Harry Enten

Senior Data Reporter, CNN | Host, Margins of Error Podcast

Harry Enten is a Senior Data Reporter at CNN, the host of the Margins of Error podcast, and a former senior writer and analyst at FiveThirtyEight. He has a gift for interpreting and presenting data in a way that can be easily understood by mass audiences. Most known for his astute analysis of American politics and polling data, he offers incisive statistical assessments on everything from music and sports to the weather and travel optimization. Focusing not just on the numbers, but the stories the numbers tell when placed into their historical and demographic contexts, Harry brings clarity to the world in which we live.

The son of a judge, Harry’s involvement with politics dates back to his pre-kindergarten days when at age four he accompanied his father to the polls. One could say he’s been hooked ever since. In high school, he founded the Margin of Error blog, dedicated to election analysis. He maintained the blog throughout and beyond college and its popularity garnered the attention of both TheGuardian, who hired him forAmerican election coverage, and of fellow Leigh Bureau speaker Nate Silver, who brought him on asa writer and analyst at FiveThirtyEight. Dubbed a "whiz kid" by the Columbia Journalism Review, Harry is said to be leading a significant shift in the way political journalism is practiced, relying on polling data rather than human sources and telling stories based on numbers rather than anecdotes in effort to deliver conclusions that are as free as possible from assumptions.

His podcast, Margins of Error, brings the same discernment to the matters of everyday life. If you’ve ever wondered about the disappearance of certain accents, the decline in romance, how much money you need to be happy, or the increasing preference for cremation over burials, Harry and his invited guests present the numbers and interpretations of the data from multiple angles with levity and humor.

Harry graduated Phi Beta Kappa, Summa Cum Laude from Dartmouth with a degree in government and a specialization in statistics. He has interned at the NBC political unit in Washington, DC and at Pollster.com, and contributed to Taegan Goddard's Political Wire. He is a diehard Buffalo Bills fan, a self-professed weather nerd, and weather camp graduate who has served as a guest reporter on The Weather Channel and has been known to include the impact of the weather in his data driven assessments.

Topics

Political Forecasting and Assessments: What the Data Says

In our increasingly uncertain world, we often seek comfort in predictions. A piece of information to hold onto until concrete answers are available. But when it comes to politics, we’re all familiar with instances when political forecasters got it wrong. Are we moving toward a post-forecasting world? Is forecasting still necessary? Can it be made more accurate? Do forecasts affect outcomes? These are the questions political data analyst and reporter Harry Enten will address in this timely talk catered to the big and small elections of the present moment.

Fantasy Sports for Dummies

When a sports buff and a data expert combine, the ultimate fantasy sports player is born. In this talk, data analyst and reporter Harry Enten uses his statistical expertise and encyclopedic knowledge of sports to break down the science behind success in fantasy sports. Discover what you’re doing wrong each week, how things like the weather will impact outcomes, and different strategies to take your team to the top.

Data is Everything. Everything is Data.

If you’ve got a question, data can answer it. But how does a collection of numbers and percentages and formulas and graphs convey your message? Arriving to an answer means very little if it cannot be understood by those who need to know it. Clear communication is key. Bypass the desire to prove how smart you are and keep it simple for maximum impact. In this customizable speech, data expert Harry Enten explains how to utilize and present data for optimal understanding. You’ll learn how to use data to support your point, what to do when it doesn’t, and how to prepare for the counterargument.