iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 21/09/2026

While everyone argues about AI apocalypse, there are real, actual harms AI has caused: A Waymo hit a kid. Scammers deepfaked a PM to steal $1M from an 86-year-old. Amazon's algorithm recommended poison to someone searching for how to end their life. More here: www.not-ship.com/stop-trustin...

This is a line chart that shows the monthly count of AI-related harms from the AI Incident Database. Though the data are noisy, the line starts at 2020 and shows a rising trend.

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 15/07/2026

What's your favourite technique for trying to understand big numbers? I like turning them into time! In my newsletter this week I look at ways to wrap our heads around large values. What did I miss? www.not-ship.com/large-numbers/

This is a table showing how large numbers convert to time. 1 million seconds is 11.6 days, about as long as a vacation. 1 billion seconds is 31.7 years. About the length of a career. 1 trillion seconds is 31,700 years, which is longer than human civilization.

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 09/07/2026

Look at the black line in this chart. That's the kind of sheer plummet that says "something is really wrong here". I thought this was a Trump 2.0 specialty. I was wrong. In the last decade, academic freedoms deteriorated in 67% of countries. www.not-ship.com/uh-whats-goi...

This chart shows the decline of academic freedom in the US. The decline is very sharp and starts around the beginning of 2025.

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 03/07/2026

For decades, Americans haven't been feeling too optimistic about their country. Now, on its big anniversary, I gave the US a 250-year performance review. How do you think it's doing? Meets expectations? Room for improvement? Full performance review here: lnkd.in/ePYdgmjy

This line chart shows the percent of US adults who say they are satisfied or dissatisfied with the way things are going in the US today. It starts in 1990 and goes until 2026. Around 2000, the portion of those dissatisfied became greater than the portion of those who are satisfied. It has been that way ever since.

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 24/06/2026

Things are really heating up in Europe. So, in today's Not-Ship the focus was heatwaves. I was floored by this: Heatwaves are clearly on the rise globally, but the "dirty thirties" were such an extreme outlier that you can't even see that rise on this chart of the US. www.not-ship.com/heatwaves/

This is a chart showing the Annual heat wave index for the US. The spike in the 1930s is so extreme that it dwarfs all other data by at least three times. During the 1930s, the US experience extreme heatwaves as part of the Dust Bowl.

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 10/06/2026

I wanted to find the most-recommended book of summer 2026. So, I gathered over 1000 recommendations from 49 different lists. Enjoy! www.not-ship.com/summer-books...

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 21/05/2026

What actually unites the right? Left vs right has traditionally been defined by economic policy. But today, Europe's far-right parties are far more closely aligned on social values (vertical axis). More data, charts and analysis here: www.not-ship.com/what-unites-...

This is a quadrant chart. The vertical axis is Libertarian to Authoritarian. The horizontal axis is extreme left economic policy to extreme right. All the far-right parties cluster together at the top of the chart. United on the Authoritarian axis, but spread across the economic axis.

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 22/04/2026

Talk is cheap, especially when it's about the future. There's a new addition to the corporate greenwashing playbook: Futurewashing. Read all about it in this week's Not-Ship newsletter: www.not-ship.com/doublespeak-...

This scatterplot shows the quality of each company's climate targets compared with the prevalence of future-focused language in their annual reports. The vast majority of companies have either no targets or poor targets. Yet they still have lots to say about the future.

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 15/04/2026

AI is changing the online privacy game. One of the most unnerving risks may not come from what we divulge to chatbots knowingly, but from the personal details they can determine that we NEVER EVEN TELL THEM. @helloeujin.bsky.social and I break it down for you. www.straitstimes.com/multimedia/g...

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 01/04/2026

It's not just you: Democracy is STRUGGLING. The US has lost its status as a liberal democracy. And we may now be in a wave of autocratization. 🫣 www.not-ship.com/democracy-in...

This chart shows the number of democratizing and autocratizing countries since 1900. During that time, there have been three waves of democratization with following reversals.

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 11/03/2026

I'm not usually one to "weigh in". But ... AI job predictions are nothing more than 'statistical theatre.' Hunches wrapped in percentages and charts imply that someone, somewhere, has measured something real about our future careers. But they haven't. www.not-ship.com/the-problem-...

This is a screen capture of the Anthropic job chart that has been going viral online. I've annotated it to say: "Theoretical AI coverage: A series of assumptions, judgments and guesses." and "Observed AI coverage: Actually just the use of Claude for work-related tasks, not the wider AI ecosystem."

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 05/03/2026

Looking for the rich? Check in the shadows. 👀 This week's data dive has it all: Detailed city maps! Calling out the wealthy! Shadow puns! www.not-ship.com/wealthy-shad...

This is a map of Sydney showing the average shade across different regions. Gentrified and trendy, Surry Hills and Strawberry Hills have relatively more shade.

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 18/02/2026

Economically, the Olympics almost never work out for the host city. They ALWAYS go over budget, and rarely make enough to cover the astronomical costs. Olympic economics are fascinating. But it does leave you wondering — why do cities still do this? www.not-ship.com/hosting-the-...

