Kristin Sainani

Daylight Saving Time: Does springing forward cause heart attacks? Every year we spring forward and lose an hour of sleep. But do we also lose a few heart cells? Some headlines claim that heart attacks spike by 24% after daylight s…

New episode of Normal Curves! bit.ly/DSTepisode

Marathon Performance: Does high-carb fueling work? How many carbs do you need to run your best marathon? Recent headlines suggest that 120 grams per hour is the magic number. But what’s the science behind that claim…

Season Two Episode Two of Normal Curves is out! Marathon fueling and statistical sleuthing! bit.ly/highcarbfueling

Shingles Shot and Dementia: Could one vaccine protect your brain? What do chickenpox and shingles have to do with your brain? This week, we dig into two 2025 headline-grabbing studies that link the shingles shot to lower dementia …

The latest episode of Normal Curves podcast is out! We discuss the shingles vaccine and dementia. Learn about causal inference methods, including propensity score matching, regression discontinuity, and inverse probability of treatment weighting. bit.ly/shinglesepisode

Scary Bridge Study: Can fear make you horny? #statistics #research #ttest What if a haunted house makes your date look hotter? This week we dive into the infamous Scary Bridge Study — the 1970s classic that launched a thousand pop-psych takes on fear and lust. It’s the one with the swaying bridge, pretty “research assistant,” and phone number scrawled on torn paper. The study became legend, but how sturdy were its stats? We retrace the design, redo the numbers, and see how many math errors it takes to sway a suspension bridge. Along the way we find an erotic-fiction writing exercise, Adventure Dudes choosing their own experimental groups, and snarky replicators who tried (and failed) to make fear sexy again. We wrap with what the latest research says about when fear really does boost attraction — and when it backfires spectacularly. A Halloween story of danger, desire, and unconscious sexual drive. Statistical topics Arithmetic checks Chi-square test Confounders GRIM test Inter-rater reliability Meta-analysis Negative control Randomization Replication Sample size Signal vs. noise Statistical sleuthing Subjective measurement T-test Methodological morals “Those who don't verify their numbers dig their own statistical graves.” “Famous doesn't mean flawless.” @NormalCurves

Normal Curves Halloween episode is out! We discuss the classic 1974 "scary bridge" study and test the claim that fear makes you horny. Video: bit.ly/sexybridgevideo
Audio: bit.ly/sexybridge

New episode of Normal Curves! bit.ly/marathond
@reginanuzzo.bsky.social

Thanks, Steven!

New on Normal Curves: our p-values episode! bit.ly/pvalepisode
In this clip, we introduce Paul the Pychic Octopus...

P-Values: Are we using a flawed statistical tool? P-values show up in almost every scientific paper, yet they’re one of the most misunderstood ideas in statistics. In this episode, we break from our usual journal-c…

Our p-value episode is finally out at Normal Curves podcast! We tried to make it exciting with some Bayesian monsters 👻 and psychic octopuses 🐙 @reginanuzzo.bsky.social bit.ly/pvalepisode

Oh man a podcast conundrum. Do I listen to @reginanuzzo.bsky.social and @kristinsainani.bsky.social on Normal Curves (on exercise and cancer) first? Or go all meta and hear them talk about making it on Stats and Stories?

New Normal Curves episode! bit.ly/exandcancer

New Normal Curves episode! bit.ly/exandcancer. Exercise and cancer. The CHALLENGE trial.

Exercise and Cancer: Does physical activity improve colon cancer survival? Exercise has long been hailed as cancer-fighting magic, but is there hard evidence behind the hype? In this episode, we tackle the CHALLENGE trial, a large phase II…

New Normal Curves episode! We look at the CHALLENGE RCT of exercise post-cancer. Phase 3 trials, intention-to-treat, interim analyses, survival analysis, and ratio versus difference statistics!
bit.ly/exandcancer

Age Gaps: How much does age matter in dating? Are we all secretly ageist when it comes to dating? We put the stereotype that older men prefer younger women under the microscope using data from thousands of blin…

New Normal Curves episode is out!
Age Gaps: How much does age matter in dating?
@reginanuzzo.bsky.social
bit.ly/agegapmath

New Normal Curves episode is out!
Age Gaps: How much does age matter in dating?
@reginanuzzo.bsky.social
bit.ly/agegapmath

New Normal Curves episode is out!
Age Gaps: How much does age matter in dating?
@reginanuzzo.bsky.social
bit.ly/agegapmath

Age Gaps: How much does age matter in dating? Are we all secretly ageist when it comes to dating? We put the stereotype that older men prefer younger women under the microscope using data from thousands of blin…

New Normal Curves episode is out!

