The Analytics Power Hour

Episode #287: 2025 Year in Review

Release Date: December 23, 2025
Hosts: Michael Helbling, Moe Kiss, Tim Wilson, Val Kroll
Special Guest: Josh Crowhurst

Episode Overview

This festive episode of The Analytics Power Hour gathers the regular crew plus special guest (and former producer) Josh Crowhurst for a spirited and reflective "2025 Year in Review." The team looks back at the stand-out podcast episodes of the year, shares personal and professional highlights, and discusses industry trends—most notably, the pervasiveness of AI in analytics. The conversation is as much about the evolution of data practice as it is about memorable bar conversations and camaraderie.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Standout Episodes from 2025

Favorite Episodes & Why They Stood Out

• Episode 263: "Analytics the Right Way" with Dr. Joe Sutherland

  • Moe kicks off the recap:

    "We started off our year strong. No show would be complete without Tim Wilson kicking off our year with the announcement of 'Analytics the Right Way'... It was super fun to be a part of that episode." ([04:49])

  • Discussion on the episode’s impact and Tim's book promotion, with a running "APH bump" joke about book sales ([06:01]).

• Episode 272: "Calculated and Complex Metrics" with Dan McCarthy

  • Michael highlights Dan's expertise and passion, especially his surprising love of data-themed music on SoundCloud:

    "It was just so cool to watch somebody’s eyes light up about things they were passionate about." ([07:53])

  • Moe and Tim praise Dan’s ability to dissect metrics like LTV:CAC and offer practical resources for understanding complicated business reporting.

    “The number of times I get questions about LTV to CAC...I’m just like, here is a show that I prepared earlier.” – Moe ([08:32])

• Episode 282: "Using and Creating Data to Understand Pop Culture" with Chris Della Riva

  • Josh’s pick:

    “Honestly, probably my favorite episode ever because it’s so right up my alley... Tracking writing credits and production credits—this is something I just do impulsively.” ([11:02])

  • The group shares excitement about discovering Chris’ song dataset and his new book.

2. The Ubiquity & Evolution of AI Conversations

AI's Domination of 2025 Discourse

• Tim raises the question of AI’s omnipresence:

  “How many episodes do you reckon AI came up in?” ([14:06])
  The group estimates at least 75–90% of episodes included AI, noting its movement from hype to practicality.

• Michael:

  “AI is starting to reshape our industry. And I think we both call bullshit on nonsense like vibe analytics.” ([15:57])

• Val observes a shift over the year:

  “At the start of the year, the ratio of AI hype...was like north of 90%...It’s slowly gotten a little more in balance...just as the conversation...gets more mature.” ([18:57])

• Michael notes the rapid maturity curve:

  “Literally from spring to fall...I felt like we’d already gone through a maturity curve almost with the way we’re discussing AI and some of its use cases.” ([21:43])

Concerns About Hype vs. Practical Use

• Moe:

  “Like with any trendy thing, it’s cool to think of all the use cases...and then the cool thing is to be like, but you can’t do this, can’t do that.” ([19:23])

• Val, on AI and the tech bubble:

  “Instead of a bubble, think of it as a forest fire...There are players that were sufficiently hardy and had actually a plan.” ([19:48])

• Discussion on how non-experts ("normies") are relating to AI, and concerns over surface-level uses.

3. Return to Fundamentals & Quality

• Tim notes a resurgence of interest in the basics:

  “I felt like there was this return to us discussing, I want to say, quote unquote, the basics...how we do things well and measure if output is good.” ([22:39])

• Michael:

  “Your own expertise drives results in AI...all the things that we teach as analysts...AI is a part of that process now, but we still have to maintain all of those parts along the way.” ([24:09])

• Josh highlights the risk of "convincing-sounding bullshit" with AI-produced insights, especially from junior or less critical users:

  “There’s a lot of convincing sounding bullshit where if you prod just one layer deeper, the thinking just isn't there.” ([27:01])

• Val and Moe warn against treating analysis as "tedious grunt work" to be handed off, thus missing the value humans add through thoughtful questioning.

