Podcast Summary: "The Case of the Missing US Data"

Podcast: More or Less: Behind the Stats
Host: Tim Harford (BBC Radio 4)
Date: September 27, 2025

Overview

In this episode, Tim Harford and the More or Less team investigate the mysterious disappearance and alteration of thousands of US government data sets in early 2025. Joined by data experts Maggie Levenstein and John Cubali, they explore the execution, motivations, and real-world consequences of government actions that have rendered key public data sets unavailable or unreliable. The episode examines how political, budgetary, and ideological forces can jeopardize not only transparency but public wellbeing and research.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Sudden Disappearance of US Data Sets

• Timestamps: 01:07–02:41
  • In February 2025, thousands of US government web pages and data sets—from agencies like the CDC, NIH, and Census Bureau—became abruptly inaccessible.
  • Many sites went completely offline due to executive orders.
  • Notable Quote (01:31):
    Maggie Levenstein: “Lots and lots of data sets disappeared from access because entire websites for agencies of the government came down because of executive orders from the president questioning what could be made available.”

2. Political and Ideological Motivations

• Timestamps: 02:41–03:48
  • Executive orders early in President Trump's second term targeted diversity, equity, inclusion, and climate change content on government websites.
  • To avoid non-compliance, agencies removed vital content wholesale, not just targeted language.
  • Budget cuts and mass firings compounded data inaccessibility as data producers and gatekeepers lost their jobs.
  • Notable Quote (03:29):
    Maggie Levenstein: “Lots and lots of people were fired. And those people are often people who produce data or people who provide access to data. And without those people in place, access was impossible.”

3. Alteration and Discontinuation of Data Sets

• Timestamps: 03:48–04:28
  • While many web pages and data sets returned, some were changed or had sensitive sections removed.
  • Topics hit hardest: gender identity, vaccines, sexual behavior, and climate information.
  • Notable Quote (04:03):
    Maggie Levenstein: “There were actual decisions...to alter them to obscure information about gender identity or about vaccines or about sexual behavior or about climate... those data were removed or were altered.”

4. Real-life Consequences

• Timestamps: 04:28–05:19
  • Loss of data, such as non-binary gender statistics, has direct social and health policy consequences.
  • Without such data, it’s difficult to identify and support at-risk populations.
  • Notable Quote (04:55):
    Maggie Levenstein: “When we don't have that information, it's much harder to provide the resources that people need to live full and healthy lives.”

5. Budget Cuts and Data Quality

• Timestamps: 05:19–05:56
  • Budget cuts forced agencies like the Bureau of Labor Statistics to scale back data collection, reducing the reliability of economic indicators.
  • Business and policy leaders are now often “flying blind.”
  • Notable Quote (05:36):
    Maggie Levenstein: “When we reduce spending and the resources that the BLS has, that we get lower quality measures. And as a result, businesses are kind of much more likely to be flying blind.”

6. Government Disclaimers and Misinformation

• Timestamps: 05:56–06:38
  • Many reactivated government websites now carry mandated disclaimers casting doubt on the accuracy of specific data, especially regarding sex and gender.
  • Example: CDC’s HIV surveillance page now asserts only two biological sexes.
  • Notable Quote (06:13):
    Maggie Levenstein: “Any information on this page promoting gender ideology is extremely inaccurate and disconnected from the immutable biological reality that there are two sexes, male and female.”

7. Uncertainty Around Critical Data Programs: The PRAMS Case

• Timestamps: 06:38–09:11
  • PRAMS (Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System): vital for maternal and child health, now in jeopardy.
  • Researchers like John Cubali have had data requests ignored; recent data (post-2016) unavailable.
  • Uncertainty about whether PRAMS data is still even being collected after staff terminations.
  • Notable Quote (07:35):
    John Cubali: “It's something that is used both by policymakers and by researchers really to understand how are different aspects of maternal and child health changing over time and what populations are most impacted.”
  • Memorable Moment (08:39):
    John Cubali: “April 1, the entire prams office was essentially fired. And so now it's really uncertain what this means for this data collection moving forward.”

8. Efforts to Preserve and Recover Data

• Timestamps: 09:11–09:44
  • Academics and data consortia scramble to save and verify what they can, but much data is irretrievably lost, altered, or missing crucial context.
  • Metadata and historical integrity compromised.
  • Notable Quote (09:23):
    Maggie Levenstein: “So there's some data that you can't get to at all. There's some data that we don't know is gone yet. There's also data that's been preserved, but we don't know for sure that it hasn't been changed. And you also don't have the context, what we call metadata...”

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• Maggie Levenstein (02:20): “Lots and lots of data sets disappeared from access because entire websites for agencies of the government came down because of executive orders from the president...”
• Tim Harford (04:28): “Some might see the eradication of the non binary gender category as purely a symbolic move. But we know that teenagers who identify as non binary more likely to be more vulnerable to certain risks than their peers.”
• John Cubali (08:13): “I started getting contacted by researchers and essentially these requests were just going unanswered. I submitted multiple requests myself... if you did not have access to that already, you're kind of out of luck at this point.”
• Maggie Levenstein (09:23): “There's some data that you can't get to at all. There's some data that we don't know is gone yet...”

Conclusion

The episode closes on a sober note, highlighting how the case of the missing US data is far from resolved. Data loss and alteration undermine not just academic research and policy analysis, but the ability to provide targeted support to vulnerable populations. Both the cause and effect of political disruption, the erasure of data represents a fundamental challenge to evidence-based governance.

If you have questions or input, contact the More or Less team at moreorlessbc.com.