Podcasts
Introduction
From changing travel habits and reducing our environmental footprint to youth employment trends and the growing interest in local food supply – our world does not stand still and our society is constantly changing in response to global events.
But do the changes we experience or initiate at our personal level also show on a bigger scale, across European society? Do the statistics and data confirm what we see in our daily lives?
The podcast series 'Stats in a Wrap' looks at the world through the eyes of statistics. Its aim is to pick the most delicious morsels and striking flavours to provide insights into the unexpected, the quirky and downright peculiar perspectives that only the numbers can reveal.
Listen to our monthly episodes below or subscribe to our podcast on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Alternatively, you can use this 
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The opinions expressed in the podcasts reflect solely the point of view of the speakers. They can in no way be taken to reflect the position of Eurostat, the European Commission or the European Union.
Season 4
How does the European Statistics Competition empower young thinkers?
Released on 18 June 2025
In this episode we are talking about the European Statistics Competition (ESC). We will explore how it helps young people develop statistical literacy through exciting video projects, and how it teaches them critical thinking and data interpretation skills in a funny way, relevant to their lives.
Speakers in this episode are Ioannis Xirouchakis from the Dissemination and User Support unit at Eurostat, Nikoleta Šlachtová from the Dissemination Directorate of the Slovak Republic’s statistical office, and Kelly Sabbe from the Belgian statistical office. Together with Jonathan Elliot they discuss how the ESC empowers young people to creatively communicate complex data and enhances their statistical literacy and critical thinking skills.
Released on 29 January 2025
In this episode we are talking about living in the EU’s countryside. Rural areas are often misunderstood. For some, they're romantic havens from the stress of city life. For others, they're tough places to get work, healthcare, and education. So, what do data reveal about rural living in the EU?
3 experts from the European Commission will tell us more: Marina Royo de Blas, programme assistant at the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, working on the long-term vision for rural areas in Europe; Reka Fodor from Eurostat, who edited the recently released Urban Europe and Rural Europe publications; and Lewis Dijkstra who leads the Urban Territorial Analysis team at the Joint Research Centre. Together with Jonathan Elliot they will look at the data about rural Europe and try to tease out the stories behind the numbers.
Guests
- Jonathan Elliott, host
- Marina Royo de Blas, Programme Assistant, Rural areas and networks unit, Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development - European Commission
- Lewis Dijkstras, Team Leader Urban Territorial Analysis, Joint Research Centre – European Commission
- Reka Fodor, Statistical Assistant, Regional statistics and geographical information unit, Eurostat
Links to further information
Season 3
Released on 22 November 2024
In this episode, Jonathan Elliott discusses with European experts the EU gender-based violence survey, a major project to assess the prevalence and nature of this hidden crime. The experts will shed light on the legal background and definitions, the challenges of data collection, and on the importance of raising public awareness to effectively tackle gender-based violence.
The speakers in this episode are: Merle Paats from Eurostat; Lisa Collste, a former prosecutor and now part of the Gender Equality unit at the EU Commission's Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers (DG JUST); and Marta Adiego, technical advisor for Spain’s Government Office against Gender-Based Violence.
Guests
- Jonathan Elliott, host
- Lisa Collste, Legal officer, Gender Equality unit, Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers – European Commission
- Marta Adiego Estella, Government Office against Gender-Based Violence, Spain
- Merle Paats, Team leader, Crime and GBV statistics, Eurostat
Links to further information
Released on 18 October 2024
In this episode we are talking about how people use Eurostat data and products in their daily work, and statistics can be made more engaging by complementing it with timely, granular data sources.
Laia Guinovart from the Eurostat user support team, Tatjana von Bonkewitz, a teacher in Luxembourg, Sérgio Guerreiro from Turismo de Portugal, and Patrick van Egmond from Lux Mobility discuss this topic with Jonathan Elliott. He highlights how these professionals from diverse backgrounds leverage Eurostat data to inform their work and decision-making, while also addressing the challenges of data literacy and communication.
