How Bloomberg's Data Scientists use Satellite Images for Reporting: Krishna Karra - MBM78

Minds Behind Maps

Krishna Karra is a data scientist & report for Bloomberg, having used machine learning & satellite images for reporting. Recent stories from him & his team include mapping refugee camps in Rafah & exposing illegal ship oil transfers in the middle of the Ocean.

Sponsor: Beemaps by Hivemapper

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About Krishna

  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

Shownotes

Note: Links to books are Amazon Affiliate links. I earn a small commission if you buy any of these books.

  • Bloomberg: The Clandestine Oil Shipping Hub Funneling Iranian Crude to China
  • Bloomberg: A Detailed Map Shows How Airstrikes and Refugees Reshaped Rafah
  • How Radar Satellites See through Clouds (Synthetic Aperture Radar Explained)
  • National Land Cover Database (NLCD)
  • What Ukraine Has Lost
  • Graves in Suda by Joe Morrison
  • Jean Martin Bauer on Minds Behind Maps
  • Books & Podcast:
    • Overstory by Richard Powers (Affiliate Link)
    • Ezra Klein Show

Timestamps

(00:00) - Intro

(00:34) - Sponsor: Beemaps

(01:51) - Krishna describes himself

(03:27) - Example stories: Illegal Oil transfers

(05:29) - Stories are the goal

(07:07) - Why publish the data set?

(12:24) - How Journalism has and hasn't changed

(14:04) - How data changes a story

(18:23) - Putting the datasets together

(20:37) - Conveying trust

(24:07) - Showing the limitations of the data

(26:11) - Why is journalism important for satellite data?

(30:14) - News room process

(32:57) - Building custom tools

(38:19) - Timeline of a news story

(39:47) - What Krishna has learned as a data scientist in a news room

(40:49) - Stories that have stuck out

(42:57) - Different ways of showing the data

(44:19) - Krishna's wishlist

(51:12) - Book & podcast recommendation

(53:16) - Paid podcasts & media

(55:19) - Support the podcast on Patreon

  • Support the podcast on Patreon
  • My Twitter
  • Podcast Twitter
  • Read Previous Issues of the Newsletter
  • Edited by Peter Xiong
  • Find more of his work

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