OECD Podcasts

Major sporting events can bring huge crowds and investment to host cities, but how much of that opportunity reaches local businesses? In this episode, Shayne MacLachlan from the OECD speaks with scientist, entrepreneur and investor Riana Lynn about what the 2026 FIFA World Cup meant for local food businesses in Atlanta and Mexico City. Drawing on her experience in both host cities, they explore how restaurants, food vendors, farmers and suppliers benefited from the tournament, and why some businesses were better placed than others to seize the opportunity.

Looking beyond the final whistle, they discuss what host cities can do to turn a few busy weeks into a lasting legacy. From supporting small businesses and local supply chains to celebrating neighbourhood culture and creating opportunities that endure after the crowds have gone, the conversation asks how global sporting events can leave local economies stronger long after the tournament ends.

Podcast host: Shayne MacLachlan - Public Affairs and Communications Manager at the CFE.
As Public Affairs and Communications Manager, Shayne engages with policy issues concerning SMEs, tourism, culture, regions and cities to name a few. He has worked on a number of OECD campaigns including “Going Digital”, "Climate Action" and "I am the future of work".

Podcast guest: Riana Lynn - CEO of Journey Foods
Riana Lynn is a scientist, entrepreneur, and founder and CEO of Journey Foods, the company behind Journey AI, an intelligence and action platform for the global consumption economy. Journey AI helps companies find, understand, and build with the world’s food, ingredient, supplier, and product intelligence. Journey has generated more than 110 billion personalized recommendations and built an intelligence graph spanning millions of ingredients, products, and suppliers, connecting food science, supply chains, and consumption intelligence. A fourth-generation food entrepreneur, former Track & Field athlete, and patented technologist, Riana’s work spans North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. She has been recognized by Forbes, MIT Technology Review’s Innovators Under 35, and the World Economic Forum as a Technology Pioneer. A former Google Entrepreneur in Residence, investor, and educator, she has taught at Stanford and Harvard and explores global food economics through her podcast.

To learn more about this policy area, go to https://www.oecd.org/en/topics/sub-issues/culture-creative-industries-and-sports/leveraging-the-olympics-games-for-local-development.html
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Behind every statistic is a human-scale question. What is a safer commute worth? How much do people value cleaner air? And how can policymakers compare the cost of an intervention with the benefit of reducing mortality risk across a population?

In this episode of Behind the Numbers, our host Ashley Ward speaks with Olof Byström from the OECD Environment Directorate and Ståle Navrud from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences about the Value of a Statistical Life, or VSL. They explain what this frequently misunderstood measure means, what it doesn’t, and why it matters for evidence-based policymaking.

The conversation explores how economists estimate people’s willingness to pay for small reductions in mortality risk and what the OECD’s global meta-analysis of more than 4000 VSL estimates can add to the evidence base. Is also considers how this evidence can support more transparent and consistent decisions on air quality, road safety, food safety, chemicals management and other policies to protect human health.

Host:
Ashley Ward, Director’s Office Advisor and Communications Manager (OECD Statistics and Data Directorate)

Guests:
o Olof Bystrom, Senior Economist (OECD Environment Directorate)
o Ståle Navrud, Professor (Norwegian University of Life Sciences, School of Economics and Business)

To learn more about this policy area, go to https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/2025/10/mortality-risk-valuation-in-policy-assessment_733b9d66.html
To learn more about the OECD, our global reach, and how to join us, go to www.oecd.org/about/
To keep up with latest at the OECD, visit www.oecd.org/
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Governments are moving from discussing artificial intelligence to deploying it. But what does responsible AI look like when it is used inside large public administrations, across real services, using real people’s information?

In Episode 3 of Statistics in the AI Era, OECD Chief Statistician Steve MacFeely speaks with New York State Chief AI Officer Eleonore Fournier-Tombs, about the practical work of implementing AI across government while maintaining public trust.

They discuss the emerging role of Chief AI Officers, AI use cases in public service delivery, code modernisation and geospatial analysis; the data governance foundations needed for AI; and how risk assessments, acceptable-use policies and human oversight can make responsible AI operational.

The conversation also explores workforce impacts, the importance of upskilling and consultation, and the need for a governance model that gives agencies room to experiment while ensuring the highest-risk use cases receive extra scrutiny.

Host:
Steve MacFeely | Chief Statistician, Statistics and Data Directorate, OECD
LinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/in/steve-macfeely-a1a710112/

Guest:
Eleonore Fournier-Tombs | Chief AI Officer, New York State
LinkedIn | linkedin.com/in/eleonoreft

To learn more about AI governance challenges in the public sector: www.oecd.org/en/blogs/2026/07/governing-ai-and-data-in-the-public-sector-with-eleonore-fournier-tombs.html

To learn more about this policy area: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/directorates/statistics-and-data-directorate.html

To learn more about the OECD, our global reach, and how to join us, go to www.oecd.org/about/

To keep up with latest at the OECD, visit www.oecd.org/

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As AI assistants, search engines and chatbots become intermediaries between users and information, official statistics face a new usability test: can authoritative public data be found, understood, sourced and used correctly by both humans and machines?

In the second episode of Statistics in the AI Era, OECD Chief Statistician Steve MacFeely speaks with Prem Ramaswami, Head of Google Data Commons, about the practical work needed to make trusted statistics understandable to people and legible to AI systems.

Prem argues that the challenge is not only to publish reliable data, but to make it easier to discover, connect and use. He explains why fragmented datasets impose a hidden “data tax” on analysts, why AI systems need data that is well sourced, auditable and reproducible, and why statistical organisations should start with machine-readable metadata.

The conversation also explores practical AI use cases across the statistical pipeline - including data collection, data cleaning, sharing and tailored policy outputs - as well as the need for public-private partnerships where technology companies help, and statistical institutions hold them to account.

Host:
Steve MacFeely | Chief Statistician, Statistics and Data Directorate, OECD
LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-macfeely-a1a710112/

Guest:
Prem Ramaswami | Head of Data Commons, Google
LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/premrama/

To learn more about this policy area: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/directorates/statistics-and-data-directorate.html

To learn more about the OECD, our global reach, and how to join us, go to www.oecd.org/about/

To keep up with latest at the OECD, visit www.oecd.org/

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AI is changing how citizens, journalists and policymakers find facts. Instead of going directly to statistical databases, more users are turning to AI assistants and chatbots to retrieve, interpret and reference official statistics.

In this first episode of Statistics in the AI Era, OECD Chief Statistician Steve MacFeely speaks with André Loranger, Chief Statistician of Canada and head of Statistics Canada, about what trusted public data means when AI becomes the interface between society and statistics.

They discuss metadata, evolving data quality frameworks, hallucination risks, responsible AI use within statistical organisations, and whether AI should be treated as a new kind of user.

The episode also explores Statistics Canada’s 2030 vision and the mix of skills statistical offices will need to protect quality, transparency and public trust in the AI age.

Host:
Steve MacFeely, OECD Chief Statistician (OECD Statistics and Data Directorate)
LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-macfeely-a1a710112/

Guest:
André Loranger, Chief Statistician of Canada (Statistics Canada)
LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/andre-loranger-12515731/

To learn more about this policy area: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/directorates/statistics-and-data-directorate.html

To learn more about the OECD, our global reach, and how to join us, go to www.oecd.org/about/

To keep up with latest at the OECD, visit www.oecd.org/

Get the latest OECD content delivered directly to your inbox! Subscribe to our newsletters: www.oecd.org/newsletters