Star Wars or Star Trek?

I totally wasn’t expecting this MD to pitch me that question on live TV. Good thing I have a teenage son who has spent years preparing me for the right answer.

The docs on the Medical News Network brought me on to talk about which kind of nerd I am and about high-quality COVID data viz.

In particular, I highlighted the work of two clients.

The New York City Department of Health has been producing important briefs on how the experience of the pandemic has been uneven for people of different races. We talked about this hella awesome dot plot, among other visuals that I taught them to create in our workshops over the years.

Their whole report is full of clear charts that make systemic racism evident.

I also showed off the dumbbell dots I made for Novavax. These babies made it all the way to THE Dr. Anthony Fauci and every major news network.

But more than just lightly bragging on air, we talked about why these particular charts work and what stories they can effectively tell.

Take a few minutes and watch – you’ll learn something. The least of which will be: Star Trek or Star Wars?