Guests
- Jonathan Elliott, host
- Laia Guinovart, Information and communication officer, User support team, Eurostat
- Tatjana von Bonkewitz, Teacher, International School Differdange
- Sérgio Guerreiro, Senior Director Strategy and Knowledge Management, Turismo de Portugal
- Patrick van Egmond, Managing Director, LuxMobility
Links to further information
Released on 18 September 2024
In this episode we are talking about innovation, showcasing different ways of using artificial intelligence. We will learn how Norwegian statisticians and the public will soon get useful information easily and quickly with the help of chatbots.
Albrecht Wirthmann, head of Eurostat’s methodology and innovation unit, Eva Charlotte Berner, head of Statistics Norway’s Team AI, Frankie Kay, Chief Information Officer at the Central Statistics Office of Ireland and Nikos Roubanis, head of Eurostat’s transport statistics unit, discuss this topic with Jonathan Elliott. They will talk about chatbots and other ways of using AI, and about doing innovation for the European Statistical System.
Guests
- Jonathan Elliott, host
- Albrecht Wirthmann, Head of Unit Methodology and Innovation, Eurostat
- Frankie Kay, Chief Information Officer, Central Statistics Office of Ireland
- Nikos Roubanis, Head of Unit Transport, Eurostat
- Eva Charlotte Berner, Head of Team AI, Statistics Norway
Links to further information
Released on 18 July 2024
In this episode we are talking about innovation, showcasing different aspects of inventiveness behind the scenes of the ESS Innovation Agenda. We will show how producing stats is being helped by technology, especially artificial intelligence.
Albrecht Wirthmann, head of Eurostat’s methodology and innovation unit, Frankie Kay, Chief Information Officer at the Central Statistics Office of Ireland and Nikos Roubanis, head of Eurostat’s transport statistics unit, will discuss this topic with Jonathan Elliott. They will talk about the inventive recipes used to make official statistics, and the people engaged in innovative projects for the European Statistical System.
Guests
- Jonathan Elliott, host
- Albrecht Wirthmann, Head of Unit Methodology and Innovation, Eurostat
- Frankie Kay, Chief Information Officer, Central Statistics Office of Ireland
- Nikos Roubanis, Head of Unit Transport, Eurostat
Links to further information
Released on 17 June 2024
In this episode we talk about the world of political misinformation, news reporting, fact-checking and building trust in data.
Paweł Terpiłowski, Chief Editor of the Polish fact-checking organisation Demagog and Kerstin Hänsel, Head of Communications Strategy and Social Media at the German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), discuss these topics with Jonathan Elliott. Together with Dean Vuletic, Information and Communication Officer at Eurostat, and Francis Elliott, former political editor of The Times, they talk about why accurate reporting and balanced analysis is a tough business. They also give us an insight into the battles of journalists and statisticians against dis- and misinformation.
Guests
- Jonathan Elliott, host
- Paweł Terpiłowski, chief editor, Demagog
- Kerstin Hänsel, head of communications strategy and social media, Destatis
- Dean Vuletic, information and communication officer, Eurostat
- Francis Elliot, editor
Links to further information
- Do you have questions about Eurostat data? Contact our support services for users (available in different EU languages) and for media
- Rules of engagement for handling disinformation, Eurostat, 2022
- European Statistics Code of Practice, 2017
- Eurostat on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Youtube
Released on 24 April 2024
The latest episode of the podcast is the second part of episode 17 on statistics and maps - the things we navigate when we drive and carry in our pockets on our phones. Maps are powerful tools for data visualisation, particularly in statistics, and they can translate immensely complex numerical data into strikingly clear visualisations to give us an instantly understandable snapshot.
The four speakers in this episode all deal with maps from a different angle. They are: Joseph Davies, data visualisation specialist; Hannes Reuter, statistical officer, both in the Geographic Information System of the Commission (GISCO) team at Eurostat; Konstantina Michalopoulou, specialised in Eurostat social media; and Riccardo Sgaramella, coordinator of the EU Annual Report on the State of Regions and Cities at the Committee of the Regions. They will tell stories about maps and data and explain why maps and geographic information systems are a gateway to the public understanding of the data that affects them.
