Control F is a podcast about data — hard, fuzzy, surprising, and sometimes unreliable data — and all the ways it influences our daily lives. In each episode, we dig deep on a topic and search through research, algorithms, and assumptions to bring you insights on how stuff works. In a world ruled by numbers, Control F reads between the (spreadsheet) lines to find the bigger story.

Control F launches on January 14, with new episodes every other week. 

Control F is a podcast about data &mdash; hard, fuzzy, surprising, and sometimes unreliable data &mdash; and all the ways it influences our daily lives. In each episode, we dig deep on a topic and search through research, algorithms, and assumptions to bring you insights on how stuff works. In a world ruled by numbers, Control F reads between the (spreadsheet) lines to find the bigger story.
Control F launches on January 14, with new episodes every other week.&nbsp;

Control F is a podcast about data — hard, fuzzy, surprising, and sometimes unreliable data — and all the ways it influences our daily lives. In each episode, we dig deep on a topic and search through research, algorithms, and assumptions to bring you insights on how stuff works. In a world ruled by numbers, Control F reads between the (spreadsheet) lines to find the bigger story.

Control F is a podcast about data &mdash; hard, fuzzy, surprising, and sometimes unreliable data &mdash; and all the ways it influences our daily lives. In each episode, we dig deep on a topic and search through research, algorithms, and assumptions to bring you insights on how stuff works. In a world ruled by numbers, Control F reads between the (spreadsheet) lines to find the bigger story.

Control F is a podcast about data — hard, fuzzy, surprising, and sometimes unreliable data — and all the ways it influences our daily lives. 

Control F

Introducing Control F, a podcast about the hidden data that influences our lives

In 1964, then-President Lyndon B. Johnson declared war on poverty. Johnson wanted to lift the nation’s poor into a better life, via programs like food stamps, Medicare and Medicaid. But more than 60 years later, our country is still grappling with how to alleviate the challenges of poverty – including how we measure it.

In this episode, Teo explains how the Federal Poverty Line is calculated and what it has to do with Jello. 

We want to answer your questions about how our world works! Click here to submit a question using our online form, or email the team at ControlF@kuow.org

Support the show by supporting our home, KUOW Public Radio in Seattle.

Sources in this episode:
U.S. Census Bureau Timeline of Poverty Measure, 2014
How the U.S. Census Bureau Measures Poverty, 2022
What does living at the poverty line look like?, USA Facts, 2023
Poverty Guidelines vs Poverty Thresholds, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Poverty Line Matrix, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2026
Remembering Mollie Orshansky — The Developer of the Poverty Thresholds, Society Security Administration, 2008
Relatively Deprived, New Yorker, 2006
Mollie Orshansky, Statistician, Dies at 91, The New York Times, 2007
Mollie Orshansky: Inventor of the Poverty Line, NPR, 2007
Thrifty Food Plan, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2021
Thrifty Food Plan: Better planning and accountability could help ensure quality of future reevaluations, U.S. Government Accountability Office Report to Congressional Requesters, 2022
Family Food Plans and Food Costs, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1962
The Indians in the Lobby, Season 3, Episode 8, The West Wing, 2001
NPR audience call out on SNAP benefits, 2025
Legacies of the War on Poverty, The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political & Social Science, 2024

In 1964, then-President Lyndon B. Johnson declared war on poverty. Johnson wanted to lift the nation&rsquo;s poor into a better life, via programs like food stamps, Medicare and Medicaid. But more than 60 years later, our country is still grappling with how to alleviate the challenges of poverty &ndash; including how we measure it.
In this episode, Teo explains how the Federal Poverty Line is calculated and what it has to do with Jello.&nbsp;
We want to answer your questions about how our world works! <a href="https://forms.office.com/r/4nGSfCuAML">Click here</a> to submit a question using our online form, or email the team at ControlF@kuow.org
Support the show by supporting our home,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kuow.org/donate/control-f-notes">KUOW Public Radio</a> in Seattle.
Sources in this episode:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2014/demo/poverty_measure-history.html">U.S. Census Bureau Timeline of Poverty Measure</a>, 2014</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2021/demo/poverty_measure-how.html">How the U.S. Census Bureau Measures Poverty</a>, 2022</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://usafacts.org/articles/what-does-living-at-the-poverty-line-look-like/">What does living at the poverty line look like?</a>, USA Facts, 2023</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/poverty-guidelines/frequently-asked-questions-related-poverty-guidelines-poverty">Poverty Guidelines vs Poverty Thresholds</a>, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/57079d323990db17e9ceaaab212c5680/detailed-guidelines-2026.xlsx">Poverty Line Matrix</a>, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2026</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/v68n3/v68n3p79.html">Remembering Mollie Orshansky &mdash; The Developer of the Poverty Thresholds</a>, Society Security Administration, 2008</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/04/03/relatively-deprived">Relatively Deprived</a>, New Yorker, 2006</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/17/us/17orshansky.html">Mollie Orshansky, Statistician, Dies at 91</a>, The New York Times, 2007</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.npr.org/2007/04/21/9750949/mollie-orshansky-inventor-of-the-poverty-line">Mollie Orshansky: Inventor of the Poverty Line</a>, NPR, 2007</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/cnpp/thrifty-food-plan-2021">Thrifty Food Plan</a>, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2021</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-23-105450.pdf">Thrifty Food Plan: Better planning and accountability could help ensure quality of future reevaluations</a>, U.S. Government Accountability Office Report to Congressional Requesters, 2022</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/private/pdf/106751/familyfoodplan.pdf">Family Food Plans and Food Costs</a>, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1962</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://youtu.be/q9EehZlw-zk?si=foDZKEv74m4WRbJF">The Indians in the Lobby</a>, Season 3, Episode 8, The West Wing, 2001</li>
<li aria-level="1">NPR audience call out on SNAP benefits, 2025</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00027162241289754">Legacies of the War on Poverty</a>, The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political &amp; Social Science, 2024</li>
</ul>

