What's The Point

More of the most interesting stories and people of the year. Be sure to check out the special site fivethirtyeight.com/dataawards. We'll be back with new shows in 2016!

538 is launching a proper election pod in January. For now, we're piloting with Nate Silver, Clare Malone, Harry Enten and Jody Avirgan. Let us know what you think.

A very special evening, brought to you by FiveThirtyEight.

538 is launching an election podcast in January! We're piloting now with Nate Silver, Harry Enten, Clare Malone, and Jody Avirgan. Take a listen, let us know what you think.

Forensic evidence has the promise of leading to science-based convictions. But for it to be reliable we need a better understanding of data and statistics, says Erin Murphy.

The Good Dinosaur features vast, hyperrealistic landscapes -- powered by terabytes and terabytes of US Geological Survey data.

For your holiday travels, excerpts of our favorite conversations: Neil deGrasse Tyson - (15:50) Farai Chideya - (25:40) Bike Lanes - (37:30) Police Violence - (54:10) Drones

Religion is personal, nuanced, evolving -- which makes it particularly resistant to easy quantification. Emma Green (Atlantic) and Leah Libresco (538) discuss stats and faith.

Turns out, the Canadian census was a pretty big flashpoint in the recent elections, and the fight over it tells us a lot about why government data matters.

In a country like Niger, Doctors Without Borders epidemiologists use a combination of advanced technology and old-fashioned paperwork.

In 1970's NYC, huge swaths of the city were engulfed in flames. Bad stats may have been to blame. Joe Flood, author of "The Fires," tells the story.

Walt Hickey recently discovered that Fandango's movie ratings are weirdly inflated. What he learned says a lot about trust online and the wisdom of the crowd.

We take a hike in the woods north of Santa Cruz in search of the marbled murrelet, an elusive bird that's being tracked using remote sensors and machine learning. Tweet tweet.

A tour of the Bloomberg terminal -- it's clunky, powerful, addictive and ubiquitous on Wall Street. It also costs $2000/month and has everything a trader could need.

Nate Silver, Harry Enten and Micah Cohen talk about the 2016 election as part of an Advertising Week panel. Stay tuned for the FiveThirtyEight Politics channel coming soon!

Your data creates its own data. Farai Chideya discusses how she thinks of data, security, and why your information is like your pet -- you own it, but you can't control it.

A.J. Jacobs is trying to build the world's biggest family tree, connecting him to everyone on earth. The data-driven revolution genealogy is helping.

Josh Lynn says his "consumer engagement" algorithm can predict how a movie will do - months before it's even made. A special co-podcast with Grantland's Andy Greenwald.

From Amazon to UPS, the data-driven workplace is here. Is your humanity being traded for your company's efficiency?

The people behind @buzzfeed and @nba discuss how analytics help them decide what to post and when, plus the behind-the-scenes story of how Buzzfeed got that dress to go viral.