How to make your maps WAY cooler 😎

Hey Benchies!

Is it just me, or did we go from summer to fall to winter in about 7 days? Time to dig out those winter coats, scarves, and mittens, and grab your favorite warm beverages ☕

And speaking of warm beverages, it’s time to cozy up with one of those, and dive into this week’s newsletter! We’ve got some awesome new content for you, not to mention some of our (and soon to be your) favorite blasts from the past, and as always some super cool dataviz articles.

Take a peek 👀 ⬇ 

Here is our featured content this week:

Using Al agents and R to create map annotations

Maps are super cool, especially to us journalists. But sometimes maps require some explaining to pack the punch we want them to. And who has time to go in and input all that info on their own? As professor of practice in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (who teaches courses in AI, data analysis and visualization) Matt Waite explains, this is where AI can come in really handy (and save you hundreds of hours). Regardless of your feelings about AI in journalism, this read is a must! 📰

How to create an interactive dashboard in Mapbox

If you missed part one of our Mapbox tutorial, you might want to catch that before you dive into this, but live your life. This innovative how to from recent Media Innovation and Data Communication graduate and data visuals fellow at The Texas Tribune Elijah Nicholson-Messmer is showing us how to use this awesome tool to take the simple choropleth map you likely got from part one and make it wayyy cooler, or in Messmer’s words, “put some meat on them bones.” Take a peek! 

Cool stuff corner: What are we reading this week?

Trump Says The Country Is ‘Dying.’ The Data Says Otherwise.

For those of you looking for a bright spot in all the chaos, we’ve got one for you. The psych nerds among us have likely heard the name Steven Pinker. Pinker is a professor of psychology at Harvard who has written books on human progress, and here, writes a pretty neat article that explores the gap between perceived realities perpetuated by political rhetoric and actual realities revealed by data. We’ve all heard President elect Donald Trump’s vow to “Make America great again” in response to what he has called “a nation that is dying”…But, taking personal perceptions out of the mix for a minute, is it really dying? What does the data say? As the piece illustrates, when we actually take a hard look at a wide range of factors including the economy, poverty, rates of violent crime, average life expectancy, happiness, levels of air pollutants, and much much more, the data paints a far more hopeful picture of the united states than Trump would like you to see. Take a look!

Homebuying gets easier in key battleground counties, but voters may not feel it

Unless you’ve been living under a pretty serious rock, you already know that the cost of well, pretty much everything, was a big topic during this election. Homebuyers (or aspiring homebuyers, more like) are feeling the burden more than ever. But as this awesome NBC News dataviz piece shows, homes are actually getting more affordable in certain regions (including battleground regions)… But the improvements are incremental and may not be registering with residents for months or years…definitely not in time for voters to have cast their ballots earlier this month. Regardless of your political leanings, this article is worth a read! 🏠

From the Vault

How Hidden Brain Media shares short-form serendipitous stories

This one goes out to all my fellow podcast lovers – if you’re like me and can’t get in the car without throwing one on, or even if you’re just an occasional podcast dabbler,  “My Unsung Hero” is a must listen. These two- to five-minute podcasts detail stories of everyday heroes. What began in 2016 as a way to show gratitude to colleagues who supported the Hidden Brain podcast eventually turned into a weekly independent podcast and segment on NPR’s “All Things Considered.” From a kind gesture, like receiving a hug in a checkout line, to a teacher that forever changed a students’ life, “My Unsung Hero” encapsulates stories of empathy and humility. We got to sit down with Tara Boyle, executive producer and head of content, to learn more about Hidden Brain Media, “My Unsung Hero” and discuss short-form storytelling as a medium. Don't miss this gem from the archives!

Step by step: Exploring the sneaker lifecycle through data physicalization

It’s 5pm, do you know where your (old) sneakers are? Sorry, I couldn't resist. If you’re a Storybench regular, you already know April Qian, but for any newcomers, Qian is a second semester MFA student in the information design and data visualization program. This week, we’re unearthing an oldie but a goodie from her. For most of us, the thought process surrounding sneakers starts and ends with lacing them up, but as this piece, and the installation (entitled “The Secret Life of Sneakers”) illuminated, they have a whole life that begins and ends long before and after that. The installation was created by XYZ Data Labs at Northeastern University in partnership with The Footwear Collective, and was held at 212 Gallery in Chelsea, Massachusetts — a spot, once home to a shoe factory. 

Using data visualization and physicalization, the exhibit prompted viewers to observe the sequential narrative of a sneaker’s lifecycle – from its parts and materials, to the manufacturing process, to consumer use and finally to the landfill. The exhibit may no longer be there, but the lessons from it captured in Qian’s piece are more relevant than ever given where we are with climate change and recycling (or lack thereof).. See for yourself!

PHOTO OF THE WEEK 📷

As the temps drop and it finally starts to feel like fall, and even winter, the last thing most of us want to do is sit outside for a sunset, but hear me out, how about sitting outside under a heater with a nice cozy beverage? Now we’re talking. As many photographers might already know, Boston is rife with good rooftop bars. The below shots was taken at Six West, but there are plenty more like this out there, as this Boston Calendar article reminds us.🍸So grab your favorite parka and hit the rooftops this weekend! 

[ 📷: @marian_siljeholm_photography ]

That's all we've got for this week! Thanks for reading, and let us know if there's anything you'd like to see in these newsletters or in our coverage at [email protected].

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