iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Alan Smith

AnyChart @anychart.com · 07/09/2026

Your next chart could start with someone else's. DataViz Weekly brings you recent visualization projects as examples for your own work. Latest picks: ◆ Record U.S. heat & humidity ◆ How much of the web is AI ◆ Wages in Big Macs ◆ Premier League shirt sponsors

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Butser Ancient Farm @butserancientfarm.co.uk · 28/08/2026

What can archaeological evidence tell us about extreme weather in Britain? ☀️🌧️ From Stone Age charcoal deposits to Roman-era tree rings, our latest YouTube video explores how people adapted to heatwaves, drought and changing conditions. Watch the full video on our YouTube. tinyurl.com/2tu9c5kk

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Alan Smith @theboysmithy.ft.com · 28/08/2026

I love how trees act as nature's archivists - fascinating little video from @butserancientfarm.co.uk, written, filmed and edited by my very talented neighbour Hollie Osborn www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIGW...

youtube.com

Did Ancient Britain Have Heatwaves and Wildfires?

YouTube video by Butser Ancient Farm

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Alan Smith @theboysmithy.ft.com · 23/08/2026

An FT reader has dubbed this streamgraph the 'melted ice cream infographic', which I'll take. New, with Dan Clark, an analysis of Premier League shirt sponsors in the wake of the (partial) gambling ban for the new season www.ft.com/content/4709...

A streamgraph showing main shirt sponsors at the start of each premier league season since 1992, by sector. After a growth in the number of gambling sponsors, a new gambling ban means financials, tech and travel make up the majority of sponsors for the new season

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Alice Hancock @alicemhancock.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

The shipping container is just a simple steel box that can carry around 120,000 bananas. Yet it has transformed global trade, enabled China's manufacturing dominance - and is now pushing the global shipping network to its absolute limits: www.ft.com/content/b88c... @pmdfoster.bsky.social

ft.com

The box that built globalisation

Containers have transformed ports, cities and trade. Now the revolution is reaching a limit

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Martin Stabe @martinstabe.ft.com · 14/08/2026

Definitely the weirdest version yet of our UK by-election chart. www.ft.com/content/1bc8...

Slope chart of the recent electoral history of the Clacton constituency, including the result of the August 13,2016 by-election, which was won by Reform's Nigel Farage on an increased majority and Count Binface second on just under 27% of the vote.

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Alan Smith @theboysmithy.ft.com · 14/08/2026

Rolling out the Marimekko to visualise the impact of ODA funding cuts on African countries. Read from @pmdfoster.bsky.social and @lucyfisher.ft.com here www.ft.com/content/ef45...

A marimekko chart showing the proportion and scale of ODA funding cuts by comparing 2024-25 country allocations with plans for 2028-29. Sudan is the only country that will retain nearly all of its funding. Kenya faces a 94% cut, Ethiopia loses £134million

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Amy Borrett @amyborrett.ft.com · 13/08/2026

🎓 Today's A-level results show private schools have pulled further ahead, economics entries are up by >10%, engineering degrees are rising in popularity, top unis are accepting more UK students, and a growing number of undergraduates plan to live at home while they study as.ft.com/r/c8ec132d-0...

Bar chart of the change in attainment by gender showing male students were awarded more top grades

Line chart of index of the number of UK students accepted by tariff group showing top universities have increased their intake

Line chart showing more undergraduates plan to live at home

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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

We’re launching a major new programme on Humanity, Climate and Nature. We wish to commission discussion papers from researchers/policymakers/practitioners to provide fresh insight into these themes. We’ll pay £2,500 for around 4000 words. Apply by 16 Sept www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/internationa...

Call for Discussion Papers: Humanity, Climate & Nature
This call sets out the requirements for short discussion papers to be produced as part of a series that will generate fresh insights and innovative thinking to help develop the new Humanity, Climate & Nature Programme's initial work and activity.

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Reposted by Alan Smith

John Burn-Murdoch @jburnmurdoch.ft.com · 07/08/2026

New from me: Britain’s graduate earnings premium is falling, cue “too many go to university!” But non-university outcomes are also bad, cue “we must reform vocational routes!” Both miss the point: people used to think education drove economic outcomes, but the economy drives educational outcomes.

Chart showing that US workers who are functionally illiterate earn roughly the same per hour as the average British worker

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Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 04/08/2026

The eyes of the world will be on the US midterm elections in November. Donald Trump may not be on the ballot, but he will still dominate the contest. These are the key Senate races to watch between now and November 3 ft.trib.al/BIhPVUg

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John Reed @johnreedwrites.ft.com · 03/08/2026

Labour overtakes Reform UK in opinion polls for first time in more than a year as.ft.com/r/e139987e-9...