  “There is stuff that is supposed to be hard...” ([27:01])

4. Other Notable Episodes & Themes (Beyond AI)

• Episode 265: "ANOVA I Hardly Know Ya" with Chelsea
  • Mo:

    “She’s just a joy...You guys did a really nice job probing with some really good questions that were very thoughtful from real life experiences...” ([30:32])

• Episode 268: "You Get an Insight!" with Chris Koch
  • Val:

    “That was so much about a human being pulling things from different directions...a pretty nice corrective to the AI hype.” ([32:36])

• Episode 270: Bayesian Statistics with Michael Kaminski
  • Michael:

    “It was sort of this really big light bulb moment to realize, wow, the way I actually approach this stuff is literally what we talked about.” ([32:36])

  • Moe:

    “Michael brought a level of new depth to the topic that really add a lot of value to me.” ([33:32])

• Episode 284: "Metrics Layers, Data Dictionaries, Maybe It’s All Semantic Layers" with Cindy Howson
  • Mo:

    “Holy shit, yes, it was a whole episode because it was with Cindy and it was really, really well done.” ([34:51])

• Episode 281: "Analytics: The View from the Corner Office" with Annalee
  • Josh:

    “I loved that framing...taking ownership as a leader, realizing what you say—people might just take it and run with it and spend a ton of time...” ([37:06])

  • Tim calls out how insightful it was to see a leader take responsibility for data culture:

    “That was one that really stood out.” ([39:41])

5. Trends and Looking Forward to 2026

Emerging Themes

• Moe:

  “It is about consistency and making sure that we have really solid consistency in metric definitions...It just sounds boring, but I feel like it's becoming more important than ever.” ([43:08])

• Tim and Val debate the automation of insight discovery, balancing business needs versus providing easy answers:

  “It comes down to cost efficiency...I don’t want someone continually asking a question every day that’s costing us money to run that is sitting on a dashboard that can be easily looked at...” – Tim ([47:01])

• Michael, on the dangers of "activity without outcome":

  “Maybe the AI product you want to see built is the one that forces more rigorous questioning by guiding people through that process.” ([49:45])

• Moe jokingly polls the group:

  “Do we think that AI was mentioned more this year or Tim’s blood pressure raising happened more this year?” ([51:13])

• On “decision velocity”:

  “How do you use the right level of rigor for the decision that you’re trying to make as a business? And sure, maybe there’s some AI sprinkle salt...” – Moe ([52:12])

  • Val notes the business need for timely, sufficient answers rather than inarguable perfection ([52:52]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The old APH bump, we like to call it.” – Michael ([06:01])
• “The number of data show-and-tells I’ve opened with one of [Dan McCarthy’s] songs...” – Moe ([09:35])
• “It’s become table stakes in 2026: analysts have to start using AI, leveraging LLMs to multiplier capabilities isn’t just interesting anymore.” – Michael ([16:11])
• “There's a lot of convincing sounding bullshit where if you prod to go one layer deeper, the thinking just isn’t there." – Josh ([27:01])
• “If you think the goal is to get a slide deck produced that looks plausible, then you’re missing what analysis is.” – Val ([27:01])
• “Decision velocity is a huge part, like not getting yourself bogged down. There’s lots of frameworks for that...and I think AI is really well suited to helping you remember some of those things over time as well.” – Michael ([54:30])
• On the group dynamic:

  “Do we think that AI was mentioned more this year or Tim’s blood pressure raising happened more this year?” – Moe ([51:13])

Key Timestamps

• 04:49: Start of "favorite episodes of the year" segment.
• 07:53: Michael reflects on Dan McCarthy's music passion and education on complex metrics.
• 11:02: Josh raves about the pop culture data episode with Chris Della Riva.
• 14:06: Group discusses the omnipresence of AI in this year's episodes.
• 18:57: Val observes industry’s AI hype moderating toward tangible use.
• 22:39: Tim notices resurgence of interest in the basics and fundamentals.
• 27:01: Josh and Val highlight the dangers of skipping critical thinking in analysis, especially with AI.
• 32:36: Discussion of NON-AI episodes that stood out. Focus on fundamentals, Bayesian statistics, and human insight.
• 37:06: Annalee’s perspective on leadership and data-driven culture.
• 43:08: Moe outlines personal themes for 2026: consistency and automation, but with an eye for context and value.
• 49:45: Michael and the team debate promoting more rigorous business questioning versus automating answers.
• 52:12: Mo and Val raise "decision velocity" as a crucial executive function.
• 54:30: Michael discusses the practical value of decision tracking through tools and possibly AI.
• 56:16 and on: Wrapping up, thanking Josh, reflections on the APH team and the year ahead.

Overall Tone

Conversational, irreverent, and candid—with healthy doses of skepticism (especially regarding AI hype), humor, and camaraderie. The hosts share personal stories, lighthearted arguments, and a deep respect for the analytic craft, fundamentals, and community.

Closing Thoughts

This Year in Review reflects on a period when AI-talk dominated industry chatter, but the Power Hour team grounds their analysis in the enduring value of fundamentals, rigor, and human insight. Listeners are encouraged to revisit notable episodes, participate in the ongoing discussion, and gear up for changes and challenges in 2026—with the reminder to, as always, “keep analyzing.”

If you want to follow up on any of the episodes mentioned, check the Analytics Power Hour archive. For more discussion, visit their LinkedIn, Measured Chat Slack, or send a note to the team!