Danny Dougherty
@dannydougherty.bsky.social
Graphics reporter in DC (currently razzmatazzing at the WSJ). Lots of data and coding work but often distracted by comics, St. Louis sports and interesting things I've read in the news of the day. I feed on groan responses to my puns.
Read Doctor Faustus at a bar and everyone who asks what you're reading will either have no idea what it's about or immediately shout "has he sold his soul‽"
January 18, 2026 at 2:42 AM
Read Doctor Faustus at a bar and everyone who asks what you're reading will either have no idea what it's about or immediately shout "has he sold his soul‽"
A reminder that you can turn off autoplaying video in settings > content and media
January 7, 2026 at 6:13 PM
A reminder that you can turn off autoplaying video in settings > content and media
Counterpoint: I also spend more time at the office than the bar
(I _do_ think there are interesting things LinkedIn has lowkey done the last couple of years, but am also not sure it's fully replicable to other sites...) www.wsj.com/tech/persona...
(I _do_ think there are interesting things LinkedIn has lowkey done the last couple of years, but am also not sure it's fully replicable to other sites...) www.wsj.com/tech/persona...
Three Reasons We Can’t Get Enough of LinkedIn
LinkedIn has lured people leaving X and Facebook as content moderation and fact-checking there declined.
www.wsj.com
January 7, 2026 at 2:45 PM
Counterpoint: I also spend more time at the office than the bar
(I _do_ think there are interesting things LinkedIn has lowkey done the last couple of years, but am also not sure it's fully replicable to other sites...) www.wsj.com/tech/persona...
(I _do_ think there are interesting things LinkedIn has lowkey done the last couple of years, but am also not sure it's fully replicable to other sites...) www.wsj.com/tech/persona...
Small talk is, in fact, good—letting you both have gratifying, low stakes conversations about things we all experience throughout your day AND letting you suss out new folks for how you vibe with them when they pass through your life
This place needs some Innocuous Discourse pronto. Quote this with a take that’s not political or aggressive
January 6, 2026 at 5:53 PM
Small talk is, in fact, good—letting you both have gratifying, low stakes conversations about things we all experience throughout your day AND letting you suss out new folks for how you vibe with them when they pass through your life
Best albums lists are uniquely great b/c in this quiet week I can just go through and listen to them all.
Best movies are probably spread across a dozen services I might not have. Best books and shows are fun, but would take me months to get through.
Best albums? Right there, easy to sink into!
Best movies are probably spread across a dozen services I might not have. Best books and shows are fun, but would take me months to get through.
Best albums? Right there, easy to sink into!
December 29, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Best albums lists are uniquely great b/c in this quiet week I can just go through and listen to them all.
Best movies are probably spread across a dozen services I might not have. Best books and shows are fun, but would take me months to get through.
Best albums? Right there, easy to sink into!
Best movies are probably spread across a dozen services I might not have. Best books and shows are fun, but would take me months to get through.
Best albums? Right there, easy to sink into!
Tis the season
December 25, 2025 at 5:20 AM
Tis the season
Every year I am reminded that more people need to watch The Apartment
(This is fun, except for it missing my personal favorite!)
(This is fun, except for it missing my personal favorite!)
December 24, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Every year I am reminded that more people need to watch The Apartment
(This is fun, except for it missing my personal favorite!)
(This is fun, except for it missing my personal favorite!)
Guys. I crushed my reading goal: reading [any] books that I really enjoyed!
Some highlights!
Some highlights!
December 24, 2025 at 3:13 AM
Guys. I crushed my reading goal: reading [any] books that I really enjoyed!
Some highlights!
Some highlights!
I've come to enjoy listening to audio books while rucking or on the stationary bike—but you absolutely lose me when you say you're fully engaged in the act of reading while driving
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/b...
Why I Stopped Reading and Embraced Audiobooks
www.nytimes.com
December 22, 2025 at 3:23 PM
I've come to enjoy listening to audio books while rucking or on the stationary bike—but you absolutely lose me when you say you're fully engaged in the act of reading while driving
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/b...
