This week we dig into the Poisson distribution, which can be used to model common everyday processes like army deaths from horse kicks and supernovas lineardigressions.com/episodes/2020/…

This week's episode: the ups and downs, the ins and outs (mostly ins) of working from home. What are you all doing to stay sane and productive if you're suddenly working from home full time right now?

This week's episode features AI expert Prof. Stuart Russell, in a discussion about the risky path that AI is currently on and what changes we should make now for our long-term safety and happiness. AI is powerful stuff, folks--let's not mess this up.

[Katie here] We're doing a rerun this week. I didn't plan to, but events of last week and this weekend make podcasting seem less important than usual. For folks who've asked over the years how they can support the podcast: donate to a bail fund or food pantry. #BlackLivesMatter

This week: explaining an algorithm that's used to sentence defendants. It's harsher on black defendants than whites. But the algorithm isn't buggy, it's the patterns it learns from replicating racist policing patterns that are broken. It's the system. #BlackLivesMatter

Data scientist and PhD student in criminology Zach Drake is on the pod this week, unpacking statistical pitfalls, challenges detangling cause and effect, and data-driven criminal justice policy from an expert perspective

After over 5 amazing years of podcasting, we're hanging up our microphones--it's with bittersweetness that we say that this week's episode will be the last of Linear Digressions. It's been so much fun joining you each week, and we will miss you all. Thanks for listening! 🤓❤️👋