The Poverty Line decides who qualifies for benefits like  Medicaid, food stamps and many other government programs. But the way we calculate poverty in the United States hasn't changed in 60 years.  

What is the poverty line? And why does it matter?

The United States spends more on health care than any other country on earth. Most health care products in the U.S. cost at least twice what other countries pay, sometimes up to ten times as much. And everyday Americans are often left footing the bill, grappling with sky-high premiums and medical debt. Clare tells Teo how the forces in our health care system keep costs high, and what you can do about the (possibly giant) number at the bottom of your next medical bill. 

We want to answer your questions about how our world works! Click here to submit a question using our online form, or email the team at ControlF@kuow.org

Support the show by supporting our home, KUOW Public Radio in Seattle.

Sources in this episode:
The Insane Things Hospitals Can Charge You for When you Give Birth, Vice, 2018
Health Care Costs and Affordability, Kaiser Family Foundation, 2025
Health costs associated with pregnancy, childbirth, and infant care, Peterson-KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) Health System Tracker, 2025
Utah Dad Posts Hospital Bill With Nearly $40 Fee for Skin-to-Skin Contact After Son's Birth, ABC News, 2016
As Americans Struggled, Health Insurers Made a Record-Breaking $71.3 Billion in Profits, Wendell Potter on Substack, 2025
Health Care Debt In The U.S.: The Broad Consequences Of Medical And Dental Bills, Kaiser Family Foundation, 2022
The Marshall Allen Project
Cost Data from the British Columbia Ministry of Health
Interview with Gerard Anderson, Johns Hopkins Professor of Health Policy and Management
Trump struck deals with 16 drug companies. But they're still raising prices this year, NPR, 2026

The United States spends more on health care than any other country on earth. Most health care products in the U.S. cost at least twice what other countries pay, sometimes up to ten times as much. And everyday Americans are often left footing the bill, grappling with sky-high premiums and medical debt. Clare tells Teo how the forces in our health care system keep costs high, and what you can do about the (possibly giant) number at the bottom of your next medical bill.&nbsp;
We want to answer your questions about how our world works! <a href="https://forms.office.com/r/4nGSfCuAML">Click here</a> to submit a question using our online form, or email the team at ControlF@kuow.org
Support the show by supporting our home, <a href="https://www.kuow.org/donate/control-f-notes">KUOW Public Radio</a> in Seattle.
Sources in this episode:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/giving-birth-hidden-hospital-costs/">The Insane Things Hospitals Can Charge You for When you Give Birth</a>, Vice, 2018</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.kff.org/health-costs/health-policy-101-health-care-costs-and-affordability/?entry=table-of-contents-how-do-high-health-costs-affect-affordability-of-care">Health Care Costs and Affordability</a>, Kaiser Family Foundation, 2025</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/health-costs-associated-with-pregnancy-childbirth-and-postpartum-care/">Health costs associated with pregnancy, childbirth, and infant care</a>, Peterson-KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) Health System Tracker, 2025</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://abcnews.com/Health/utah-dad-posts-hospital-bill-40-fee-skin/story?id=42585001">Utah Dad Posts Hospital Bill With Nearly $40 Fee for Skin-to-Skin Contact After Son's Birth</a>, ABC News, 2016</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://healthcareuncovered.substack.com/p/as-americans-struggled-health-insurers">As Americans Struggled, Health Insurers Made a Record-Breaking $71.3 Billion in Profits</a>, Wendell Potter on Substack, 2025</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.kff.org/health-costs/kff-health-care-debt-survey/">Health Care Debt In The U.S.: The Broad Consequences Of Medical And Dental Bills</a>, Kaiser Family Foundation, 2022</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.marshallallenproject.org/">The Marshall Allen Project</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Cost Data from the British Columbia Ministry of Health</li>
<li aria-level="1">Interview with <a href="https://publichealth.jhu.edu/faculty/11/gerard-anderson">Gerard Anderson</a>, Johns Hopkins Professor of Health Policy and Management</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/01/16/nx-s1-5678915/trumprx-pharma-drug-price-deals-list-prices">Trump struck deals with 16 drug companies. But they're still raising prices this year</a>, NPR, 2026</li>
</ul>

