Episode 19: Kristian Lum - Lifelong curiosity and Criminal Justice Reform through data

Origins Podcast with Ryan McGranaghan

Show Notes:

• Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG) (1:40)
• The contagious nature of imprisonment paper (1:50)
• Value of community colleges (6:30)
• Professor Dan Balaguy at Sierra College (7:20)
• Professor Richard Stong at Rice University - Combinatorics (8:30)
• Coming to an understanding of one’s career and curiosity (10:20)
• How can we make the public more data literate (i.e., numeracy)? (12:15)
  • Maintain a healthy skepticism of numbers - think more critically (see Seth Godin’s thoughts)
• Data can encode discrimination and bias (16:10)
  • Predictive policing algorithms - Kristian’s paper
  • Be reflective about where patterns in data come from
• Importance of uncertainty (20:00)
• HRDAG ‘casualty estimations’ (21:10)
  • Humanize the data (22:00)
• Describing how systematic things can be (23:50)
• Taking chances (e.g., Tim Ferriss guidance on cold emailing) (24:50)
• Where do you get your confidence and energy (26:50)
• Maintaining beginner’s mindset - blur disciplinary lines (28:20)
• “The most beautiful experience we have is the mysterious” -Einstein (29:20)
• How do you grapple with the outrage of injustice?
• Those with data skills need to get involved with criminal justice reform (36:20)
  • Volunteer with public defenders - make sure you are a low barrier to people if you volunteer
  • Talk with the people closest to the problem - human-centered approach
  • Find ways that your unique skills can help
• How do you maintain your energy? (39:50)
• Morning routine (40:30)
• Lightning Round (43:10)
  • Book: Harry Potter
  • Passion: sowing costumes
  • What is making your heart sing now? Her daughter
  • Screwed up: partial differential equations
• Further reading and getting involved in criminal justice reform
  • Pod Save the People podcast (38:30)
  • https://theappeal.org/ news source (39:00)
  • Ear Hustle podcast
  • Organizations leading the way
• Were to find Kristian online:
  • Twitter: @KLdivergence (https://twitter.com/KLdivergence)
• 'Five-Cut Fridays’ series
  • Kristian’s list