Atrium

A directory of experts built by crossing two independent sources, podcasts and books, screened against the same 6 roles. Awards and opinion pages then show which of them won a prize or write in the press. Click a number, a criterion, a role or a name to see the details.

Four sources, one directory

The directory9,748experts, each counted once

Found through podcasts only8,399
Found through books only1,060
Found in both sources289

Among them
Distinguished by a reference prize602
Writing in the opinion pages81

Podcasts and books each find their own experts, screened against the same 6 roles, then crossed: nobody is counted twice. Awards and opinion pages add no new names, they show which experts won a prize or write in the press. Circle areas follow the numbers, overlaps are approximate.

Podcasts8,688experts selected in the 6 roles

Podcasts tracked6,519
Episodes analyzed50,000
Guests identified28,558

Guests named in the episodes of the most listened-to podcasts.

Books1,349experts selected in the 6 roles

Editions since 20232,707,321
Authors identified1,392,039
Non-fiction authors reviewed3,984

Authors of the non-fiction books published since 2023 in 11 national libraries and Open Library.

Awards602experts in the directory

Winners and finalists of the reference book prizes of 2023 to 2026 in Europe and the United States.

Opinion81experts in the directory

Newspapers tracked18
Contributors identified608
Columnists among the experts50

Sample of 18 major newspapers in the UK, France and Germany since 2023, compared with podcast experts only for now.

Where the experts come from

Click a country to explore it below

Experts by country of origin*

Each expert counts once, in their country of origin.

500 or more6 countries
100 to 49910 countries
10 to 9911 countries
1 to 948 countries
No expert

Award winners and finalists

People distinguished by the reference book prizes from 2023 to 2026 (winners, finalists, shortlists), by country of origin. The bigger the dot, the more people.

674 people placed of 998

Most representedUnited States1,975 France899 United Kingdom890 Germany838 Sweden542 Netherlands526Country of origin known for 8,760 of 9,748 experts.

All countries

75countries

8,760experts placed, of 9,748

674award winners and finalists placed

Organisations Podcasts

Where the podcast experts of the directory work most often.

1. McKinsey & Company0.5%
2. Stockholms universitet0.3%
3. Stanford University0.3%
4. Financial Times0.3%
5. CSIS0.3%
6. The Spectator0.3%
7. Lunds universitet0.3%
8. Aarhus Universitet0.3%
9. Københavns Universitet0.3%
10. Harvard University0.2%

What role their experts play

Share of the 9,751 experts in each of the 6 roles of the spec. Click a tile to see those experts below.

Academic49.8%Commentator25.2%Economist or consultant9%Think tank7.5%Former official5.8%

Podcast experts and selected book authors, each counted once. Country of origin comes from Wikidata when the expert is identified there, otherwise from their podcast or book descriptions, or their organisation.

Top-ranked experts

Award winners and finalists

Michael WaibelASIL Certificates of Merit (book awards)In directoryWinner
Robert MenassePrix Jacques Delors du Livre européenIn directoryWinner
Helen GarnerBaillie Gifford Prize for Non-FictionIn directoryWinner
Lyndal RoperCundill History PrizeIn directoryWinner
Laurent de SutterGrand prix de l'essai (Académie royale de langue et de littérature françaises de Belgique)In directoryWinner
Pascal ChabotGrand prix de l'essai (Académie royale de langue et de littérature françaises de Belgique)In directoryWinner
Abdi AididPROSE Awards (Legal Studies and Criminology; Computing and Information Sciences; Economics; Government and Politics; Business, Finance and Management)In directoryWinner
Benjamin AlariePROSE Awards (Legal Studies and Criminology; Computing and Information Sciences; Economics; Government and Politics; Business, Finance and Management)In directoryWinner
Chris TurnerShaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political WritingIn directoryWinner
John VaillantShaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political WritingIn directoryWinner

The 5 admission criteria

G1SampleWritten voice3 signed pieces for the public in 24 months (sample: 18 newspapers' opinion pages, Substack, web search)87 experts G2ComputedSpoken presence2 appearances in 24 months3,511 experts G3ComputedCommercial offering1 book, paid offering, speaking or consulting (new books since 2023 for now)2,977 experts G4ComputedInstitutional standing1 position at a university, think tank, institute or regulator5,631 experts G5ComputedRecent activity1 appearance in 6 months and 4 in 24 months1,626 experts

Experts by role

AcademicNamed position at a university or research institution4,341 Think tankNamed position at a think tank or public policy institute730 Former officialHeld a position in a public authority: ministry, regulator, central bank, parliament531 LawyerPractices law, in a firm, in-house or at the bar251 Economist or consultantEconomist, analyst or adviser, in a firm or independent865 CommentatorAnalyzes current affairs or ideas for the general public: columnist, essayist1,970

* Country of origin is still inaccurate in this POC.