Master Data Storyteller, Sam Knowles hosts a best-of-Season-Nine greatest hits episode, featuring: Kelly Beaver, Ipsos UK & Ireland; Angela Balakrishnan, the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO); AI pathfinder and TED Talker, Susan Etlinger; senior comms advisor at Wadds Inc., Stephen Waddington; founder of Social for Good, Kerry Watkins; and, the Ohio State University's Professor of Story Science, Angus Fletcher.

Themes include the Market Research Society's "Campaign for Better Data", ultra-processed data in the age of AI, information rights and public trust, engineering-level rigour in PR and evidence-based measurement, authentic LinkedIn strategy for nonprofits and digital wellbeing (living life 24/six), and narrative cognition with anomalies, intuition, creativity, and leadership.

Chapters (mm:ss)
00:00 Intro and wrap-up setup
00:22 Kelly Beaver, Ipsos, on the Campaign for Better Data
01:08 Ultra-processed data
42:41 Tool and weapon framing
44:26 Data Commerce Conference guests
45:07 Shedding a trail of data
54:48 Thanks to guests
56:06 See you again soon

Data Malarkey

• Take the Data Storytelling Scorecard: https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com

• Contact: hello@usingdatasmarter.com

• Suggest a guest: https://www.usingdatasmarter.com/guest

Professor of Story Science, Angus Fletcher, joins Master Data Storyteller, Sam Knowles, to dig into narrative cognition, creativity, and innovation in volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environments. Drawing on Project Narrative (based at Ohio State University) and his book Primal Intelligence, Angus explains why logic is not reality, why adults struggle with intuition, and why the most effective stories and breakthroughs start with an anomaly. We explore intuition, imagination, emotion, and common sense as core human capabilities that enable us to outperform computational optimisation and AI when the world is changing fast and low on (reliable) data.

Angus shares lessons from U.S. Army Special Operations training and a NASA case study on empowering young engineers, showing how leaders can detect anomalies early, design new plans for new environments, and build cultures that reward creativity over certainty. If you care about decision making, leadership, AI vs human judgment, innovation strategy, and story science, this episode is for you.

Resources and links

• Project Narrative (Ohio State University) - https://projectnarrative.osu.edu/

• Primal Intelligence (Angus' 2025 bestselling book) - https://www.angusfletcher.co/

• Take the Data Storytelling Scorecard: https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com

Social for Good founder, Kerry Watkins, joins Master Data Storyteller, Sam Knowles, to talk charity communications, nonprofit social media strategy, and building authentic engagement on LinkedIn. They cover why relying solely on a company page limits reach ("LinkedIn particularly wants people to network with other people"), how to swap broadcast posting for proactive engagement and relationship metrics, and why "people want to see real people".

Kerry explains what AI is changing in social media - automatic targeting that often outperforms manual audiences, internal tools for accessibility alt-text and brand voice (GPT) - and where AI undermines trust when captions feel "too ChatGPT." We also dive into 24/six, Kerry's digital wellbeing project: digital detox experiences, learning to "sit with that uncomfortableness", and the "sparkly brain" that follows time off-grid.

If you work in non-profit marketing, charity comms, or purpose-driven social, this episode is packed with LinkedIn strategy, engagement measurement, AI in social media, and digital wellbeing insights you can use immediately.

Take the Data Storytelling Scorecard: https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com

Resources and links

• Social for Good - https://www.socialforgood.co.uk
  
  

• The Social for Good Accelerator for charities and purpose-led organisations – https://www.socialforgood.co.uk/accelerator
  
  

• Kerry's LinkedIn profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerry-watkins/
  
  

• 24/six, Kerry's "side hustle" – https://www.24six.co.uk
  
  

• Take the Data Storytelling Scorecard: https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com

Master Data Storyteller, Sam Knowles, welcomes Wadds Inc.'s Stephen Waddington to explore engineering-style rigour in PR. They discuss: elevating the function during the pandemic, building multi-source datasets for the "Pints & Profits" case study, why "synthetic audiences" are "ultimately junk," McDonaldization and repeatability, balancing numbers and narrative, and the pitfalls of AVE and proxy metrics - plus a call for all PR practitioners to contribute to Stephen's PhD research.