Guests
- Jonathan Elliott, host
- Joseph Davies, data visualisation specialist, Regional statistics and geographical information, Eurostat
- Hannes Reuter, statistical officer, Regional statistics and geographical information, Eurostat
- Konstantina Michalopoulou, statistical and communication agent, Dissemination and user support, Eurostat
- Riccardo Sgaramella, policy officer, European Committee of the Regions
Links to further information
- Geographic Information System of the Commission (GISCO)
- Eurostat on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Youtube
Released on 20 March 2024
In this episode we talk about statistics and maps - the things we navigate when we drive and carry in our pockets on our phones. Maps are powerful tools for data visualisation, particularly in statistics, and they can translate immensely complex numerical data into strikingly clear visualisations to give us an instantly understandable snapshot.
The four speakers in this episode all deal with maps from a different angle. They are: Joseph Davies, data visualisation specialist; Hannes Reuter, statistical officer, both in the Geographic Information System of the Commission (GISCO) team at Eurostat; Konstantina Michalopoulou, specialised in Eurostat social media; and Riccardo Sgaramella, coordinator of the EU Annual Report on the State of Regions and Cities at the Committee of the Regions. They will tell stories about maps and data and explain why maps and geographic information systems are a gateway to the public understanding of the data that affects them.
Guests
- Jonathan Elliott, host
- Joseph Davies, data visualisation specialist, Regional statistics and geographical information, Eurostat
- Hannes Reuter, statistical officer, Regional statistics and geographical information, Eurostat
- Konstantina Michalopoulou, statistical and communication agent, Dissemination and user support, Eurostat
- Riccardo Sgaramella, policy officer, European Committee of the Regions
Links to further information
- Geographic Information System of the Commission (GISCO)
- Eurostat on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Youtube
Season 2
Released on 20 December 2023
In this episode we talk about the Key figures on Europe publication, an emblem of the shifting trends in how we view stats at different times. What is key this year, and what was key last year? What does that tell us about our evolving attitudes to the statistics that surround us? Knowing some key figures on Europe is going to be essential next year, when millions of Europeans will vote at the European Parliament elections and thus participate in shaping the future of European democracy.
John Verrinder, head of the unit in Eurostat that deals with national accounts, methodology standards and indicators, and Birgit Schmeitzner, spokesperson for the European Commission Representation in Germany in Berlin, will talk about this publication with Jonathan Elliott and discuss how the presentation of statistics has changed over the years.
Guests
- Jonathan Elliott, host
- John Verrinder, Head of Unit, National accounts methodology, Statistical indicators, Eurostat
- Birgit Schmeitzner, Spokesperson, European Commission Representation in Germany
Links to further information
Released on 18 October 2023
In this episode we talk about statistical literacy and how the EU's young people are learning to love and understand stats as never before. We will also find out how experts help us decode and understand the numbers and how to teach statistics to help children develop a critical thinking.
The podcast speakers are Konstantina Michalopoulou, specialised in social media, Romina Brondino, communication officer, both from the Dissemination and user support unit at Eurostat, and Juliane von Reppert-Bismarck, executive director from the award-winning “Lie Detectors”. They will discuss this topic with podcast host Jonathan Elliot and talk about how important it is to understand the real story behind the data and its statistics.
Guests
- Jonathan Elliott, host
- Konstantina Michalopoulou, Statistical and communication agent, Dissemination and user support, Eurostat
- Romina Brondino, Communication officer, Dissemination and user support, Eurostat
- Juliane von Reppert-Bismarck, Executive Director and Founder, Lie Detectors
- Gundega Kuzmina, Deputy Department Director - Information section, Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia
- Jukka Hoffren, Chief Communication Officer, Statistics Finland
- Ana Beljan Ščuric, Head of Customer Relations and Data Protection Department, Croatian Bureau of Statistics
Links to further information
- Statistics Explained
- Eurostat Education corner
- Eurostat on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Youtube
Released on 20 September 2023
In this episode we talk about quality. Easy to spot in everyday things like food and clothing. But how about statistics? Eurostat has a team dedicated to this topic, and we'll hear how Eurostat with its European Statistics Code of Practice has set the standards for the entire European Statistical System, and how they monitor and implement it.
