Master Data Storyteller, Sam Knowles, welcomes Wadds Inc.'s Stephen Waddington to explore engineering-style rigour in PR. They discuss: elevating the function during the pandemic, building multi-source datasets for the "Pints & Profits" case study, why "synthetic audiences" are "ultimately junk," McDonaldization and repeatability, balancing numbers and narrative, and the pitfalls of AVE and proxy metrics - plus a call for all PR practitioners to contribute to Stephen's PhD research.

Take the Data Storytelling Scorecard: https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com

Resources and social media

• Contribute to Stephen's PhD research: https://publicrelationsmanagement.phd
• "Pints & Profits" (Brew case study) http://bit.ly/3KC7qcE
• Market Research Society: "Campaign for Better Data" http://bit.ly/4pD2RyZ
• Stephen's blog: https://wadds.co.uk/blog
• Stephen's Substack: https://wadds.substack.com
• Stephen's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenwaddington/

Master Data Storyteller, Sam Knowles, welcomes AI Pathfinder and TED Talker, Susan Etlinger, for a conversation about AI, meaning-making, and agency. Topics include the influx of new data types, Orwell vs Huxley (after Neil Postman' Amusing Ourselves to Death), why we're "intentionally ceding control to machines", the burden of proof for automation, inclusion across languages and models, and why "facts can't defend themselves against being misconstrued". Susan also highlights core skills for a new curriculum for the AI era: History, Statistics, and Social Sciences.

Take the Data Storytelling Scorecard: https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com

Resources and social media links

• Susan's LinkedIn profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanetlinger/

• TED@IBM talk: "What do we do with all this big data?" http://bit.ly/3Ioh423

• Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death - http://bit.ly/3Iwrk8r

• Take the Data Storytelling Scorecard: https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com

Master Data Storyteller, Sam Knowles,speaks with Angela Balakrishnan, Executive Director of Strategic Communications & Public Affairs at the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) about information rights, public trust, AI, and why "data is about people". Topics include the ICO's role, rights awareness, AI priorities and consultation, practical tips (think about your digital footprint; strong passwords; MFA), and the Ripple Effect campaign ("It was one admin error") with trauma-informed research and charity partners.

Resources and links

- ICO website - https://ico.org.uk/

- ICO on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/information-commissioner's-office/

- ICO on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@informationcommissioner

- Ripple Effect campaign - http://bit.ly/4m9o2FX

Take the Data Storytelling Scorecard: https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com

In this episode of the Data Malarkey Podcast, Master Data Storyteller, Sam Knowles, welcomes Kelly Beaver, Chief Executive of Ipsos UK & Ireland, to explore why the data industry is at a crossroads.

Kelly shares insights from the Market Research Society's "Campaign for Better Data" - tackling synthetic data, the risks and benefits of AI to the market research industry, and the danger of what she terms "ultra-processed data". With passion and precision, Kelly explains why high-quality evidence matters more than ever.

🔍 Topics covered:

• The rise of synthetic and algorithmically altered data

• What makes data "ultra-processed" - and why that's a problem

• The need for transparency and representativeness

• Why in-person collaboration still matters

• Storytelling, ethics, and the future of insight

Resources and links

• Ipsos UK & Ireland - https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk

• Market Research Society (MRS): Campaign for Better Data - http://bit.ly/4m5eH1E

• MRS Fair Data Mark - https://www.mrs.org.uk/standards/fairdata

👉 Take the Data Storytelling Scorecard: https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com

In this Greatest Hits episode, Master Data Storyteller, Sam Knowles, rounds up the sharpest, most compelling, and most insightful moments from Series 8 of Data Malarkey - the podcast about using data, smarter. From AI and ethics to storytelling with data, this episode features golden snippets of conversations with:

• VW's Nick Ratcliffe on marketing measurement

• Cambridge United FC's Mark Bonner on the need to balance the emotional and the rational in the era of sporting analytics

• The Great Lakes Reporter of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Caitlyn Looby, on three golden rule of storytelling from science

• Oxford psychology professor, Chris Summerfield, on neuroscience and artificial intelligence - and how AI and human minds are similar AND different

• The American Enterprise Institute's Senior Fellow, Christine Rosen, on the extinction of real-world experience

• And data-driven PR agency owner - Darryl Sparey from Hard Numbers - on data that actually drives communications impact (and not just vanity metrics)
  
  

If you've missed an episode, this is the perfect sampler. And if you're a regular, enjoy the smartest, quirkiest moments of the season all in one go and revel in how the planets align and the dots join up to create cross-sector insights.

🎧 Stay tuned to hear what ties them all together: a passion for asking smarter questions and making more meaningful use of data.

In this episode of The Data Malarkey Podcast, host and Master Data Storyteller, Sam Knowles, talks with Darryl Sparey, Managing Director and Co-Founder of UK-based PR agency, Hard Numbers. A seasoned expert in communications and marketing measurement, Darryl breaks down what it really means to use data effectively in PR, how vanity metrics mislead, and why storytelling still reigns supreme.

From launching award-winning campaigns to championing smarter KPIs, Darryl brings sharp insight and plenty of playful Data Malarkey to the mic.

Take the Data Storytelling Scorecard: https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com

🔍 Topics in this episode include:

• The rise of data-led storytelling in earned media communications and PR

• Vanity metrics vs. genuine business impact

• Lessons learned from building Hard Numbers

• What PR measurement too often gets wrong
  
  

🎯 This episode is a must-listen for marketers, comms professionals, and curious media data analysts analysts alike.

In this episode of The Data Malarkey Podcast, host and Master Data Storyteller, Sam Knowles, is joined by Christine Rosen, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and author of the 2025 book, The Extinction of Experience. They dig into what happens when real-world, face-to-face experiences are replaced by screens and algorithms.

Christine shares her unique journey from a bassoon scholarship to intellectual thought leadership, how teaching aikido shapes her thinking, and how she sees technology reshaping human behavior - for better and worse. With insight, wit, and depth, Christine challenges us to reconsider what we lose when digital convenience becomes the norm.

🔍 Topics include:

• Why boredom, handwriting, and walking matter
  
  

• What the "extinction of experience" means
  
  

• AI, screen time, and our increasingly mediated lives
  
  

• Martial arts, musical instruments, and embodied attention
  
  

• The pandemic's role in accelerating mediation

Take the Data Storytelling Scorecard: https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com

🧠 This one's for anyone curious about reclaiming a genuinely human presence in an over-mediated world.

In this episode of Data Malarkey – the podcast about using data, smarter – Master Data Storyteller, Sam Knowles, talks to Chris Summerfield, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Oxford. Chris shares insights into what makes human intelligence so remarkable, how AI models are both fundamentally different from AND similar to human brains, and why understanding cognitive science is critical for building better AI. They explore the future of AI-human collaboration, discuss Chris' long experience at DeepMind, and consider why prediction sits at the core of both artificial and human intelligence.

Take the Data Storytelling Scorecard: https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com

What you'll learn:

• Why AI models both AND aren't like human brains

• How DeepMind trained AlphaGo to beat the Go world champion, Lee Sedol

• What cognitive science can teach AI research

• Why prediction is central to intelligence

• The benefits and limitations of current large language models

Resources mentioned:

• Chris Summerfield's University of Oxford 'Human Information Processing' lab

• These Strange New Minds – Chris's compelling 2025 book

• Chris' personal webpage

• DeepMind and the AlphaGo documentary

Want to learn more? Check out the links in the show notes and subscribe for more episodes.