Numbers Geek with Steve Ballmer
by GeekWire
Numbers Geek is the podcast where we use numbers and data to make sense of the world. We take on issues from education to politics to basketball and beyond — with leaders in business, tech and entertainment. Our resident Numbers Geek is Steve Ballmer, the former Microsoft CEO and current owner of the L.A. Clippers. Numbers Geek is a GeekWire podcast, produced in partnership with USAFacts, the nonprofit data initiative founded by Ballmer.
Episodes
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Finale: Most Important Numbers in the World
If GDP and the stock market don't fully capture the economic health of the U.S. and its citizens, what numbers should we be watching? What are the key performance indicators for the country, and the most important numbers for the future of the world? Those are the central questions on this final...
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A picture of America in numbers
Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's non-partisan, not-for-profit civic data initiative, USAFacts, today is publishing its third annual report on U.S. local, state and federal government — compiling and analyzing the government's own data to update Americans on the state of the country in much…
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What Happened to the Middle Class?
People from across the political spectrum use a lot of different words to answer the question of what happened to the middle class: Hollowed out, wiped out, disappearing, declining, doesn't exist anymore. But what's really happening to the middle class? What do the numbers say? We answer that...
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Bonus: Steve Ballmer analyzes his team's historic NBA win
With even more yelling and fist-pumping than normal, Steve Ballmer might not have seemed like an analytical guy to casual fans watching his LA Clippers come back from a 31-point deficit to defeat the Golden State Warriors in Game 2 of their first-round NBA playoff matchup earlier this week. It…
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Numbers of the NBA: Courtside with Steve Ballmer
Sure, you know how many points your favorite NBA player scored in his last game. But how do turnovers, field goal percentage and rebounds improve chances of winning? How did NBA rule changes impact average points per game this season? And how did "wins above replacement value" factor into the...
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Shark Tank's billion-dollar blunder
Back in 2013, Jamie Siminoff was the founder and chief inventor of a struggling video doorbell company, pinning all the startup’s hopes on his appearance on the television show Shark Tank. He walked out empty handed, as all five sharks went out, but five years later, he sold the company, now…
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Crunching the Numbers of 'Shark Tank': A $30M Rejection
$30 million. That number will forever be associated with our guest on this week's Numbers Geek podcast, Arum Kang, co-founder and co-CEO of Coffee Meets Bagel. She turned down a $30 million acquisition offer from Mark Cuban for the online dating company that she founded with her two sisters. It...
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Diagnosing U.S. healthcare: Steve's key numbers to know
Healthcare is suddenly back on the U.S. political agenda, and it remains one of the most important and misunderstood issues in the country. On this episode of Numbers Geek, former Microsoft CEO and USAFacts founder Steve Ballmer explains the handful of key numbers he uses to understand and track...
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The Case of the Mysterious Income Statement
Can Steve Ballmer figure out the identity of an anonymous company just by looking at the numbers on its income statement? On this episode of Numbers Geek, we challenge the former Microsoft CEO to solve a numerical mystery, with a few surprise twists along the way. In the process, our Resident...
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Peter Sagal, 'Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me' host
Peter Sagal is best known as the host of NPR’s weekly quiz show, Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me, which marked its 20th anniversary in October. But he’s also an avid runner, a columnist for Runner’s World magazine and the author of the new memoir, The Incomplete Book of Running. And he fashions himself…
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Basketball legend Sue Bird
Imagine you’ve been working in the same job for the same organization for your entire career, through all the ups and downs, and suddenly you find yourself in the midst of your best year ever. That’s what happened to basketball legend Sue Bird in 2018, as she led the Seattle Storm to the WNBA...
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Trade-off: U.S., China and the real numbers of global trade
How big is the U.S. trade deficit, in reality, and what are the implications of trade negotiations with China and other major countries around the world? This week, we dive into the numbers behind the U.S. trade deficit, the trade war with China, and the implications for the U.S. economy, with…
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National Teacher of the Year, Mandy Manning
Mandy Manning is uniquely qualified to offer her perspective on education, one of the subjects we’ve been exploring this season on Numbers Geek. She also has day-to-day experience with another of our key topics: immigration. Manning is the 2018 National Teacher of the Year, as recognized by the...
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The Economics of Immigration
On this episode of Numbers Geek, we put the adjectives and arguments aside and explore the long-term U.S. immigration numbers and trends, including the implications for the population and economy. Featuring Steve Ballmer, the former Microsoft CEO and the founder of USAFacts, GeekWire's partner on...
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Wrong Number? How to detect bogus data in the news
On this episode of Numbers Geek, we’ll talk with someone who specializes in recognizing "bogus and misleading" numbers in media coverage and public statements: Brian Kernighan, a Princeton University computer science professor and the author of a new book, “Millions, Billions, Zillions: Defending...
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Basketball Box Score Mystery
Can Steve Ballmer identify a famous basketball game purely by the numbers? Can you? That's our fun and enlightening challenge on this new episode of the Numbers Geek podcast, featuring the former Microsoft CEO and current owner of the L.A. Clippers. With cameos by Stephen A. Smith, Steve Kerr and...
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Underestimated: Arlan Hamilton and the new numbers of equality
Arlan Hamilton looks at the number of startup investments going to companies run by women, people of color and LGBT entrepreneurs, and doesn’t just see disparity, or inequity. She sees financial opportunity. These startup leaders aren’t simply underrepresented. They’re underestimated. And she is...
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Bonus: Numbers on the Border
Something remarkable happened in the White House this week, as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer met with President Trump to talk about border security amid their standoff over the federal budget. The president attempt to ground the discussion in numbers....
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The Education Equation
Student-teacher ratio, teacher pay, graduation rates and test scores. What do the numbers really say about K-12 public education in the U.S.? We'll find out this week with our Resident Numbers Geek, Steve Ballmer, with some twists along the way, including a surprise guest from Steve's past. We’ll...
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Facts Vs. Politics
Can facts heal America's political divide? We attempt to find out on the first episode of Numbers Geek with Steve Ballmer, the podcast where we use facts and numbers to make sense of the world. This episode takes Numbers Geek Host Todd Bishop to Politicon, a two-day political conference that...
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Introducing Numbers Geek
Numbers Geek is a new podcast from GeekWire, in partnership with USAFacts, that uses numbers in a quest to understand the world and unite the country. Join Numbers Geek host Todd Bishop and resident Numbers Geek Steve Ballmer for a preview of the topics and issues we'll explore on our first…
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About this show
Numbers Geek is the podcast where we use numbers and data to make sense of the world. We take on issues from education to politics to basketball and beyond — with leaders in business, tech and entertainment. Our resident Numbers Geek is Steve Ballmer, the former Microsoft CEO and current owner of the L.A. Clippers. Numbers Geek is a GeekWire podcast, produced in partnership with USAFacts, the nonprofit data initiative founded by Ballmer.
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