The podcasts speakers are Claudia Junker, Head of Unit, Task Force Peer Reviews and Quality, Dean Vuletic, both from Eurostat, and Francesca Cimino, audience researcher at the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). In their exchange with podcast host John Elliot, they will show us why quality data are the backbone of today’s statistics.
Guests
- Jonathan Elliott, host
- Claudia Junker, Head of Unit, Task Force Peer Reviews and Quality, Eurostat
- Dean Vuletic, Statistical Officer, Task Force Peer Reviews and Quality, Eurostat
- Francesca Cimino, Audience Researcher, European Broadcasting Union (EBU)
Links to further information
Released on 29 June 2023
In this episode we will be taking a closer look at the EU’s cooperation with its neighbours in the field of statistics. We will explain the concept of European neighbourhood and talk about EU candidate countries and potential candidates.
To become an EU member, countries must meet many criteria and one of the key requirements is excellence in statistics. Majda Savićević from MONSTAT, the official statistical office of Montenegro, and Avis Beneš, head of unit for enlargement, neighbourhood and development cooperation at Eurostat, take us on a journey to better understand how cooperation in statistics plays a key role in the process of EU accession.
Guests
- Jonathan Elliott, host
- Avis Beneš, Head of Unit, Enlargement, Neighbourhood and Development Cooperation, Eurostat
- Majda Savićević, Head of International Cooperation, MONSTAT – Statistical Office of Montenegro
Links to further reading
Enlargement countries
European Neighbourhood Policy countries
Released on 11 May 2023
In this episode we talk about what Eurostat has discovered about our constantly changing relationship with communication technology, the internet, web, phones, tablets, and computers. The EU is determined to raise the level of our skills and access to digital technology. One of its most powerful tools to measure its progress are two surveys that the Member States carry out each year.
Andrea Attwenger and Urška Arsenjuk from Eurostat, and Pierre Montagnier from the OECD discuss this topic with Jonathan Elliott and talk about how central information and communication technology (ICT) has become in our daily lives. From shopping to telephony, from local government to education - we are all now heavily dependent on ICT.
Guests
- Jonathan Elliott, host
- Urška Arsenjuk, Statistical Officer, ICT usage:enterprise survey, Eurostat
- Andrea Attwenger, Statistical Officer, ICT usage:household survey, Eurostat
- Pierre Montagnier, Senior Researcher, Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry, OECD
Links to further reading
- Thematic section on digital economy and society
- Use of artificial intelligence in enterprises
- Use of Internet of Things in enterprises
- Digital economy and society statistics - enterprises
- Digital economy and society statistics - households and individuals
- Towards Digital Decade targets for Europe
- Database on ICT usage in households and by individuals
- Database on ICT usage in enterprises
Released on 22 March 2023
In this episode we talk about how Eurostat tracks and checks the government finances of all its 27 member states of the European Union. We will look at the highly sensitive and political aspect of stats and official figures and what is a difference between deficit and debt.
Vassil Georgiev, Leonor Zubimendi, Floris Jansen and Laura Wahrig from Eurostat’s government finance statistics unit will discuss this topic with Jonathan Elliott and discuss how these statistics reflect government spending and borrowing which affect us all.
Guests
- Jonathan Elliott, host
- Laura Wahrig, Team Leader, Government Finance Statistics, Eurostat
- Leonor Zubimendi Toran, Statistical Officer, Government Finance Statistics, Eurostat
- Floris Jansen, Statistical Officer, Government Finance Statistics, Eurostat
- Vassil Georgiev, Statistical Officer, Excessive deficit procedure, Eurostat
Links to further reading
- Thematic section on government finance statistics
- Government expenditure by function (COFOG) - Statistics Explained article
- Government finance statistics – quarterly data - Statistics Explained article
- Database on quarterly government finance statistics
- Database on government finance statistics
- Education corner: Statistics4Beginners on government finance statistics
Released on 22 February 2023
In this episode we talk about the intriguing oddities of experimental statistics. About what happens when the solid dependable world of official statistics mixes it up a little bit with some innovation ranging from Airbnb bookings to electric smart meters.
