A microphone in the foreground with a piece of paper and a pen in the background

What are experimental statistics? Can they be trusted? Who does them, why, and how? To answer these questions and more, the tenth episode of the Eurostat podcast series Stats in a Wrap dives into the innovative world of experimental statistics where statisticians try to measure new social phenomena such as sharing platforms, or explore the possibilities of new technologies to collect more data. This episode marks the launch of Season 2 with the unusual feature of six guests rather than just two. 

The host Jonathan Elliott is joined by statisticians from Statistics Denmark and Eurostat. Albrecht Wirthmann, head of unit for methodology and innovation at Eurostat, along with his colleague Agnieszka Zajac, discusses the importance of experimental statistics and the balance between timeliness and accuracy. Meanwhile, Eurostat tourism statisticians Christophe Demunter and Simon Bley talk about the experimental collaborative economy project, which looks at statistics on short-stay accommodation. 

Lastly, Søren Schiønning Andersen (the director of the Department of Business Statistics in Denmark), along with his colleague Kirsten Balling (a statistician specialising in the economic sphere), explores the creativity and non-conventional techniques that help statistics reveal things they normally can’t. For instance, they track electricity consumption on Christmas day to see when people put the turkey in the oven, revealing that the time people start cooking differs in different parts of the country. 

Listen to the monthly episodes on the Eurostat website, the European Commission Audiovisual Service, or YouTube. You can also subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google , or via our RSS feed. 

Stats in a Wrap aims to look at the world through the eyes of statistics, picking the most delicious morsels and striking flavours to provide insights into the unexpected, quirky and downright peculiar perspectives that only the numbers can reveal.

The opinions expressed in the podcasts reflect solely the point of view of the speakers and can in no way be taken to reflect the position of the Eurostat, European Commission, or the European Union.