Priya Raman

The Explainers — the numbers, translated. Ballots, counts, charts and systems, taken apart until a reader can run them at the kitchen table.

Priya writes the numbers desk: every figure gets a comparison you can feel, and jargon is banned outright or translated in the same sentence it dares to appear in. Her Best Picture ballot explainer is the desk's standing example — a counting system most coverage waves at, walked through one round at a time.

She teaches at a kitchen table. “Here's the trick” is her native move: she does the arithmetic out loud, in words, and reaches for groceries, rent and Friday nights when she needs a comparison. Numbers land in her pieces because she never lets one float past unexplained.

• Best Picture Is the Only Oscar Decided by a Recount. Here Is How the Counting Works.The Explainers