Podcasts
Introduction
From changing travel habits and reducing our environmental footprint to youth employment trends and the growing interest in local food supply – our world does not stand still and our society is constantly changing in response to global events.
But do the changes we experience or initiate at our personal level also show on a bigger scale, across European society? Do the statistics and data confirm what we see in our daily lives?
The podcast series 'Stats in a wrap' looks at the world through the eyes of statistics. Its aim is to pick the most delicious morsels and striking flavours to provide insights into the unexpected, the quirky and downright peculiar perspectives that only the numbers can reveal.
Listen to our monthly episodes below or subscribe to our podcast on YouTube, Google Podcast, Apple Play and Spotify. Alternatively, you can use this 
rss feed URL in other podcast players.
The opinions expressed in the podcasts reflect solely the point of view of the speakers. They can in no way be taken to reflect the position of Eurostat, the European Commission or the European Union.
Season 2
Episode 1: What is experimental statistics?
Released on 22 February 2023
In this episode we talk about the intriguing oddities of experimental statistics. About what happens when the solid dependable world of official statistics mixes it up a little bit with some innovation ranging from Airbnb bookings to electric smart meters.
Søren Andersen and Kirsten Balling from Statistics Denmark, together with Christophe Demunter and Simon Bley from the Eurostat tourism department, as well as Albrecht Wirthmann and Agnieszka Zajac from Eurostat’s experimental statistics team discuss the topic with Jonathan Elliott to discover the endless new opportunities offered by innovative approaches to collecting data.
Season 1
Released on 8 December 2022
In this episode, we talk about the EU's 2020 agricultural census, a survey so big it can only happen every 10 years. It involves quizzing 9 million farmers and this time it had to be done in the middle of a pandemic.
Helena Ramos from Eurostat and Johanna Slaets from Statistics Austria speak about this topic with Jonathan Elliott and discuss:
- why this data is so important for the EU
- why organic farming is booming
- why the age of the EU- farmers could become a demographic time bomb
Curious to know the answers? Then listen to our podcast.
Guests
- Helena Ramos, Team leader, Statistics on farms, Eurostat
- Johanna Slaets, Head of agriculture and forestry statistics, Statistics Austria
- Host: Jonathan Elliott
Links to further information on the agriculture census
Released on 23 November 2022
In this episode we talk about the zoomed-in world of regional data which give fascinating insights into the lives of 447 million people in the EU. These range from life expectancy to employment, from broadband speeds to transport links.
Bianka Fohgrub from Eurostat and Paolo Veneri from the OECD discuss the topic with Jonathan Elliott. They reveal how and why they break down country data into regional statistics and map these to make startling comparisons with beautiful infographics.
Guests
- Bianka Fohgrub, Statistical officer, Regional statistics and geographical information unit, Eurostat
- Paolo Veneri, Head of regional analysis and statistics, National accounts methodology, OECD
- Host: Jonathan Elliott
Links to further information on regional statistics
Released on 20 October 2022
How can we make sure that the data from different European countries is comparable? What does quality in statistics mean?
Jonathan Elliott talks to John Verrinder and Lourdes Prado from Eurostat about the work of the statisticians and data scientists at Eurostat and how they master and harmonize all the data from 27 EU Member States before they get shared with the public.
They also look at how statisticians ensure reliable data that policymakers, academics and journalists can use for their work.
Guests
- John Verrinder, Head of unit, National accounts methodology, Eurostat
- Lourdes Prado, Statistical officer, Excessive deficit procedure (EDP), Eurostat
- Host: Jonathan Elliott
Links to further information on European statistics
How is the European Union progressing on its way to becoming the world's first carbon-neutral economy? Look at the data on renewable energy in Europe with us!
Madeleine Mahovsky, head of the energy statistics unit from Eurostat, and Julian Prime, the head of electricity, renewables and coal statistics at the International Energy Agency, talk about the fascinating world of renewable energy and what the EU data have to say about it.
Guests
- Madeleine Mahovsky, Head of Unit, Energy statistics, Eurostat
- Julian Prime, Head of electricity, renewables and coal statistics, International Energy Agency
- Host: Jonathan Elliott
Links to further information on renewables
Released on 9 August 2022
In this episode we talk about the winning entries in the European Statistics Competition (ESC) 2022. The competition invites two-minute films presenting official statistics on the topic ‘Environment’ from school students across Europe.
Eurostat’s Tim Allen and Glen Campbell from the European Commission together with Joanna Karlowska-Pik, a professor from Poland, discuss the entries with Jonathan Elliott. Jonathan also talks to students from Bulgaria, Italy and Slovenia about how and why they made their videos and the challenges they faced in the competition.