In this episode, we look at a paper on age gaps in dating. bit.ly/agegapmath
@reginanuzzo.bsky.social

Happy Friday podcast loving friends. Edition no.325 of @FindThatPod is out.

5 great podcasts to discover:

➡️ True Spies
➡️ "Fine" Dining @finediningpodcast.bsky.social
➡️ Talk '90s to me
➡️ Orbit for Creators
➡️ Normal Curves: Sexy Science, Serious Statistics @kristinsainani.bsky.social

Enjoy!

New Normal Curves episode! Statistical sleuthing on a long preprint about research on ChatGPT. Spoiler: the sleuthing does not require a PhD in stats! bit.ly/chatgptmit
bit.ly/chatgptmitvid

Your Brain on AI: Is ChatGPT making us mentally lazy? ChatGPT is melting our brainpower, killing creativity, and making us soulless — or so the headlines imply. We dig into the study behind the claims, starting with qu…

New Normal Curves episode is out! We dissect a preprint from the MIT Media Lab on ChatGPT that grabbed a lot of headlines but we liken to an unshowered blind date! bit.ly/chatgptmit

New Normal Curves episode out today! We discuss a recent MIT pteprint on ChatGPT that grabbed a lot of headlines but turns out to be surprisingly riddled with errors. We have a video version too!
bit.ly/chatgptmitvid
bit.ly/chatgptmit

The Backfire Effect: Can fact-checking make false beliefs stronger? Can correcting misinformation make it worse? The “backfire effect” claims that debunking myths can actually make false beliefs stronger. We dig into the evidence — …

New Normal Curves episode is out!
bit.ly/backfireepis...

The Backfire Effect: Can fact-checking make false beliefs stronger? Can correcting misinformation make it worse? The “backfire effect” claims that debunking myths can actually make false beliefs stronger. We dig into the evidence — …

New Normal Curves episode is out!

What if trying to correct misinformation actually makes people believe it more?

In this episode, @reginanuzzo.bsky.social and I explore the research behind the backfire effect.

Join us for some statistical sleuthing!
bit.ly/backfireepis...

Dating Wishlists: Are we happier when we get what we want in a mate? Loyal, funny, hot — you’ve probably got a wish list for your dream partner. But does checking all your boxes actually lead to happily ever after? In this episode, w…

New Normal Curves episode!
bit.ly/datingwishlist

Dating Wishlists: Are we happier when we get what we want in a mate? Loyal, funny, hot — you’ve probably got a wish list for your dream partner. But does checking all your boxes actually lead to happily ever after? In this episode, w…

New Normal Curves episode is out!
Are we happier when we get what we want in a mate? In our latest episode, @reginanuzzo.bsky.social and I dig into a massive global study to find out!

Learn about interaction terms, mean-centering, and the "good catch" confounder!
bit.ly/datingwishlist

Glad to hear you are passing on the message! And that is a classic book.

Thanks, Juanele!

This podcast is really good, essential for anyone who would like to learn how to recognize good and bad scientific practices in a fun way!

Stats Reunion: What have we learned so far? It’s our first stats reunion! In this special review episode, we revisit favorite concepts from past episodes—p-values, multiple testing, regression adjustment—and …

New Normal Curves episode is out! bit.ly/statsreunion
@reginanuzzo.bsky.social

Stats Reunion: What have we learned so far? It’s our first stats reunion! In this special review episode, we revisit favorite concepts from past episodes—p-values, multiple testing, regression adjustment—and …

New Normal Curves episode! In this special review episode, we revisit favorite concepts from past episodes—p-values, multiple testing, regression adjustment—and give them fresh personalities as characters. bit.ly/statsreunion

HPV Vaccine: How close are we to wiping out cervical cancer? Could a preteen vaccine wipe out a global cancer? In this episode, we examine the bold claim that cervical cancer could be eradicated in much of the world by the en…

New Normal Curves episode! www.normalcurves.com/hpv-vaccine-...