Take the Data Storytelling Scorecard: https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com

Resources and social media

• Contribute to Stephen's PhD research: https://publicrelationsmanagement.phd
• "Pints & Profits" (Brew case study) http://bit.ly/3KC7qcE
• Market Research Society: "Campaign for Better Data" http://bit.ly/4pD2RyZ
• Stephen's blog: https://wadds.co.uk/blog
• Stephen's Substack: https://wadds.substack.com
• Stephen's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenwaddington/

Master Data Storyteller, Sam Knowles, welcomes AI Pathfinder and TED Talker, Susan Etlinger, for a conversation about AI, meaning-making, and agency. Topics include the influx of new data types, Orwell vs Huxley (after Neil Postman' Amusing Ourselves to Death), why we're "intentionally ceding control to machines", the burden of proof for automation, inclusion across languages and models, and why "facts can't defend themselves against being misconstrued". Susan also highlights core skills for a new curriculum for the AI era: History, Statistics, and Social Sciences.

Take the Data Storytelling Scorecard: https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com

Resources and social media links

• Susan's LinkedIn profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanetlinger/

• TED@IBM talk: "What do we do with all this big data?" http://bit.ly/3Ioh423

• Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death - http://bit.ly/3Iwrk8r

• Take the Data Storytelling Scorecard: https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com

Master Data Storyteller, Sam Knowles,speaks with Angela Balakrishnan, Executive Director of Strategic Communications & Public Affairs at the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) about information rights, public trust, AI, and why "data is about people". Topics include the ICO's role, rights awareness, AI priorities and consultation, practical tips (think about your digital footprint; strong passwords; MFA), and the Ripple Effect campaign ("It was one admin error") with trauma-informed research and charity partners.

Resources and links

- ICO website - https://ico.org.uk/

- ICO on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/information-commissioner's-office/

- ICO on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@informationcommissioner

- Ripple Effect campaign - http://bit.ly/4m9o2FX

Take the Data Storytelling Scorecard: https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com

In this episode of the Data Malarkey Podcast, Master Data Storyteller, Sam Knowles, welcomes Kelly Beaver, Chief Executive of Ipsos UK & Ireland, to explore why the data industry is at a crossroads.

Kelly shares insights from the Market Research Society's "Campaign for Better Data" - tackling synthetic data, the risks and benefits of AI to the market research industry, and the danger of what she terms "ultra-processed data". With passion and precision, Kelly explains why high-quality evidence matters more than ever.

🔍 Topics covered:

• The rise of synthetic and algorithmically altered data

• What makes data "ultra-processed" - and why that's a problem

• The need for transparency and representativeness

• Why in-person collaboration still matters

• Storytelling, ethics, and the future of insight

Resources and links

• Ipsos UK & Ireland - https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk

• Market Research Society (MRS): Campaign for Better Data - http://bit.ly/4m5eH1E

• MRS Fair Data Mark - https://www.mrs.org.uk/standards/fairdata

👉 Take the Data Storytelling Scorecard: https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com

In this Greatest Hits episode, Master Data Storyteller, Sam Knowles, rounds up the sharpest, most compelling, and most insightful moments from Series 8 of Data Malarkey - the podcast about using data, smarter. From AI and ethics to storytelling with data, this episode features golden snippets of conversations with:

• VW's Nick Ratcliffe on marketing measurement

• Cambridge United FC's Mark Bonner on the need to balance the emotional and the rational in the era of sporting analytics

• The Great Lakes Reporter of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Caitlyn Looby, on three golden rule of storytelling from science

• Oxford psychology professor, Chris Summerfield, on neuroscience and artificial intelligence - and how AI and human minds are similar AND different

• The American Enterprise Institute's Senior Fellow, Christine Rosen, on the extinction of real-world experience

• And data-driven PR agency owner - Darryl Sparey from Hard Numbers - on data that actually drives communications impact (and not just vanity metrics)
  
  

If you've missed an episode, this is the perfect sampler. And if you're a regular, enjoy the smartest, quirkiest moments of the season all in one go and revel in how the planets align and the dots join up to create cross-sector insights.

🎧 Stay tuned to hear what ties them all together: a passion for asking smarter questions and making more meaningful use of data.