this episode in our Show Notes
Check out our Anchor Profile
Sound Editing/Original Music by Julian Bertino Sound [email protected]
Send us an email! [email protected]
Tags: Rnaught, COVID-19, virus, public health, global health, disease dynamics, pandemic, statistics, STEM, women in science, women in STEM, medicine
...more
28min
August 22, 2022 Fast Fashion
How many times do you wear an item of clothing before letting it go? Can old clothing be recycled into new? Is renting clothing the secret to solving our craving for new style without destroying the environment? Join Levannia and Lindsay as they dive into fast fashion, textile recycling, and the true cost of fast fashion. Listen along to a lifecycle analysis of the different ways of buying and using clothing, including a comparison of the environmental impact of buying new versus thrifting versus renting clothes.
Be sure to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. It really helps our podcast reach new listeners!
Follow us on Instagram/Facebook @thesecretlifeofnumbers
Find the references we used in this episode in our Show Notes
Check out our Anchor Profile
Sound Editing/Original Music by Julian Bertino Sound [email protected]
Send us an email! [email protected]
Tags: fast fashion, fashionphile, thrifting, second-hand clothing, overconsumption, climate change, global warming, climate crisis, zero waste, eco anxiety, climate science, women in STEM
...more
38min
August 15, 2022 Is It Too Late? Limiting Climate Warming to 1.5 Degrees
In November 2021, The United Nations Climate Change conference was held in Glasgow, Scotland. Parties from all over the world descended on the conference with the goal of tackling climate change. Pledges were made. Agreements signed. But is it enough? Can the world avoid global warming of 1.5 degrees? Join Levannia and Lindsay for a deep dive into how we got into the climate crisis and where we go from here. You’ll hear about how we actually measure surface temperatures, weather, and climate. Come listen to the latest research offering opinions on the chance of limiting climate change. And finally, what does a 1.5 degree world look like?
Be sure to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. It really helps our podcast reach new listeners!
Follow us on Instagram/Facebook @thesecretlifeofnumbers
Find the references we used in this episode in our Show Notes
Check out our Anchor Profile
Sound Editing/Original Music by Julian Bertino Sound [email protected]
Send us an email! [email protected]
Tags: climate change, global warming, climate crisis, zero waste, eco anxiety, climate science, women in STEM
...more
31min
August 07, 2022 Word Salad: Jargon and Readability Scores
Are you ever confused by jargon? Does it sometimes feel like you are reading or listening to an alien language? How accessible is your own writing? In this episode we end our Science Communication Mini Series with a discussion of jargon and readability. If you’ve ever wondered what makes some writing accessible and other writing not so accessible, or if you find jargon to be the bane of your existence, you’ll find something new in this episode.
Follow us on Instagram/Facebook @thesecretlifeofnumbers
Find the references we used in this episode in our Show Notes
Check out our Anchor Profile
Sound Editing/Original Music by Julian Bertino Sound [email protected]
Send us an email! [email protected]
Tags: research methods, research toolkit, how to do research, research literacy, science literacy, how to be a scientist, science communication, women in STEM, readability, jargon, jargon garden
...more
24min
August 01, 2022 Peer Review, Impact Factor, and Predatory Journals, Oh My! How Scientists Communicate Their Findings
So you completed a research project… now what? Or are you curious about what the fuss is with publishing research? What is a journal’s impact factor and why does it matter? In this episode, Levannia and Lindsay dive into the research process further to share how we communicate scientific findings. If you’ve ever wondered what peer review is and why it is important for research integrity, or wondered why some scientific journals are regarded more highly then others, this episode is for you. Further, if you’re wondering what makes a journal trustworthy and what’s behind the rise of predatory journals, you will not want to miss this.
Follow us on Instagram/Facebook @thesecretlifeofnumbers
Find the references we used in this episode in our Show Notes
Check out our Anchor Profile
Sound Editing/Original Music by Julian Bertino Sound [email protected]
Send us an email! [email protected]
Tags: research methods, research toolkit, how to do research, research literacy, science literacy, how to be a scientist, science communication, women in STEM, science publishing, nature, science, cell, publishing research, peer review, predatory journals
...more
33min
July 25, 2022 Two Sides of the Same Coin: Qualitative versus Quantitative Research
What’s the difference between qualitative and quantitative research? How can we achieve research rigor without testing for statistical significance? What can we learn from Brene Brown about the process of qualitative research? In this episode, Levannia and Lindsay pull back the curtain on the process of research. We share lots of different scientific articles and experiments, but now we share how scientists get those results and reach their conclusions. If you have ever wondered what methods are best to answer a question, or are curious about why a breadth of approaches is advantageous, this episode is for you. Follow along to hear examples from well known researchers, like Brene Brown, and more.
Follow us on Instagram/Facebook @thesecretlifeofnumbers
Find the references we used in this episode in our Show Notes
Check out our Anchor Profile
Sound Editing/Original Music by Julian Bertino Sound [email protected]
Send us an email! [email protected]
Tags: research methods, research toolkit, how to do research, research literacy, science literacy, how to be a scientist, science communication, qualitative research, Brene Brown, quantitative research, women in STEM
...more
39min
July 18, 2022 Inflation, Interest Rates, and the Cost of Living
Have you been feeling the pinch from the rising cost of living? Are you wondering why it seems like everything is getting more expensive? What is inflation and how is it related to ~EVERYTHING~? This is the first episode of Season 3 of The Secret Life of Numbers. Join Levannia and Lindsay to learn about the consumer price index, sky-high inflation and how the Bank of Canada raising interest rates, as well as learn about your own personal inflation rate. If you’ve ever wondered about finance, interest rates, bank loans, and inflation, this episode is for you. Come learn about why inflation affects people differently and reflect on the current state of financial affairs in Canada. We hope you’ll join us at The Secret Life of Numbers, where the numbers can run, but they can’t hide.
Follow us on Instagram/Facebook @thesecretlifeofnumbers
Find the references we used in this episode in our Show Notes
https://thesecretlifeofnumberspodcast.wordpress.com/show-notes/
Check out our Anchor Profile
Sound Editing/Original Music by Julian Bertino Sound [email protected]
Send us an email! [email protected]
Tags: finance, personal finance, inflation, financial literacy, cost of living, women in STEM, women in business, Bank of Canada, how to make a living, wealth management.
...more
28min

FAQs about The Secret Life of Numbers:

How many episodes does The Secret Life of Numbers have?

The podcast currently has 32 episodes available.