Søren Andersen and Kirsten Balling from Statistics Denmark, together with Christophe Demunter and Simon Bley from the Eurostat tourism department, as well as Albrecht Wirthmann and Agnieszka Zajac from Eurostat’s experimental statistics team discuss the topic with Jonathan Elliott to discover the endless new opportunities offered by innovative approaches to collecting data.
Guests
- Christophe Demunter, Team leader, Tourism statistics, Eurostat
- Agnieszka Zajac, Statistical Officer, Innovation and Trusted Smart Statistics, Eurostat
- Simon Bley, Statistical officer, Tourism statistics, Eurostat
- Kirsten Balling, Director Economic statistics, Statistics Denmark
- Søren Schiønning Andersen, Director of Business statistics, Statistics Denmark
- Albrecht Wirthmann, Head of Unit, Methodology and innovation in official statistics, Eurostat
- Host: Jonathan Elliott
Links to further information
Season 1
Released on 8 December 2022
In this episode, we talk about the EU's 2020 agricultural census, a survey so big it can only happen every 10 years. It involves quizzing 9 million farmers and this time it had to be done in the middle of a pandemic.
Helena Ramos from Eurostat and Johanna Slaets from Statistics Austria speak about this topic with Jonathan Elliott and discuss:
- why this data is so important for the EU
- why organic farming is booming
- why the age of the EU- farmers could become a demographic time bomb
Curious to know the answers? Then listen to our podcast.
Guests
- Helena Ramos, Team leader, Statistics on farms, Eurostat
- Johanna Slaets, Head of agriculture and forestry statistics, Statistics Austria
- Host: Jonathan Elliott
Links to further information on the agriculture census
Released on 23 November 2022
In this episode we talk about the zoomed-in world of regional data which give fascinating insights into the lives of 447 million people in the EU. These range from life expectancy to employment, from broadband speeds to transport links.
Bianka Fohgrub from Eurostat and Paolo Veneri from the OECD discuss the topic with Jonathan Elliott. They reveal how and why they break down country data into regional statistics and map these to make startling comparisons with beautiful infographics.
Guests
- Bianka Fohgrub, Statistical officer, Regional statistics and geographical information unit, Eurostat
- Paolo Veneri, Head of regional analysis and statistics, National accounts methodology, OECD
- Host: Jonathan Elliott
Links to further information on regional statistics
Released on 20 October 2022
How can we make sure that the data from different European countries is comparable? What does quality in statistics mean?
Jonathan Elliott talks to John Verrinder and Lourdes Prado from Eurostat about the work of the statisticians and data scientists at Eurostat and how they master and harmonize all the data from 27 EU Member States before they get shared with the public.
They also look at how statisticians ensure reliable data that policymakers, academics and journalists can use for their work.
Guests
- John Verrinder, Head of unit, National accounts methodology, Eurostat
- Lourdes Prado, Statistical officer, Excessive deficit procedure (EDP), Eurostat
- Host: Jonathan Elliott
Links to further information on European statistics
Released on 15 September 2022
How is the European Union progressing on its way to becoming the world's first carbon-neutral economy? Look at the data on renewable energy in Europe with us!
Madeleine Mahovsky, head of the energy statistics unit from Eurostat, and Julian Prime, the head of electricity, renewables and coal statistics at the International Energy Agency, talk about the fascinating world of renewable energy and what the EU data have to say about it.
Guests
- Madeleine Mahovsky, Head of Unit, Energy statistics, Eurostat
- Julian Prime, Head of electricity, renewables and coal statistics, International Energy Agency
- Host: Jonathan Elliott
Links to further information on renewables
Released on 9 August 2022
In this episode we talk about the winning entries in the European Statistics Competition (ESC) 2022. The competition invites two-minute films presenting official statistics on the topic ‘Environment’ from school students across Europe.
Eurostat’s Tim Allen and Glen Campbell from the European Commission together with Joanna Karlowska-Pik, a professor from Poland, discuss the entries with Jonathan Elliott. Jonathan also talks to students from Bulgaria, Italy and Slovenia about how and why they made their videos and the challenges they faced in the competition.
