Episodes

  • S7E21 Qualitative Research with Emily Namey
    Apr 28 2026

    In this week's episode Greg and Patrick have a wonderful time talking about qualitative research methods with Emily Namey. Emily has dedicated her entire career to qualitative research and she helps them better understand what it is, what it can do, and how it plays a critical role in understanding the complexities of human behavior. Along the way they also discuss rushing to and from LA, human heads, social props, gold stars, cut stories, hula dancing, PBS and National Geographic, a sad Italian, surfer dudes, middle managers, dead grandmothers, have skills-will travel, the Montagues and the Capulets, and being an Aries.

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    41 mins
  • S7E20 Modeling Co-Development Over Time
    Apr 21 2026

    In this week's episode Greg and Patrick follow-up their previous discussion of time-varying covariates with a conversation about methods for modeling the simultaneous development in two or more constructs over time. Along the way, they also discuss back tattoos, right lane closures, 49.5 lb luggage, Clear, the United lounge, Sharpies, Neo, the Urfdedurfdedingerdonger, living with mommy or daddy, Hairballs of Science, selfish bastards, Lick‘em Señor, phantom variable road trip, The Trouble with Tribbles, achieving our ideal rank, and apologies to the Dutch.

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    50 mins
  • S7E19 Growth Modeling With Time-Varying Covariates
    Apr 7 2026

    In this week's episode, Greg and Patrick have great fun talking about the inclusion of time-varying covariates within growth models. They differentiate time invariant from time varying predictors, explore how these are differentially incorporated in the MLM and SEM, and conclude with both the strengths and the limitations of these models in practice. Along the way they also discuss Herb Alpert, incessant complaining, downtown Charlotte, Spinal Tap drummers, back dating checks, John Stuart Mills' corpse, time machines, blind squirrels, making good choices, pokes and prods, twitching eyes, mutually assured destruction, being quant curious, high school hallways, it's not fair, and chewing on your stitches.

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    42 mins
  • S7E18 St. Patrick's Day Pub Quiz
    Mar 24 2026

    In this week's episode, Greg and Patrick magically find themselves at trivia night in the Rusty Mackerel pub in Teelin, Ireland, where a secret celebrity trivia master puts them on the spot to test their knowledge of statistics and statisticians. Along the way they also discuss St. Paprikash, no back story, Hooker Oklahoma, The Karate Kid 2 soundtrack, the fourth wall, magically delicious, tau or taw, taco inception, Ted 2, the ESPN curse, 4.1% alcohol, lightning rounds, doohickeys, never Belgium, and The Rev.

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    41 mins
  • S7E17 Elements of Structural Equation Models with Ken Bollen
    Mar 10 2026

    In this week's episode Patrick and Greg talk with Ken Bollen who is a Professor of Psychology and Sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In addition to exploring topics including home made rockets, sitars, and Jimi Hendrix, Ken talks with them about his brand new book Elements of Structural Equation Models and how he aspired to capture the many recent developments in SEM that have occurred since his monumental 1989 book on the same topic. Along the way they also discuss brushes with greatness, naughty bits, Mick Jagger, sharing a urinal, marginal notes, stranded in Brussels, matching t-shirts, asbestos walls, ruby rods, choosing between physics, chemistry, or terrorism, General Motors, the Berlin Wall, dust cover quotes, the fine print, side effects, elevated heart rates, cited but not read, Ravi Shankar, and matching BMWs.

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    45 mins
  • S7E16 Jumping Into Regression Discontinuity Designs
    Feb 24 2026

    In this week's episode, Greg and Patrick discuss the decades-old method of the regression discontinuity design and describe how, when properly applied, this approach can strengthen our causal inferences when using quasi-experimental data. Along the way they also discuss Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor, playing barefoot darts, gaming the system, I see dead people, Googling age cut-offs, Van Halen's "Jump", Zoom calls in class, senior discount day, pivots, building saddles, biggest guy in the bar, grunting tennis players, refusing a raise, when the cops show up, and the ninth step.

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    42 mins
  • S7E15 Are College Rankings Useful? Maybe...
    Feb 10 2026

    In this In the Wild episode, Greg and Patrick turn their Quantitude loose on college rankings. In particular, they discuss whether these rankings are of use to anyone at all, and what issues we would need to have addressed in order for us to be able to answer that question.

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    45 mins
  • S7E14 Sample Size Planning: The Groundhog Day Episode
    Feb 3 2026

    In this week's episode Greg and Patrick talk, for the third time, about power analysis, drawing on a recent paper by Greg and Yi Feng at UCLA, that reminds us how little we actually know when sample size planning, and then offers a concrete, cautious strategy for planning in the face of that uncertainty. Along the way they also mention Punxsutawney Phil, acknowledgments, bold ass titles, dark matter, driving angry, crystal balls, Ned Ryerson, shock absorbers, King Henry IV, yard sales and haggling, hurricane insurance in Denver, and perineums and pessimums.

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    44 mins