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/Faceb ..read more

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 refer ..read more

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 Insta ..read more

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 ..read more

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 fin ..read more

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 Soun ..read more

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 jou ..read more

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 e ..read more

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 affe ..read more

Do you ever wonder what happens to plastic after you drop it in the blue recycling bin? Are you a little skeptical that recycling actually makes a difference? Do we really consume a credit card worth of plastic every week? Welcome to the second episode of our sustainability mini-series where we talk about some of the numbers floating around about the climate. This week we are tackling the statistic that only 9% of plastic is recycled. Is this statistic true? How do you calculate the fate of all plastics ever produced? In this episode we also talk about one of the hottest topics in plastic… mic ..read more