{"podcast":{"title":"The PolicyViz Podcast","slug":"the-policyviz-podcast-1096919","podcast_index_feed_id":1096919,"rss_url":"https://feeds.zencastr.com/f/-k6yUlMb.rss","website_url":"https://policyviz.com/podcast/","image_url":"https://media.zencastr.com/image-files/5a0b59c06ebaa2000f259f8d/7af84444-9451-4413-b319-45f8ad09ca6d.png","author":"The PolicyViz Podcast","episode_count":311,"summary":"Learn how to be a great data communicator and visualizer with host Jon Schwabish. Hear from experts in the fields of data science, data visualization, and presentation skills to improve how you and your organization collect, analyze, and communicate your data in better, more efficient, and more effective ways.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-policyviz-podcast-1096919"},"episode":{"title":"Mapping the Invisible: Inside the Atlas of Macroscopes","slug":"mapping-the-invisible-inside-the-atlas-of-macroscopes","published_at":"2026-05-07T04:05:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-policyviz-podcast-1096919/mapping-the-invisible-inside-the-atlas-of-macroscopes","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-policyviz-podcast-1096919","url":"https://zencastr.com/z/5Z_WcO0a","audio_url":"https://redirect.zencastr.com/r/episode/69fb3e3bc1fba47257e47ec1/size/67092128/audio-files/5a0b59c06ebaa2000f259f8d/201fca3b-75d5-4fad-9904-418a1426b3c7.mp3","summary":"Welcome back to the show! This week, I sit down with three co-authors of the Atlas of Macroscopes—Katy Borner, Elizabeth Record, and Todd Theriault from the Cyberinfrastructure for Network Science Center at Indiana University—to explore what a macroscope actually is and how it differs from a standard interactive visualization. We trace the 20-year journey of the Places and Spaces: Mapping Science exhibit, from two-dimensional wall maps to the 40 richly interactive pieces featured in this stunning 11×14-inch MIT Press book. Along the way, we talk about design strategies for making complex systems legible to general audiences, the role of AI in data visualization, and what it takes to grab and hold attention on a museum floor. Each guest shares a personal favorite from the book—ranging from Smelly Maps to an Appalachian opioid overdose tool to a skills-landscape explorer—and we close with a look at the exhibit's exciting third decade, focused on visualizing intelligences. Keywords data visualization, macroscope, atlas of macroscopes, interactive visualization, Katy Borner, Indiana University, Places and Spaces, complex systems, information visualization, scrollytelling, AI and data visualization, opioid epidemic mapping, data communication, science exhibit, data science podcast Subscribe to the PolicyViz Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Become a patron of the PolicyViz Podcast (https://patreon.com/policyviz) for as little as a buck a month Find the Atlas of Macroscopes [https://amzn.to/3PoaITJ] and explore the Places and Spaces exhibit at scimaps.org. Follow Katy Borner, Elizabeth Record, and Todd Theriault through Indiana University's CNS Center. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Substack, Twitter, Website, YouTube Email: jon@policyviz.com","meta_description":"Welcome back to the show! This week, I sit down with three co-authors of the Atlas of Macroscopes—Katy Borner, Elizabeth Record, and Todd Theriault from t…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2727,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-policyviz-podcast-1096919/episodes/mapping-the-invisible-inside-the-atlas-of-macroscopes/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-policyviz-podcast-1096919/mapping-the-invisible-inside-the-atlas-of-macroscopes.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}