This chart shows that between 1964 and 2018, only five Olympics have had a surplus.

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 28/01/2026

I'd like to introduce you to "joy watching". It's the act of watching birds, and thinking about how much joy they give us. Maybe we could use some of that right now. 🦉 🦜 🦅 Which birds bring YOU the most joy? www.not-ship.com/birds-might-...

This is a chart showing the mean joy rating for various birds. The Long-tailed Tit is at the top with a ranking of just over 9. The Woodpigeon ranks at the bottom. But with a rating over five, it still brings joy!

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 27/01/2026

It's been on the rise, anyways.

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 27/01/2026

This surprised me: The US seems like a pretty diverse country. But when compared to everyone else? It's actually middle of the pack. Do you ALSO like surprising data? Have I got a newsletter for you! www.not-ship.com

This is a chart that compares the US's ethnic diversity with other countries. Of 156 nations, the US is 68th in terms of most ethnic diversity. Liberia is at the top, with the most diversity, while Japan is at the bottom.

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 14/01/2026

BTW, I see you work in development stats. It's surprising to me that, if this is indeed an error, it would stay wrong for so long. It's not like this data is hidden, or even a one-year blip. It's not like it's not noticeable! Lol. Does it surprise you too? Or do you see this kind of thing often?

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 14/01/2026

Good point! Though in this case, it would only make the US look a tiny bit less extreme, given how huge the American number is compared with any other country. This is what the data look like.

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 07/01/2026

Discovered some great data. You know that law of the sea: Women and children first? Yeah ... nope. The numbers show it's "every man for himself." www.not-ship.com/data-detours...

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 07/01/2026

Maritime capitalist Barbie www.not-ship.com/data-detours...

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 06/01/2026

New year, new uncertainties. Me? I combat the overwhelming feelings with data. That's why I launched Not-Ship: a newsletter where we navigate ~It All~ together. Come chart the chaos with me. www.not-ship.com

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 02/01/2026

What feeds our curiosity? Entertainment and recent deaths. Last year, more than 50% of days had a most-read Wikipedia page in one of those two categories. Here's the ENTIRE list of most-read English language Wikipedia pages for 2025. www.not-ship.com/wikipedi/ What do you find most surprising?

This is a screenshot of a graphic from the shared piece. It shows the most-read Wikipedia page for the first two weeks in January, 2025.

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 04/12/2025

As someone who believes runaway capitalism is one of the main ills of our time, Christmas gift giving requires some uncomfortable mental gymnastics. But I've found a way to feel a bit better about it. Let me make the case for a B Corp Christmas. www.not-ship.com/the-hypocrit...

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 02/12/2025

An analysis of major US retailers found most items were discounted more often than sold at the 'regular' price. In other words, the 'discount' is the real price, and the 'regular' price is just there to make you feel good about paying it. 🫣 www.not-ship.com/theres-somet...

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 28/11/2025

When Amazon uses "was" (or "typical" in the US), it actually means the median price PAID over the past 90 days (not offered at). That means half of people bought the item at a higher price and half at a lower price. And they don't include limited time promotions in that calculation.

A chart showing the previous price of a pair of headphones from Amazon.

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 28/11/2025

Do you see "RRP" before that crossed-out price? That's the suggested retail price from the manufacturer. BUT! Items don't ever have to be sold at that price. Here's an example from Amazon. RRP: 64.99. Was only sold at that price super briefly two times in the last almost four years.

Chart showing how often a PlayStation controller on Amazon sold for the RRP.

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 19/11/2025

Do you bank at one of these banks? You could be contributing to the climate crisis a lot more than you think. But you can do something about it! www.not-ship.com/banks-are-fu...

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 19/11/2025

Where you bank might have a greater impact on your carbon footprint than your air travel 🤯 www.not-ship.com/banks-are-fu...

This is a chart, measured in tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year, showing that keeping $8,000 in a carbon-intensive bank can produce more emissions than the average individual annual air travel.

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 14/11/2025

I love this "persons sledging" line in the Oslo dataset! Local data quirks are my favourite 💙

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 14/11/2025

Yeah, Oslo definitely deserves a mention, too! (I note it on one of the charts) The reason for focusing on Helsinki was simply that they pulled off the big ZERO milestone.

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 12/11/2025

Continuing its streak of exceptionalism — the US has one of the highest rates of traffic deaths in the OECD. Americans are 1.5x more likely to die in an automotive accident than Egyptians, 3x more likely than Canadians, and 6x more likely than the Brits. www.not-ship.com/huh-apparent...

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 05/11/2025

Storms strong enough to earn a Category 6 label are already here. The question is whether our warning systems will catch up before the next one makes landfall. www.not-ship.com/hurricanes-c...

This is a chart that shows all forty-five Category 5 hurricanes that have hit the Atlantic since 1851.

