Vietnam Draft Lottery Is Exposed (1970) w/ Walt Hickey

2024-01-07

It’s January 7th. In 1970, the New York Times published an article with the headline “Statisticians Charge Draft Lottery Was Not Random.” Jody and Niki are joined by data reporter Walt Hickey to talk about how statistical analysis exposed that people born in December were more likely to be selected for the Vietnam War draft than those born in January, and what that tells us about randomness, trust, and more. Walt’s most recent book is “You Are What You Watch” — check it out now! ...

It’s January 7th. In 1970, the New York Times published an article with the headline “Statisticians Charge Draft Lottery Was Not Random.”

Jody and Niki are joined by data reporter Walt Hickey to talk about how statistical analysis exposed that people born in December were more likely to be selected for the Vietnam War draft than those born in January, and what that tells us about randomness, trust, and more.

Walt’s most recent book is “You Are What You Watch” — check it out now!

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