The intersection of public health and data science can be controversial. How much do we value human life? Can we ever put a dollar sign on it, and what factors into that sum? These questions and more are tackled in today's episode with Howard Friedman.

Howard Friedman teaches at Columbia University at the School of Public Health and The Data Science Institute. He is also the author of Ultimate Price: The Value We Place On Life.

Listen as he and Greg discuss the morality of cases like the 9/11 compensation fund, OJ Simpson,5 and the tradeoffs that lead to these difficult decisions.

What a monetary value on human life says:

Some human beings, as it turns out, are valued at nothing. Whereas others, many, many millions. And you'll see this in the corporate world as well. The incredible range of compensation, depending on who was the victim. 

How do we get these numbers, value of a life:

They're trying to simulate a world in which that person is no longer there and trying to estimate what is the economic impact on the family. And that's why they look at things like income. They do look at this question of dependents and you know, how many people were relying on that person's income.

And then you start seeing the dotted-line calculation between that and how people start to think about life insurance. And the reason why is when you look into your life insurance, you start thinking about what is my value, what is my replacement value? If I’m not around, how much money will my family need in order to have the lifestyle they expect or simply to replace the income I'm earning.

How the media adds value to certain lives:

This is very much the case. And this is the America that we have to understand we live in. And the implications of it really are that some lives are more valued and more protected than others. They go hand in hand. That level of interest that comes from the media and the public, as a result, drives the allocation of resources. So these are true examples and measures.

Guest Profile:

• Faculty Profile at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health
• Howard Friedman’s Website
• Howard Friedman on Linkedin
• Howard Friedman on Twitter
• Howard Friedman on Talks at Google

His Work:

• Howard Friedman on Google Scholar
• Ultimate Price: The Value We Place on Life
• The Measure of a Nation: How to Regain America's Competitive Edge and Boost Our Global Standing