I feel cheated that my top four metro rewind routes were D60, S2, D6X and S9
December 18, 2025 at 4:09 PM
I feel cheated that my top four metro rewind routes were D60, S2, D6X and S9
This isn't a prediction because it could have been written any time in the past 15 years, but I suspect the good people at Nieman didn't care at all because it's so true, relatable and needed www.niemanlab.org/2025/12/plea...
Please learn how to use your computer
"The number of professionals in journalism, media, communications, and academia who still don't understand how to use the very tools they depend on for their livelihood is, frankly, staggering."
www.niemanlab.org
December 17, 2025 at 4:14 AM
This isn't a prediction because it could have been written any time in the past 15 years, but I suspect the good people at Nieman didn't care at all because it's so true, relatable and needed www.niemanlab.org/2025/12/plea...
Before anyone quips about judging books based on these, it is worth noting there is very little crossover between this list and the Times' best books list
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/14/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/14/b...
The Best Book Covers of 2025
www.nytimes.com
December 15, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Before anyone quips about judging books based on these, it is worth noting there is very little crossover between this list and the Times' best books list
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/14/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/14/b...
Truly, I would love nothing more than for us to stop inventing new ways of feeding content through various apps and just revive RSS
nothing quite like the warmth of two AIs bantering about Epstein on a synthetic podcast
December 10, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Truly, I would love nothing more than for us to stop inventing new ways of feeding content through various apps and just revive RSS
Public transit is great and helps foster dense, thriving communities with welcoming third places...
...is technically true, here, but not exactly what I meant www.wsj.com/lifestyle/travel/the-airport-lounge-where-everybody-knows-your-name-df0af519
...is technically true, here, but not exactly what I meant www.wsj.com/lifestyle/travel/the-airport-lounge-where-everybody-knows-your-name-df0af519
The Airport Lounge Where Everybody Knows Your Name
We shadowed a bartender popular with frequent fliers at a Delta Sky Club in Atlanta.
www.wsj.com
December 10, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Public transit is great and helps foster dense, thriving communities with welcoming third places...
...is technically true, here, but not exactly what I meant www.wsj.com/lifestyle/travel/the-airport-lounge-where-everybody-knows-your-name-df0af519
...is technically true, here, but not exactly what I meant www.wsj.com/lifestyle/travel/the-airport-lounge-where-everybody-knows-your-name-df0af519
Excited for everyone who (incorrectly) states they're looking for their penguin in their dating profiles to update it to...
...wild dogs? OK, that might not have the same ring.
www.wsj.com/science/biol...
...wild dogs? OK, that might not have the same ring.
www.wsj.com/science/biol...
A Scientist Produced a Monogamy Ranking of Dozens of Mammals, Including Us
Humans are less monogamous than some mice but rank higher than one breed of sheep, says a new study.
www.wsj.com
December 10, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Excited for everyone who (incorrectly) states they're looking for their penguin in their dating profiles to update it to...
...wild dogs? OK, that might not have the same ring.
www.wsj.com/science/biol...
...wild dogs? OK, that might not have the same ring.
www.wsj.com/science/biol...
Balance of powers is justifying ligatures in your executable
Marco Rubio ordered diplomats to return to using Times New Roman font in official communications, calling his predecessor's decision to adopt Calibri a “wasteful” diversity move
Rubio Stages Font Coup: Times New Roman Ousts Calibri
The secretary of state called it a "wasteful" diversity move, according to an internal department cable seen by Reuters.
www.huffpost.com
December 10, 2025 at 1:34 AM
Balance of powers is justifying ligatures in your executable
Some times I wonder if there is a world out there where Zuckerberg's real legacy is helping turn Nine Inch Nails into the masters of the ethereal score
Anyway, good stuff here + Tron is interesting b/c it's v much a NIN album not a Reznor & Ross one (but still good!) www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/a...
