WHAT IS STATS?
We Want
People to think about the numbers behind the news
We Look
At major issues and news stories from a quantitative and scientific perspective
We Help
Journalists think quantitatively through education, workshops and direct assistance with data analysis
We Are
Non-partisan and non-profit; we advocate scientific and statistical methods as the best way of analyzing and solving society's problems. We are a sister organization of the Center for Media and Public Affairs - "America's preeminent news analysts"
STATS INVESTIGATIVE UNIT
Europe on the Brink (Again)
Dr. William T. Dickens and Dr. Stephen J. Rose
Contributors to EconoSTATS, a soon-to-be launched website, analyze the European debt crisis.
Republicans are Stupid ...
Jon Entine, May 4, 2012
That’s the stupid premise of a stupid new book by an anti-Republican gadfly
Controversial Italian Scientist Says Splenda Causes Cancer
Trevor Butterworth, April 24, 2012
Italian scientist claims that consuming Splenda may pose a threat for developing cancer, urges pregnant women and children to avoid artificial sweeteners.
The New York Times Magazine’s Botched Boob Job
Rebecca Goldin, Ph.D., April 16, 2012
Profiting from early puberty: Who is the real victim in the Times story, a child exposed by her mother, or the readers exposed to lots of worry, but no meaningful data by the Times?
RECENT ANALYSIS
ProPublica fumbles painkiller story; Seattle Times scores touchdown
Rebecca Goldin, Ph.D and Cindy Merrick, January 31, 2012
Will A Soda Tax Really Save 26,000 Lives, Billions Of Dollars?
Trevor Butterworth, Forbes, January 12, 2012
Brilliant ideas from the Washington Post: Learning math is stupid!
Rebecca Goldin PhD and Cindy Merrick, December 13, 2011
BPA Archive
STATS BLOG
Amartya Sen and the E.U. “Democratic Failure”- By David MacNeil, one of the contributors to the soon-to-be launched EconoSTATS, a joint project between STATS and GMU
(April 30, 2012)
World Bank Reports Decline of Poverty in Developing Nations- By David MacNeil, one of the contributors to the soon-to-be launched EconoSTATS, a joint project between STATS and GMU
(April 30, 2012)
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs?- By David MacNeil, one of the contributors to the soon-to-be launched EconoSTATS, a joint project between STATS and GMU
(April 30, 2012)
Winners and Losers in the Economic Recovery- By David MacNeil, one of the contributors to the soon-to-be launched EconoSTATS, a joint project between STATS and GMU
(April 30, 2012)
No Labels: No Budget, No Pay – By David MacNeil, one of the contributors to the soon-to-be launched EconoSTATS, a joint project between STATS and GMU
(April 30, 2012)
Read more blog itemsSTATS IN THE NEWS
Want A Less Fussy, Easier to Soothe, Kinder Child? Make Music!
STATS Fellow Maia Szalavitz on TIME Healthland
(May 16, 2012)
Fracking Safety Improves Dramatically, Says Independent Study
STATS Fellow Jon Entine on Forbes
(May 15, 2012)
Did A Mighty Wind Kill the Dinosaurs?
STATS's Trevor Butterworth on Newsweek/The Daily Beast
(May 14, 2012)
Natural disasters: Who pays in the climate change era?
STATS Fellow Jon Entine on AEI
(May 14, 2012)
Understanding Psychopathic and Sadistic Minds
STATS Fellow Maia Szalavitz on TIME Healthland
(May 14, 2012)
Can You Learn to Play an Instrument at 40? Q&A with Psychologist Gary Marcus
STATS Fellow Maia Szalavitz on TIME Healthland
(May 11, 2012)
The Genetic Literacy Project will foster a dialogue about the scientific, social and ethical implications of genetic technologies, human and agricultural. It is designed to help journalists, scientists and policymakers navigate the increasingly politicized arena of biotechnology, genetic engineering, medical genomics and related sciences, such as nanotechnology.
Entine's new book Crop Chemophobia: Will Precaution Kill the Green Revolution is available now.
A groundbreaking study conducted by STATS and The Center for Health and Risk Communication at George Mason University shows how experts view the risks of common chemicals - and that the media are overstating risk.
You can view the Media Monitor, Toxicologists' Opinions on Chemical Risk and Media Coverage, here.
Plus check out Science suppressed: How America became obsessed with BPA
on the web, or download a PDF of the full report here
Sugar-sweetened beverages have become the focus of intense debate in the US as public health advocates and policy makers argue that these drinks are driving the obesity epidemic which is, in turn, driving huge health care costs. Therefore, many argue that soda is subject to a sin tax.
This analysis looks at the soda tax debate and asks whether the data adds up to a compelling case for either position.
Plus, Slimmed Down Sourcing: Media Coverage of Soda Taxes on STATS' sister organization, CMPA.
Underage drinking is a serious problem for our society. From reports in the media, one gets the impression that it is getting worse ever year and that even casual teenage drinking carries with it devastating implications for our youth, including increasing the alcoholism rate of those who drink early and even death. Do the statistics support these stories?
Plus, The do's and don'ts of kicking addiction and treating alcoholism.
Cutting through the clutter, spin, and sophistry: what you need to know to understand ongoing budget debates.
Op-Ed: Capping the debt hyperbole
Climate scientists agree on warming, disagree on dangers, and don’t trust the media’s coverage of climate change
S. Robert Lichter, Ph.D,
April 24, 2008
STATS experts analyze the everyday concerns of parenting.
Land of the free, home of the scared: An interview with Lenore Skenazy
A fellow at STATS since 2004, Szalavitz writes about health, science and public policy. She is co-author, with leading child trauma expert Bruce D. Perry, MD, PhD, of The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog and Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook: What Traumatized Children Can Teach Us About Loss, Love and Healing (Basic, 2007). Her new book Born for Love: Why Empathy Is Essential--and Endangered is out now.