Healthcare costs are higher in the United States than any other country, thanks to a complex system of healthcare providers, insurers and patients that keep prices high. 

Why does health care cost so much in the United States?

When a storm rolls through your area, odds are you’ll have days of warning and hour-by-hour information about what to expect. That accuracy is thanks to a global data network that turns real-time measurements into forecasts that can stretch weeks. But it wasn’t always this way. 

Clare tells Teo how weather went from a guessing game to a precise science, saving lives in the process. 

Have a question about how our world works? Want to know more about weather forecasting? Email the Control F team at controlf@kuow.org 

Support the show by supporting our home, KUOW Public Radio in Seattle.

Sources in this episode:
Archival copies of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on October 12 and October 13, 1962
Why an ‘exact date’ weather forecast headline isn’t what it seems, Met Office of the United Kingdom, 2023
How Reliable Are Weather Forecasts?, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Operational Weather Forecasting, Peter Michael Inness and Steve Dorling, 2013
A Deadly Wind: The 1962 Columbus Day Storm, John Dodge, 2018
Interview with Reid Wolcott, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service, Seattle
Interview with Ted Buehner (a.k.a. Tornado Ted), meteorologist at the National Weather Service (retired)
Interview with Cliff Mass, meteorologist and forecasting researcher at the University of Washington

When a storm rolls through your area, odds are you&rsquo;ll have days of warning and hour-by-hour information about what to expect. That accuracy is thanks to a global data network that turns real-time measurements into forecasts that can stretch weeks. But it wasn&rsquo;t always this way.&nbsp;
Clare tells Teo how weather went from a guessing game to a precise science, saving lives in the process.&nbsp;
Have a question about how our world works? Want to know more about weather forecasting? Email the Control F team at controlf@kuow.org&nbsp;
Support the show by supporting our home, <a href="https://www.kuow.org/donate/control-f-notes">KUOW Public Radio</a> in Seattle.
Sources in this episode:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Archival copies of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on <a href="https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&amp;rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&amp;svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&amp;req_dat=0D2A02882BC90595&amp;rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&amp;rft_dat=document_id%3Aimage%252Fv2%253A142FE773BA94746A%2540WHNPX-16D636DD74E8BF4B%25402437950-16D4331EF04D1756%25400-16D4331EF04D1756%2540/hlterms%3Aweather">October 12</a> and <a href="https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&amp;rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&amp;svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&amp;req_dat=0D2A02882BC90595&amp;rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&amp;rft_dat=document_id%3Aimage%252Fv2%253A142FE773BA94746A%2540WHNPX-16D636E256D05CB6%25402437951-16D433210A32BC42%25400/hlterms%3Aweather">October 13</a>, 1962</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/blog/2023/why-an-exact-date-weather-forecast-headline-isnt-what-it-seems">Why an &lsquo;exact date&rsquo; weather forecast headline isn&rsquo;t what it seems</a>, Met Office of the United Kingdom, 2023</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/about/k-12-education/weather-forecasting/how-reliable-are-weather-forecasts">How Reliable Are Weather Forecasts?</a>, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/washington/detail.action?pq-origsite=primo&amp;docID=1120626">Operational Weather Forecasting</a>, Peter Michael Inness and Steve Dorling, 2013</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/205/monograph/book/62943/pdf">A Deadly Wind: The 1962 Columbus Day Storm</a>, John Dodge, 2018</li>
<li aria-level="1">Interview with Reid Wolcott, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service, Seattle</li>
<li aria-level="1">Interview with Ted Buehner (a.k.a. Tornado Ted), meteorologist at the National Weather Service (retired)</li>
<li aria-level="1">Interview with Cliff Mass, meteorologist and forecasting researcher at the University of Washington</li>
</ul>

Two journalists explain how weather forecasting works, and how it has developed over the last 65 years into a more precise prediction than ever before. 

Introducing Control F, a podcast about the hidden data that influences our lives

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