An Interview with @DataRepublican

An conversation with one of the most interesting people I've ever met online-- exclusively for readers of The Course of Empire

Data Republican’s Avatar on X, which she has used since she originally started posting as an anonymous account

When sometimes I feel like I am spending too much time online, I have to remind myself that I have met some absolutely remarkable people here.

Certainly among the most remarkable of these would be Jennica Pounds (AKA @DataRepublican) who, in the wake of the election, has become one of the most influential right-of-center accounts (and certainly THE Most influential data-focused account) with over 700,000 followers, regularly retweeted by everyone from Elon Musk to GOP Senators.

But while the quality of Jennica’s work speaks for itself, her story, which she relayed to me privately last fall when she was a much smaller account (maybe 10K or so followers), was in many ways even more remarkable: Jennica is deaf, mute, and autistic, profound di…