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Alan Smith @theboysmithy.ft.com · 01/08/2026

Mexico now exports more hardware for data centres than it does cars - quite the reshaping of an economy... New, with Christine Murray www.ft.com/content/ac32...

A chart of exports for vehicles and data centre hardware showing that monthly exports of server-related hardware now outstrip exports of cars

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Check out those Reform voters! (Source: www.ft.com/content/4932...)

Graph showing that a large majority of UK voters link hot weather to climate change, the only exception being Reform, where only a minority do.

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John Burn-Murdoch @jburnmurdoch.ft.com · 31/07/2026

New from me: Until recently, the gap between comfortably-off and just-getting-started could plausibly be crossed in a decade or two of hard work. Growth in asset prices means that’s no longer true: even a lifetime of striving doesn’t offer a realistic prospect of feeling you’ve “made it”.

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Reposted by Alan Smith

Alison Killing @alisonkilling.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

This is wildly irresponsible of Google - allowing people to create AI generated satellite images. Satellite imagery has always been such a useful and reliable source because it came from reliable sources, but now Google is messing with it at source. www.digitaldigging.org/p/how-to-pla...

digitaldigging.org

How to plant a nuclear plant in Iran

The question is: what on earth is Google doing?

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Alan Smith @theboysmithy.ft.com · 30/07/2026

New with Kieran Smith - why is UK mobile phone coverage so bad? www.ft.com/content/db17...

A pair of maps, one showing Southwark in London, the other Derbyshire in the East Midlands. Each map is coloured according to the number of operators (between 0 and 4) that achieve good performance, using 135 metre swide cells. In urban London there is wide variation within the borough, particularly in the south. In rural Derbyshire, poor service is a feature of main transport arteries

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Alan Smith @theboysmithy.ft.com · 21/07/2026

Of course this graphic also threw up the "where does the north start?" chestnut in the newsroom, to which there is only one answer for a Pompey fan: Heidi Alexander in Swindon South is the gatekeeper ...

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Alan Smith @theboysmithy.ft.com · 21/07/2026

By my reckoning the median latitude of the cabinet has shifted north from Wolverhampton/Leicester to betwixt Sheffield and Knowsley ...

A pair of maps comparing the locations of the constituencies between Starmer's outgoing cabinet and Andy Burnham's new cabinet. There is a greater cluster of MPs now in the North West

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Dan McCrum @mccrum.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

This seems bad

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Alan Smith @theboysmithy.ft.com · 15/07/2026

Ready for this… 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇦🇷

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Steven Bernard @sdbernard.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

NEW: China has made huge progress in cleaning up its air pollution since the 2013 peak, but reliance on coal during the Iran war has led to a deterioration in air quality this year. Huge thanks to Haohsiang Ko and Eleanor Olcott, read the report. www.ft.com/content/e67f... #dataviz

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Tony Tassell @tonytassell.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

Friends who code say so much has radically changed in the last six months in what they do and this excellent piece gives great insights into how

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Sam Learner @samlearner.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

wrote for the magazine about the open source software that underpins our digital lives, how it is being upended by AI code tools, and about maintainers as.ft.com/r/b7f62212-9...

ft.com

Who cleans up after the vibe-coding party?

Our obsession with AI code-writing tools is overwhelming the web’s unsung human caretakers

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Sam Joiner @samjoiner.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Fascinating, beautifully written magazine cover story by @samlearner.bsky.social on how vibe coding is overwhelming the unsung human caretakers who keep the web running. Your weekend must read right here as.ft.com/r/1e761e4c-c...

as.ft.com

Who cleans up after the vibe-coding party?

Our obsession with AI code-writing tools is overwhelming the web’s unsung human caretakers

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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Sobering to see in one chart how June temperature records have been broken this year in so many European countries www.ft.com/content/5f06...

