Data Viz Today

Data Viz Today

Helping you become a more effective information designer. You want to create effective data visualizations. That's hard work. There are so many decisions to make, like chart type, annotations, and color! Will this podcast help? Host and fellow data viz designer Alli Torban is in the trenches with you. She shares the latest tools and methods that she's discovered while on the job and interviewing top designers. If you're an analyst, journalist, or designer who wants to hone your skills with specific tactics, then this show could be just what you need.

Episodes

March 17, 2026 36 mins

Do you think your job is just to present the data? In this episode, we talk about why reporting numbers isn't enough and why your interpretation, context, and framing matter when communicating with leaders. Our guest, Morgan Depenbusch, is a data storytelling and data visualization expert who studies how insights influence people and decisions. Let's get to the show!

Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/101

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When it comes to aggregating your data in your charts, it's hard to know what's overkill and what your reader actually needs. Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic and Mike Cisneros have an interesting approach where they want you to start with thinking about your audience and what decisions the...

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Have you ever thrown a giant number at the top of your dashboard and hoped it did… something? Steve Wexler (yes, the guy who coined the term BAN, or Big Ass Number) joins me to teach you how to turn those big numbers into meaningful, context-rich moments that will make your user celebrate or panic (in a useful way!).

Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/99

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In this episode, I'm joined by Bill Shander to talk about how to hold your own in stakeholder discussions in dataviz projects, even if you're just starting out. He shares practical techniques from his new book Stakeholder Whispering, including how to build credibility, ask better questions, and stay grounded when opinions fly.

If you've ever felt overwhelmed in a stakeholder meeting, this one's for you. Let'...

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In this episode, I'm joined by Avery Smith to talk about how to actually land a data job right now without getting ghosted by resume bots. He shares his SPN method: Skills, Portfolio, Networking. We get into how to build just enough skills, why personal projects matter way more than you think, and how to reach out without being weird. If you're job hunting (or might be soon), this one's for you.

Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com...

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In this episode, I'm trying out a brand-new game called Next Question to help you sharpen your data storytelling skills by exploring the kinds of clarifying questions experts ask when facing challenges. I'm joined by Kat Greenbrook, author of The Data Storyteller's Handbook, and together we tackle real-world scenarios and share what questions we'd ask to steer data storytelling projects in the rig...

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In this episode, I share the introduction of my book, Chart Spark, to inspire you to take the first steps towards a more fulfilling career, whether you're trying to transition into dataviz or integrate more creativity into your work.

I'll redefine what creativity means, share why you need it in your dataviz work, show you how to cultivate a powerful creative prac...

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    There's no way around it: If you can speak confidently about your dataviz work to other people, you'll make a bigger impact. But you're shy, nervous, an introvert, and not a natural speaker! That's ok. You CAN learn this skill. Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic, a data storytelling expert, best-selling author, and CEO of Storytelling with Data, joins us today to share how to identify and fix those pesky pre...

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    Are you looking for ways to make your work stand out in a crowded industry, like sports? Or maybe looking for a topic with pretty clean data to create a portfolio project? In today's episode, we're chatting with Shri Khalpada, a D.C. area creative coder and Principal Software Engineer at Cleaning the Glass, which is an NBA analytics website founded by Ben Faulk that's available to the public and also has more robust too...

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    Are you ready to write a book? Or maybe see it in your future down the road? Well, I spent hours and hours researching the book publishing process, spoke with tons of authors about their experience, and then lived through it myself.

    I want to save you some time and share what I learned. Recently I shared all about the process with the Elevate Dataviz Learning Community that I co-founded and I'm sharing tha...

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    Have you ever felt like you made a big career mistake? Like you completely chose the wrong college major or took the wrong job. Well, today we're chatting with Charama Sulemane, a data analyst at the United Nations Office for Project Services. But only a few years ago, he was a fresh graduate in Mozambique and found out that no one was hiring for data science jobs in his area. He was questioning his decision to ge...

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    January 18, 2024 1 min

    Data Viz Today, hosted by Alli Torban, is a friendly and insightful podcast for anyone interested in data visualization. It offers practical advice, showcases the latest tools and methods, and features inspiring stories from the field, aimed at analysts, journalists, and designers seeking to refine their data viz skills.

    Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com

    Chart Spark book: https://www.chartsparkbook.com

    Elevate Dataviz Learn...

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    In this episode, I answer some common questions I've received lately about creativity, freelancing, dataviz process, and more. Let's go!

    • What platforms would you join when on the look out for a network, freelance projects etc?

    • I want to transition into a dataviz job but not sure where to start?

    • What exactly do you mean by 'creativity' in th...

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    December 5, 2023 20 mins

    In this episode, I'll share a concept and prompt from my NEW book CHART SPARK, and how I applied it to the library check-out receipt to develop a creative idea that uses dataviz to encourage people to go to the library more. Use this prompt in your work to come up with creative ideas! Let's go!

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    In this episode, Alberto Cairo shares some common threads he's noticed among his dataviz students who go on to excel in this field and common traits he noticed while interviewing accomplished visualization designers for his new book The Art of Insight.

    Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/89

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    Hey dataviz friend, my book is launching in early December (CHART SPARK), and after giving a workshop this morning that used the prompts from the book, I realized....chatting and brainstorming with other people is my happy place!

    So, do you wanna chat? Anything on your mind about dataviz careers, creativity, or brainstorming on a real project? I'm opening my calendar on Thursdays until the year-end for fun coffee chats. Snag a time...

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    In this episode, we explore Dr. Barbara Wixom's insights on the three main ways companies (or even freelancers) can monetize data and dataviz, drawing from her extensive research and the insights of her book, Data is Everybody's Business. She shares the patterns of successful data monetization gathered over 29 years and we brainstorm ways it applies to dataviz work. Also, since Barb was a client o...

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    As data people, we tend to be more logical and analytical, which makes navigating creativity's ambiguity a little tricky. So I called on Andy J. Pizza to help us out. To me, he is creativity personified — illustrator, author, podcaster, and more! He's worked with big clients like The New York Times and Nickelodeon, and has a new book coming out where he illustrates "invisible things."

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    In this episode, I share the framework that helps me decide when to stick with "best practices" or try a new approach in my visualizations. We explore four key variables: the reader's time and patience, the need to capture attention, past struggles conveying a concept, and the designer's available time and resources. Let's go!

    Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/86

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    In this episode, we dive into the world of scientific visuals with Jen Christiansen, Senior Graphics Editor at Scientific American and author of the new book Building Science Graphics.

    Jen shares when to consider including visuals in your work, the power of "welcoming gestures", and the effectiveness of comics in explaining complex concepts. We also discuss collaboration, the strategic use of arrows, and how to keep your projects o...

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