<p>In this episode of <em>Breaking Math</em>, Autumn and Noah speak with Ron Wasserstein, Executive Director of the American Statistical Association, about what statistics means in a world increasingly shaped by AI, misinformation, and fragile public trust. Wasserstein argues that statistics is not merely a “bag of tools,” but a way of thinking: asking where data comes from, what it leaves out, how uncertainty should be communicated, and when numbers are being used to illuminate rather than manipulate.</p><p></p><p>Chapters</p><p>00:00 The Golden Age of Statistics</p><p>02:36 AI's Impact on Statistics</p><p>08:16 Data as Fuel for AI</p><p>10:55 Bias in AI and Statistics</p><p>14:01 Preparing Future Statisticians</p><p>16:58 Bridging the Gap: Academia and Industry</p><p>22:58 The Misconception of Statistics</p><p>23:08 The Role of Statistics in Public Discourse</p><p>26:20 The American Statistical Association's Mission</p><p>32:18 Statistics and Politics: A Historical Perspective</p><p>36:02 Addressing Misinformation and Misuse of Data</p><p>39:51 The Importance of Statistical Literacy</p><p>44:01 Misconceptions About Statistics and Expertise</p><p>46:57 The Essence of Statistics</p><p>47:22 Statistics as a Way of Thinking</p><p></p><p>Follow Ron Wasserstein</p><p>LinkedIn (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ron-wasserstein/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/ron-wasserstein/</a>)</p><p></p><p>Follow Breaking Math on</p><p>Substack (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://breakingmath.substack.com/">https://breakingmath.substack.com/</a>)</p><p>Twitter (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://x.com/breakingmathpod">https://x.com/breakingmathpod</a>)</p><p>Instagram (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/breakingmathmedia/">https://www.instagram.com/breakingmathmedia/</a>)</p><p>Bluesky (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://bsky.app/profile/breakingmath.bsky.social">https://bsky.app/profile/breakingmath.bsky.social</a>)</p><p>Website (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.breakingmath.io/">https://www.breakingmath.io/</a>)</p><p>YouTube (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/@BreakingMathPod">https://www.youtube.com/@BreakingMathPod</a>)</p><p></p><p>Follow Noah on</p><p>Instagram (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/profnoahgian/">https://www.instagram.com/profnoahgian/</a>)</p><p>Twitter (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://x.com/ProfNoahGian">https://x.com/ProfNoahGian</a>)</p><p>Bluesky (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://bsky.app/profile/profnoahgian.bsky.social">https://bsky.app/profile/profnoahgian.bsky.social</a>)</p><p></p><p>Follow Autumn on</p><p>Twitter (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://x.com/1autumn_leaf">https://x.com/1autumn_leaf</a>)</p><p>Bluesky (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://bsky.app/profile/1autumnleaf.bsky.social">https://bsky.app/profile/1autumnleaf.bsky.social</a>)</p><p>Instagram (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/1autumnleaf/">https://www.instagram.com/1autumnleaf/</a>)</p><p>Substack (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://substack.com/@1autumnleaf">https://substack.com/@1autumnleaf</a>)</p><p></p><p>email: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a></p>