Episode

#286: Metrics Layers. Data Dictionaries. Maybe It's All Semantic (Layers)? With Cindi Howson

Podcast
The Analytics Power Hour
Published
Dec 9, 2025
Duration seconds
3344
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Summary

Semantic layers are having something of a moment, but they're not actually new as a concept. Ever since the first database table was designed with cryptic field names that no business user could possibly understand, there's been a need for some form of mapping and translation. Should every company be considering employing a semantic layer? Is the idea of a single, comprehensive semantic layer within an organization a monolithic concept that is doomed to fail? These questions and more get bandied about on this episode, where we were joined by industry legend Cindi Howson , Chief Data & AI Strategy Officer at Thoughtspot . For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page . This episode's Measurement Bite from show sponsor Recast is an explanation of multicollinearity from Michael Kaminsky !