June temperature records tumble across
Europe

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Michael Caley @michaelcaley.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

every time a stutter step penalty is saved an angel gets its wings

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Sam Learner @samlearner.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

NEW: a look at how surging power demands from data centers are helping to drive a shortage of electrical transformers ig.ft.com/transformers/

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Alan Smith @theboysmithy.ft.com · 08/07/2026

"Binface himself told the FT..." Get the lowdown on the Dunny-on-the-Wold/Clacton by-election from one of the leading candidates in our exclusive from Elizabeth Bratton as.ft.com/r/ec02c5a3-e...

as.ft.com

Nigel Farage’s unusual by-election opponent: Count Binface

Comedy candidate is becoming a vehicle for opposition to Reform UK’s leader

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Emma Lewis @emmalewis.ft.com · 08/07/2026

We're hiring in my team at @financialtimes.com - please do reach out if you have any questions. Whilst this is currently a contract role we have every hope of extending. job-boards.eu.greenhouse.io/financialtim...

job-boards.eu.greenhouse.io

Graphics journalist, Visual and Data desk ( Contractor)

London

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Bruce Hayward @brucehayward.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

'Match momentum' visual should just be a flat line. #PORESP #PORSPA

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Alan Smith @theboysmithy.ft.com · 06/07/2026

This is not Donald Trump's first intervention in a major football tournament.There was also the time he did the draw for the quarter finals of the Rumbelows Cup on Saint and Greavsie ... www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzO8...

youtube.com

🏆😧 When Donald Trump did the League Cup draw | ITV Sport Archive

YouTube video by ITV Sport

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Reposted by Alan Smith

Christopher Miller @christopherjm.ft.com · 05/07/2026

Ukraine is striking Russian energy infrastructure at an unprecedented rate, according to an FT data analysis showing that Kyiv’s intensified drone campaign is spurring Russia’s worst fuel crisis in decades. w/ @theboysmithy.ft.com Anastasia Stognei @maxseddon.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/1368...

ft.com

Ukraine striking Russian energy infrastructure at unprecedented rate

Kyiv’s intensified drone campaign is spurring Russia’s worst fuel crisis in decades

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Josh Spero @joshspero.ft.com · 02/07/2026

So many amazing/horrifying details and visuals in our piece on how Trump is remaking DC ig.ft.com/trump-dc/

Map of Trump's revised White House with large East Wing. Box text reads: The large structure will block the symbolic axis between the presidential residence and the Capitol, and disrupt the symmetrical landscaping of the White House driveways

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Soumaya Keynes @soumayakeynes.ft.com · 02/07/2026

Most people know that richer people tend to be thinner. Less appreciated is that this divide is largely driven by women. My column: The economics of women's weight 300 free clicks: as.ft.com/r/feaaaacf-8...

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Ian Smith @iankmsmith.ft.com · 29/06/2026

What happens with the AI boom ends, for the economy and for markets? Our piece on an interesting report from the Bank for International Settlements 👇 AI ‘exuberance’ risks ending in lengthy investment bust, BIS warns www.ft.com/content/e81c...

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Ray Douglas @raydouglas.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

⚽ Every World Cup 2026 match, live All 12 groups, A to L | Knockout bracket on a toggle Dark mode, fast, no ads, no bloat, just the whole tournament on one screen Bookmark: raydouglas.co.uk/worldcup2026/ #WorldCup 🇺🇸 🇬🇧 🇧🇷 🇦🇷 🇪🇸 🇫🇷 🇳🇱 🇨🇦 🇵🇹 🇨🇭🇲🇦 🇵🇦 🇧🇪 🇿🇦 🇬🇭 🇯🇵

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Robert Armstrong @robarmstrong.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

I wrote about how much choice streaming TV has given us, and how accessing it is more confuising and annoying all the time. Commentors reply: pirate everything, it's way easier! Does the industry worry that platform fragmentation is an incentive to theft? as.ft.com/r/32856af3-1...

as.ft.com

The future of TV: lots of choice, lots of hassle

The fracturing of platforms has created both delight and frustration for viewers

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Pilita Clark @pilitaclark.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

One thing I didn’t expect to see at London Climate Action Week in June: an event on extreme heat cancelled because of extreme heat.

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Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 23/06/2026

Draw your own chart game: how well do you know Brexit? Test your knowledge on what has happened in the 10 years since the UK voted to leave the EU: ft.trib.al/ecqxt4c

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Alan Smith @theboysmithy.ft.com · 21/06/2026

Celtic Cross, Hindhead Common, on the summer solstice

A Celtic cross in early morning sunshine

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Heinz Brandenburg @heinzbrandenburg.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Who'd ever have thunk that ten years on almost exactly as many Leave voters have died as would now vote Tory.

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Jonathan Vincent @jonathanvincent.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Ten years on from the Brexit referendum, Leave and Remain voters still have wildly different voting patterns. Reform UK has consolidated about half of the Leave bloc, while the Remain vote has fragmented across many parties. Read the full article: as.ft.com/r/fc065c3b-9...

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