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 31/10/2025

The scariest thing I've seen this Halloween? These posters from the Department of Labor. They're post-war American Dream + cold war soviet propaganda + 90s Abercrombie and Fitch ad ... and a dash of fascism. www.not-ship.com/the-demons-a...

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 28/10/2025

I got high praise last time I wrote about The American Dream. So tomorrow's edition of my newsletter, on the same topic, won't disappoint. Sign up so you don't miss out! www.not-ship.com

This is a cheeky quote picture that says: "Praise for Amanda's other work. "This is a total load of crap." —Kevin O'Leary, Fox News"

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 27/10/2025

We live in a world that is getting increasingly complex. Consider just our attempts to reduce global emissions. Even as a positive initiative, it has elaborate, and sometimes unknown, knock-on effects. It's a recipe for overwhelm and uncertainty. www.not-ship.com/its-not-just...

This is a diagram that shows how the net-zero energy transition is connected to the polycrisis.

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 23/10/2025

Uncertainty is higher — waaaaaaay higher — than it's been in decades! www.not-ship.com/its-not-just...

This chart shows the global uncertainty index from January 2008 to August 2025. there is a huge spike in August.

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 20/10/2025

I know we're all worrying about the AWS outage, so I don't want to pile on ... but the bot that tracks the urine levels on the International Space Station is ALSO DOWN @iss-piss-tracker.bsky.social

Screen capture of a Bluesky note from ISS Piss Tracker: "If anyone's wondering (since this outage will likely take a while), no, the bot isn't dead.

The telemetry just dies once in a while and usually it comes back up in a few days when somebody at NASA restarts it. I'll hazard a guess and say they're a bit too occupied right now to do that."

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 06/06/2025

Today is my last day at the Washington Post. Something exciting coming next! If you love when data, graphics and journalism all mush together, sign up to get notified when ~~something exciting~~ launches this summer. www.ashendruk.com/soon.html

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 23/04/2025

Living abroad; still voting in the Canadian election. 🇨🇦 Get out and vote on April 28! #cdnPoli #canadianElection2025 #cosyVotingAesthetic

Photo of mail in ballot materials for Canadians abroad.

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 11/03/2025

Between 2011 and 2025, the U.S. dropped significantly in global freedom rankings, which assess people's access to political rights and civil liberties. There are now 52 countries that are more free than the U.S., according to these data. Data from @freedomhouse.bsky.social

This is a chart that shows the United States' drop in Freedom House score from 94 in 2011 to 84 in 2025. Data are from Freedom House.

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 11/03/2025

Trust in statistics cited by Trump vary SIGNIFICANTLY by political party. 76% of Dems believe only a small portion, or none, of Trump's cited stats are reliable. While only 9% of Republicans believe the same. Read more in my latest piece with @crampell.bsky.social Gift link: wapo.st/4iCmMtn

This is a chart showing the percentages of democrats, republicans and independents that believe the statistics cited by Donald Trump are, or are not, reliable and accurate.

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 11/03/2025

There are so many reasons this data loss and manipulation is bad news. It erodes trust in the government statistics that remain. It means government policy can’t be accurately assessed. It gets in the way of researchers, doctors and families that use government data in their daily lives.

This chart is titled: U.S. businesses rely heavily on government data. It shows the portion of respondents from a 2018 National Association for Business Economics Survey that said they used certain government data in their businesses. Nearly 100% said they use data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 11/03/2025

Since Xi Jinping became president in 2013, the number of economic indicators published by China has dropped precipitously. (Huge thanks to @jburnmurdoch.ft.com at FT for sharing this data)

This chart shows that the number of economic statistical indicators made available by China's National Bureau of Statistics has dropped significantly since Xi became president in 2013.

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 11/03/2025

Trump's crew has been manipulating official statistics since day 1. There are countless examples of disappearing data: from the CDC, NIH, EPA, Census, DOJ, etc. But they’re also touting incorrect data, misrepresenting data, and even altering data. Here, a line of NIH spending is just gone:

This is a graphic showing a screenshot of an NIH funding report on Jan. 30 and again on Jan. 31. The Jan. 30 report has a line item titled "Workforce Diversity and Outreach." On Jan. 31 that line item is gone.

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 25/02/2025

Interesting to see that the trend of young men moving right holds across the U.S. and Germany. (Same with a smaller increase by young women) Chart from @crampell.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 24/02/2025

Useful find: @brookings.edu has created a tracking app of daily expenditures from the U.S. Treasury Department. Watch the 'heartbeat' of federal spending here: www.brookings.edu/articles/tra...

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 24/02/2025

"For those that think Canada is a mom-and-pop operation, it's time to wake up and smell the snow." Happy 30th anniversary to Canadian Bacon! Rewatched it last weekend — more topical than ever! lol/sob

The poster for Canadian Bacon, featuring John Candy holding an American flag by Niagara Falls.

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Amanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 24/01/2025

In the midst of #stormeowyn right now? This site is a great way to see the strength of the wind: earth.nullschool.net#current/wind...

A screenshot of a website that shows the current wind speeds of storm Eowyn

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