Ep 14 - Beth Tellman - Cloud2Street, Open Science within a For-Profit Company & The Role of Insurance in Actionable Flood Analytics

Dr Beth Tellman is the Chief Science Officer at Cloud2Street, a company focused on flood monitoring using mostly satellite imagery. They recently published their “Global Flood Database” - featured in Nature  - containing 15 years of data on 913 floods with human settlement maps across 169 countries.In this episode we talk about Beth’s journey to starting Cloud2Street, what being a scientists means to her, as well as what the impact of the Global Flood Database has been. We talk on what one needs to do to actually have an impact; the role data science modelling but also insurance both have and how they work hand in hand. We touch on the open-science approach Cloud2Street is taking, all the while being a privately held for-profit company.---Find previous episodes and other show notes at mindsbehindmaps.comIf you'd like to help me out, please consider leaving a review directly on the website, or on Apple Podcast.---About Beth:TwitterLinkedInCloud2StreetTime stamps3:27 - Conversation begins, Beth presents herself7:55 - Why be a scientist?10:57 - Cloud2Street12:19 - Building a company as a scientist16:37 - Global Flood Database20:41 - Impact doesn’t only come from better algorithms24:12 - Impact of publishing the Global Flood Database28:37 - Creating the Database33:30 - Why insurance is important39:58 - Making sure Data & Maps are actually useful45:21 - How accurate does it need to be to solve the problem?50:07 - Finding the right metric54:42 - Cloud2Street’s Business Model1:03:48 - Open Science in a private company1:13:33 - Using / Finding the best data for the job1:20:39 - Communicating limitations1:24:02 - Book recommendationsShownotes:Global Flood DatabaseARC: African Risk CapacityIEEE Podcast episode with Beth: Down to Earth S2:EP2Media recommendations:Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas PikettySeeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed by James C. ScottWinners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World by Anand GiridharadasThis Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate by Naomi KleinPlease feel free to reach out!My TwitterFor news about the podcastWebsite