Anyway, good stuff here + Tron is interesting b/c it's v much a NIN album not a Reznor & Ross one (but still good!) www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/a...
My 5 Favorite Film Scores of 2025
www.nytimes.com
December 9, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Some times I wonder if there is a world out there where Zuckerberg's real legacy is helping turn Nine Inch Nails into the masters of the ethereal score
Anyway, good stuff here + Tron is interesting b/c it's v much a NIN album not a Reznor & Ross one (but still good!) www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/a...
Anyway, good stuff here + Tron is interesting b/c it's v much a NIN album not a Reznor & Ross one (but still good!) www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/a...
I cannot help but wonder what things like regional news would look like with even a fraction of $15 billion invested in them each year www.wsj.com/tech/ai/meta...
Meta Plans to Shift Spending Away From the Metaverse
CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s bet on immersive online worlds has lost the company more than $77 billion.
www.wsj.com
December 5, 2025 at 2:02 PM
I cannot help but wonder what things like regional news would look like with even a fraction of $15 billion invested in them each year www.wsj.com/tech/ai/meta...
My Spotify wrapped was all songs I learned to play this year. And there's a disappointment in not being where I wanted to be in various fandoms for bragging rights, but...
...I wouldn't trade that slow, engaged media take at all.
That said, I still listened to more Nelly than you did.
...I wouldn't trade that slow, engaged media take at all.
That said, I still listened to more Nelly than you did.
December 4, 2025 at 2:05 AM
My Spotify wrapped was all songs I learned to play this year. And there's a disappointment in not being where I wanted to be in various fandoms for bragging rights, but...
...I wouldn't trade that slow, engaged media take at all.
That said, I still listened to more Nelly than you did.
...I wouldn't trade that slow, engaged media take at all.
That said, I still listened to more Nelly than you did.
I remain unconvinced that the way to improve self driving vehicles' efficiency is "be as aggressive as human drivers" and not simply "have transit levels of passenger density" www.wsj.com/lifestyle/ca...
Waymo’s Self-Driving Cars Are Suddenly Behaving Like New York Cabbies
Autonomous vehicles are adopting humanlike qualities, making illegal U-turns and flooring it the second the light goes green.
www.wsj.com
December 3, 2025 at 3:15 PM
I remain unconvinced that the way to improve self driving vehicles' efficiency is "be as aggressive as human drivers" and not simply "have transit levels of passenger density" www.wsj.com/lifestyle/ca...
This lede makes the crucial mistake of thinking any self respecting guitar head would buy amp sims _instead_ of analogue amps—when obviously a gearhead is going to buy them _both_ (and use them in parallel with a DI box amp sim) arstechnica.com/culture/2025...
Guitar amp sims have gotten astonishingly good
There has never been a better time to be a guitarist.
arstechnica.com
December 3, 2025 at 3:06 PM
This lede makes the crucial mistake of thinking any self respecting guitar head would buy amp sims _instead_ of analogue amps—when obviously a gearhead is going to buy them _both_ (and use them in parallel with a DI box amp sim) arstechnica.com/culture/2025...
I am begging the Times graphic staff to do something cool with the reader "have read" / "want to read" data they collect with all of their books coverage www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/b...
Olivia Nuzzi’s Memoir Is Self-Serious and Altogether Disappointing
www.nytimes.com
December 2, 2025 at 2:46 PM
I am begging the Times graphic staff to do something cool with the reader "have read" / "want to read" data they collect with all of their books coverage www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/b...
This Cyber Monday, remember that turning off loading images in your email will help collapse open rates for every company that is emailing a vague deal to anyone they can find
December 1, 2025 at 3:25 PM
This Cyber Monday, remember that turning off loading images in your email will help collapse open rates for every company that is emailing a vague deal to anyone they can find
I am begging Brands to actually try and sell me their product rather than simply emailing me that something I didn't know existed is now 25% off, this week
November 24, 2025 at 1:44 PM
I am begging Brands to actually try and sell me their product rather than simply emailing me that something I didn't know existed is now 25% off, this week