Mike and Tammy talk about commuter rail in the US and the possibility of high speed rail. Also, check out the Green City podcast episodes where Mike was interviewed: https://anchor.fm/lynnae-hentzen/episodes/MIKE-ARMSTRONG-e13r0rk https://anchor.fm/lynnae-hentzen/episodes/MIKE-ARMSTRONG-2-0-e146fco And register for the Des Moines Data & Analytics NLP Roundtable on August 13th: https://www.meetup.com/Des-Moines-Data-Analytics/events/279938252/

In which Tammy forgets the name of Mod Podge. Mike and Tammy respond to listener questions about how they chose their careers, and what podcasts they listen to. Also, a new edition of Call Me Algorithm.

Mike and Tammy talk about topics inspired by their latest reads: "The Information: a History, a Theory, a Flood" by James Gleick (for Tammy) and "The City We Became" by N.K. Jemisin (for Mike). Topics covered include communication technologies, natural language processing techniques, and places and identity.

Mike and Tammy discuss maps, both real and (deep)fake, and some of the concepts behind image compression. (Apologies for the audio tragedy that is this episode - think we managed to salvage it but will do better next time!)

Mike and Tammy each come up with reality competition shows for their industries. Netflix, hit us up. Merch is back! Check out bit.ly/blbdmerch

Not our strongest episode for naming things. Mike and Tammy discuss urban planning-related board games, and some of the probability concepts in games in general. Mike also invents several board games. Games discussed: Machi Koro Welcome To Can’t Stop Tokaido Galaxy Trucker Shows: My First Errand Grand Designs

Mike and Tammy discuss billionaire musician Akon's plans for a brand-new cryptocurrency-powered smart city in Senegal. See also: BLBD 49, BLBD 2. For merch, visit bit.ly/blbdmerch

50th episode? What?! Mike and Tammy discuss long-held assumptions in their fields, such as the safety of protected bike lanes and valid sample sizes. Want to check out some merch? Visit bit.ly/blbdmerch Also, a visual aid: (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

Mike and Tammy discuss the urban planning and data science sides of two video games that have been helping them through the pandemic: Animal Crossing New Horizons and the Final Fantasy 7 Remake.

Mike and Tammy chat about the effects of COVID-19 quarantines on the toilet paper market, air quality, and future transportation planning, as well as diving into Iowa's decisioning tool for if/when to trigger a shelter at home order. Also, a Call Me Algorithm about the movie Serenity. No, not that one. References: Iowa Department of Health Coronavirus Dashboard: https://idph.iowa.gov/Emerging-Health-Issues/Novel-Coronavirus NY Times Github for daily state-by-state coronavirus cases: https://github.com/nytimes/covid-19-data/blob/master/us-states.csv NY Times article tracking states' stay-at-home orders: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-stay-at-home-order.html covidtracking.com data for hospitalization rates: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/2/d/e/2PACX-1vRwAqp96T9sYYq2-i7Tj0pvTf6XVHjDSMIKBdZHXiCGGdNC0ypEU9NbngS8mxea55JuCFuua1MUeOj5/pubhtml# Iowa's 12-point decisioning tool criteria: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/health/2020/04/02/shelter-in-place-iowa-covid-19-benchmark-guidance-tool-waits-for-hospitalization-outbreaks/5111747002/