Follow the Data Podcast

About Follow the Data Podcast

Bloomberg Philanthropies’ “Follow the Data” podcast highlights how our work is driving change and making an impact in the areas of education, the arts, the environment, public health and government innovation. Here’s how the podcast works: our founder is a strong believer that “if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it,” and data-driven strategies are at the core of our work. Each episode will begin with a key data point that gives insight into a problem we’re addressing through our unique approach. From there, our guests – some of whom you will recognize as our program leads and partners – will share their expertise and stories on how our work together impacts the data.

Publisher

Bloomberg Philanthropies

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

15 Apr 2016

Latest episode

26 Aug 2025

Latest episodes

148 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   26 Aug 2025

   148. Arts Internships in the Age of AI

   Young people entering the workforce today are facing a brand-new challenge: Can I find a job that AI can’t touch? And just as important, what skills will make me irreplaceable? Enter: the arts and cultural sector — and specifically, the Bloomberg Arts Internship program, also known as BAI. Launched in 2012, this program connects high school and college students with paid summer internships at arts organizations in seven U.S. cities. Since its start thanks to an idea from Bloomberg Philanthropies Board Member Walter Isaacson, BAI has supported more than 2,250 internships at over 250 cultural institutions, giving students real-world experience while building skills every career needs — communication, problem-solving, teamwork, and civic engagement. On this episode of Follow the Data, Katherine Oliver sits down with from Kate D. Levin, who oversees Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Arts program, on how the Bloomberg Arts Internship has evolved, the impact it’s having on participants, and why these opportunities matter to young people in a rapidly changing professional landscape.

2. 

   25 Jun 2025

   147. Protecting 30% of the World's Land and Ocean by 2030

   Katherine Oliver interviews Rita El-Zaghloul, Director of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, about global conservation efforts to protect 30% of the world's land and ocean by 2030.

3. 

   21 Feb 2025

   146. Celebrating The Gates in Central Park and the Power of Public Art

   20 years ago, the late Christo and Jeanne-Claude transformed Central Park with The Gates, a temporary public art installation featuring 7,503 saffron-colored gates adorned with free-flowing fabric. After being elected as Mayor of New York City, Mike Bloomberg worked with the artists to bring their vision to life. The results? Over its 16 days on display, the public art piece drew more than four million visitors to Central Park in the middle of winter and brought an estimated $254 million in economic activity to the city. Christo and Jeanne-Claude were known for their site-specific, large-scale public artworks, which often reimagined landmarks or landscapes into surreal spaces with objects, fabrics, textures, and colors. From surrounding 11 islands in Miami’s Biscayne Bay with bright pink fabric, to wrapping Paris’s Pont Neuf bridge with silky, golden fabric, the pair created bold and brilliant outdoor projects that spanned the globe and garnered international acclaim for their expansiveness and originality. The point of their installations? It was simple; no deeper meaning was contained within the works, but they provided visitors with joy, beauty, and new perspectives on familiar spaces. For a limited time, the public can experience a portion of The Gates through an augmented reality experience in Central Park powered by the Bloomberg Connects app and learn more about Christo and Jeanne-Claude's NYC projects at Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Gates and Unrealized Projects for New York City, the latest exhibition at The Shed. On this episode of Follow the Data, Megan Sheekey sits down with Patti Harris, CEO of Bloomberg Philanthropies, and  Vladimir Yavachev, Director of Projects at the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation, to dive deeper into the 20th anniversary of The Gates, the prolific life and works of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, and the critical role public art plays in cities around the world.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.3 / 5

63 ratings

Spotify

4.0 / 5

2 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 27 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

33

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

50

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Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.