Until recently, it was impossible to measure the popularity of older music. Billboard charts and album sales only tell us about a song’s popularity at the time of its release. But now we have...
Elephant ivory is now a key source of funding for armed groups in central Africa like the Lord’s Resistance Army. National Geographic commissioned the creation of artificial tusks with hidden GPS...
The Guardian began investigating Homan Square, a secretive Chicago police warehouse, in February 2015. After launching a transparency lawsuit, the Guardian has forced the Chicago police...
In machine learning, computers apply statistical learning techniques to automatically identify patterns in data. These techniques can be used to make highly accurate predictions. Keep scrolling....
“I am sorry to say that with the importation of what will be tens of thousands of drones, by both U.S. military and by commercial interests, into U.S. airspace, with a specific mandate to engage in...
After blowing the whistle on waste, fraud and abuse within the NSA, Thomas Drake was charged under the Espionage Act by the Obama Administration. This interactive short documentary tells his...
What to study in Costa Rica? Would it be worth investing in that career? Are there openings in that field in local market? How much can you earn at companies in that country? Are there many people...
Journey into the Amazon region, where thousands of species live in a delicate balance that’s imperiled by logging, mining, agriculture, roadbuilding, oil, and gas drilling.
Published by National...
The Colorado River — the most important water source for 40 million people in the West — is draining. For a century, seven states engineered ways to wring ever more water from the river, defying...
The most popular baby names in 2014 were Amelia and Oliver. However, the latest data has shown that more parents appear to be looking to modern culture for inspiration on the naming of their...
Hundreds of climbers are gathering in Nepal to begin a months-long odyssey up the world’s highest mountain in hopes of spending a few extraordinary moments on its peak. Scroll along the icy...
I have always loved Disney and Pixar movies, growing up with classics like Toy Story and Finding Nemo. Watching these as a girl, I was mostly oblivious to the similarities between women characters....
Last year, I made a series of visualizations based on playlist data from my favorite local radio station: KEXP. Well, it’s a new year and there’s new data, so here I go again! First, let’s start...
Skeptics of manmade climate change offer various natural causes to explain why the Earth has warmed 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit since 1880. But can these account for the planet's rising temperature?This...
Independent scientists from academia and government considered the research on red meat for six months before meeting for a week in Lyon, France, to render a decision. The panel included...
It's evening rush hour near MacArthur Park, and the streets teem with activity.
Crowds pack the crosswalks, weaving around cars that nose through to make right turns. Men pull food carts and...
We give far too much credence to individual statistics on social and economic well-being. Take the poverty rate. That statistic tells us the share of the population below a specific income...
The U.S. Department of Labor tracks how many people die at work, and why. The latest numbers were released in April and cover the last seven years through 2013.
I squirt some water into my mouth. It's vaguely lemon-lime. As I go to return the water bottle to its cage on my bike, it slips out of my hand, hitting the pavement and bouncing into the bushes....
Criminal sentencing has long been based on the present crime and, sometimes, the defendant’s past criminal record. In Pennsylvania, judges could soon consider a new dimension: the...
Men now outnumber women on the planet by 60 million, the highest ever recorded. Preference for sons in India and China is driving the trend, but those two countries are not the only ones struggling...
Urbanisation is something that can make or break your economic growth and general welfare.The goal of this visualisation is to inform policy makers and motivate them to invest more money in...
Asia is the world’s fastest-growing aviation market. But experts worry the continent is ill-equipped to handle the increasing traffic. Here are the major risks, illustrated through the course of a...