Guests
- Glen Campbell, Publications Office of the European Union
- Timothy Allen, Deputy head of unit, Dissemination products and user support, Eurostat
- Joanna Karlowska-Pik, Assistant Professor, Department of Probability Theory and Stochastic Analysis, Nikolaus Copernicus University in Torun
- Mariana Kotzeva, Director-General, Eurostat
- Slovenian team TEGLZAROŽE: Tjaša Karas, Neja Štampar Link to video
- Bulgarian team DATAPOWER: Viktor Hekimov, Martin Kostadinov Link to video
- Italian team GIOTTISTICA: Sofia Fasano, Sarah Tizi Link to video
- Slovenian team RERENELA: Rene Žižek Link to video
- Host: Jonathan Elliott
Links to further information on the ESC
- European Statistics Competition – 2022 edition
- ESC 2022 playlist: Category A and Category B
- European Statistics Competition – 2021 edition
- ESC 2021 playlist: Finalists
Released on 12 July 2022
In this episode we talk about the prices of things and what happens when they just won't stop going up. Maybe we can find out what's going on with the EU's inflation problem and what might be done about it.
Paul Konijn from Eurostat and Professor Ludwig von Auer from the University of Trier discuss the topic with Jonathan Elliott and throw light on inflation and why it's rising in Europe.
Guests
- Paul Konijn, Head of Unit, Price statistics, purchasing power parities, housing statistics, Eurostat
- Prof Ludwig von Auer, University of Trier
- Host: Jonathan Elliott
Links to further information on inflation
Released on 21 June 2022
2022 is the ‘European Year of Youth’ and we are going to focus on the world of work for young people and the effects that the COVID pandemic has had and continues to have on it.
Anna Emilia Martin from Eurostat and Niall O'Higgins, senior economist from the International Labour Organization, talk with Jonathan Elliott about this topic to figure out how the world has changed for young people aged 15 to 29 in Europe.
Guests
- Anna Emilia Martin, Statistician, Labour market statistics unit, Eurostat
- Niall O'Higgins, Senior economist, International Labour Organization
- Host: Jonathan Elliott
Links to further information on youth unemployment
- Thematic section on labour market
- Thematic section on youth
- Database on labour market
- Employment annual data - Statistics Explained article
- Employment quarterly data - Statistics Explained article
- Unemployment and beyond - Statistics Explained article
- People outside the labour force - Statistics Explained article
- Young people neither in employment nor in education or training - Statistics Explained article
Released on 10 May 2022
Are we saving the planet with our recycling or ruining it with more packaging and consumption? Is there now less pollution, or more?
Oscar Gomez from Eurostat and Ioannis Bakas, an expert from the European Environment Agency, talk with Jonathan Elliott about this topic to figure out what's really going on when it comes to recycling our waste in Europe.
Guests
- Oscar Gomez Prieto, Team Leader, Circular economy and waste statistics unit, Eurostat
- Ioannis Bakas, European Environment Agency, Circular economy monitoring expert
- Host: Jonathan Elliott
Links to further information on waste
- Thematic section on waste
- Database on waste
- Statistics for the European Green Deal - Visualisation tool
- Municipal waste statistics - Statistics Explained article
- Packaging waste statistics - Statistics Explained article
- Waste shipment statistics - Statistics Explained article
- Recycling – secondary material price indicator - Statistics Explained article
- Waste statistics - Statistics Explained article
- Plastics own resource - European Commission
Released on 8 April 2022
In spring 2020, the EU countries went into a lockdown because of the global COVID pandemic. Two years later, we take a look at the how the changes in the way we travel are reflected in the tourism statistical data.
Christophe Demunter from Eurostat and Ulf Sonntag from NIT, Germany, talk to our host Jonathan Elliott about how the pandemic affected the modes of transport we take, where we go for holidays, and how jobs in the tourism sector have changed.
We also ask some people in the street how their experiences and habits changed because of the pandemic – and get some surprising answers!
Guests
- Christophe Demunter, Tourism statistics unit, Eurostat
- Ulf Sonntag, New Insights for Tourism (NIT)
- Host: Jonathan Elliott
Further information on tourism and COVID
- Thematic website section on tourism
- Database on tourism
- Tourism statistics – nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments - Statistics Explained article
- Short-stay accommodation offered via online collaborative economy platforms - Statistics Explained article
- Air passenger transport – monthly statistics - Statistics Explained article
- European Statistical Recovery Dashboard