Guests
- Glen Campbell, Publications Office of the European Union
- Timothy Allen, Deputy head of unit, Dissemination products and user support, Eurostat
- Joanna Karlowska-Pik, Assistant Professor, Department of Probability Theory and Stochastic Analysis, Nikolaus Copernicus University in Torun
- Mariana Kotzeva, Director-General, Eurostat
- Slovenian team TEGLZAROŽE: Tjaša Karas, Neja Štampar Link to video
- Bulgarian team DATAPOWER: Viktor Hekimov, Martin Kostadinov Link to video
- Italian team GIOTTISTICA: Sofia Fasano, Sarah Tizi Link to video
- Slovenian team RERENELA: Rene Žižek Link to video
- Host: Jonathan Elliott
Links to further information on the ESC
- European Statistics Competition – 2022 edition
- ESC 2022 playlist: Category A and Category B
- European Statistics Competition – 2021 edition
- ESC 2021 playlist: Finalists
Released on 12 July 2022
In this episode we talk about the prices of things and what happens when they just won't stop going up. Maybe we can find out what's going on with the EU's inflation problem and what might be done about it.
Paul Konijn from Eurostat and Professor Ludwig von Auer from the University of Trier discuss the topic with Jonathan Elliott and throw light on inflation and why it's rising in Europe.
Guests
- Paul Konijn, Head of Unit, Price statistics, purchasing power parities, housing statistics, Eurostat
- Prof Ludwig von Auer, University of Trier
- Host: Jonathan Elliott
Links to further information on inflation
Released on 21 June 2022
2022 is the ‘European Year of Youth’ and we are going to focus on the world of work for young people and the effects that the COVID pandemic has had and continues to have on it.
Anna Emilia Martino from Eurostat and Niall O'Higgins, senior economist from the International Labour Organization, talk with Jonathan Elliott about this topic to figure out how the world has changed for young people aged 15 to 29 in Europe.
Guests
- Anna Emilia Martino, Statistician, Labour market statistics unit, Eurostat
- Niall O'Higgins, Senior economist, International Labour Organization
- Host: Jonathan Elliott
Links to further information on youth unemployment
- Thematic section on labour market
- Thematic section on children and youth
- Database on labour market
- Employment annual data - Statistics Explained article
- Unemployment and beyond - Statistics Explained article
- Young people neither in employment nor in education or training - Statistics Explained article
Released on 10 May 2022
Are we saving the planet with our recycling or ruining it with more packaging and consumption? Is there now less pollution, or more?
Oscar Gomez from Eurostat and Ioannis Bakas, an expert from the European Environment Agency, talk with Jonathan Elliott about this topic to figure out what's really going on when it comes to recycling our waste in Europe.
Guests
- Oscar Gomez Prieto, Team Leader, Circular economy and waste statistics unit, Eurostat
- Ioannis Bakas, European Environment Agency, Circular economy monitoring expert
- Host: Jonathan Elliott
Links to further information on waste
- Thematic section on waste
- Database on waste
- Statistics for the European Green Deal - Visualisation tool
- Municipal waste statistics - Statistics Explained article
- Packaging waste statistics - Statistics Explained article
- Waste shipment statistics - Statistics Explained article
- Recycling – secondary material price indicator - Statistics Explained article
- Waste statistics - Statistics Explained article
- Plastics own resource - European Commission
Released on 8 April 2022
In spring 2020, the EU countries went into a lockdown because of the global COVID pandemic. Two years later, we take a look at the how the changes in the way we travel are reflected in the tourism statistical data.
Christophe Demunter from Eurostat and Ulf Sonntag from NIT, Germany, talk to our host Jonathan Elliott about how the pandemic affected the modes of transport we take, where we go for holidays, and how jobs in the tourism sector have changed.
We also ask some people in the street how their experiences and habits changed because of the pandemic – and get some surprising answers!
Guests
- Christophe Demunter, Tourism statistics unit, Eurostat
- Ulf Sonntag, New Insights for Tourism (NIT)
- Host: Jonathan Elliott
Links to further information
- Thematic website section on tourism
- Database on tourism
- Tourism statistics – nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments - Statistics Explained article
- Short-stay accommodation offered via online collaborative economy platforms - Statistics Explained article
- Air passenger transport – data by month - Statistics Explained article
- European Statistical Recovery Dashboard