Josh Nicholas
@joshnicholas.com
Scribbler and data journalist. https://joshnicholas.com
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Josh Nicholas
@joshnicholas.com
· Mar 21
Tourists, watercolours and the sad, still Star: sketching the route 35 tram showed me a Melbourne I had never really noticed
When you are in a city every day, you start to take things for granted. So, after three years in Melbourne, Josh Nicholas decided to be a tourist
www.theguardian.com
I wrote a thing about drawing and Melbourne www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Reposted by Josh Nicholas
This is a good essay, but sometimes as a thought experiment I think about how we defended the ubiquity of cars 100+ years ago. Sure, we can't really walk places anymore and they kill tens of thousands a year and gasoline makes the air toxic, but getting places fast in a personal bubble is cool!
NYT OpEd asked me to explain vibe coding to a general audience, and I took a swing. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/o...
Opinion | The A.I. Disruption Is Actually Here, and It’s Not Terrible
www.nytimes.com
February 18, 2026 at 9:45 PM
This is a good essay, but sometimes as a thought experiment I think about how we defended the ubiquity of cars 100+ years ago. Sure, we can't really walk places anymore and they kill tens of thousands a year and gasoline makes the air toxic, but getting places fast in a personal bubble is cool!
Reposted by Josh Nicholas
Reposted by Josh Nicholas
🚨CFP: The ADM+S Generative Authenticity project is hosting a small scholarly symposium on Authenticity, Generative AI and Synthetic Media on 6-7 May at QUT Kelvin Grove (and hybrid node).
Short abstracts due 9 March.
All info and the submission form: docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Short abstracts due 9 March.
All info and the submission form: docs.google.com/document/d/1...
CFP: ADM+S Generative Authenticity Symposium
Call for Papers Authenticity, Generative AI and Synthetic Media: An ADM+S Symposium 6-7 May 2026, QUT Kelvin Grove, Brisbane Authenticity is often at the centre of concer...
docs.google.com
February 17, 2026 at 6:28 AM
🚨CFP: The ADM+S Generative Authenticity project is hosting a small scholarly symposium on Authenticity, Generative AI and Synthetic Media on 6-7 May at QUT Kelvin Grove (and hybrid node).
Short abstracts due 9 March.
All info and the submission form: docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Short abstracts due 9 March.
All info and the submission form: docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Now that was a cool change
February 17, 2026 at 9:16 AM
Now that was a cool change
Reposted by Josh Nicholas
If you watch bobsled in the Olympics and think “how does one get into that sport,” the answer is they are basically all former college track athletes and football players who got invited to a bobsled combine by word of mouth. The men’s team can be a real treat for Remembering Some Guys.
How to Make an Olympic Bobsledder
The Americans in Pyeonchang all have one thing in common.
www.gq.com
February 17, 2026 at 4:24 AM
If you watch bobsled in the Olympics and think “how does one get into that sport,” the answer is they are basically all former college track athletes and football players who got invited to a bobsled combine by word of mouth. The men’s team can be a real treat for Remembering Some Guys.
Reposted by Josh Nicholas
Dream job alert in eigener Sache: Wir suchen eine Werkstudent:in Datenjournalismus! 📊
⏳20h/Woche, befristet auf 12 Monate
Jetzt bewerben: jobs.spiegelgruppe.de/Vacancies/13...
⏳20h/Woche, befristet auf 12 Monate
Jetzt bewerben: jobs.spiegelgruppe.de/Vacancies/13...
February 16, 2026 at 6:22 PM
Dream job alert in eigener Sache: Wir suchen eine Werkstudent:in Datenjournalismus! 📊
⏳20h/Woche, befristet auf 12 Monate
Jetzt bewerben: jobs.spiegelgruppe.de/Vacancies/13...
⏳20h/Woche, befristet auf 12 Monate
Jetzt bewerben: jobs.spiegelgruppe.de/Vacancies/13...
The true use case for smart glasses is to run a blocking program so you can go through life only having to see the phrase "social cohesion" a few times a day instead of the current ~million
February 17, 2026 at 1:42 AM
The true use case for smart glasses is to run a blocking program so you can go through life only having to see the phrase "social cohesion" a few times a day instead of the current ~million
Reposted by Josh Nicholas
'Four minutes of air conditioning'
The new, excellent essay by my colleague @hannahritchie.bsky.social on energy poverty.
ourworldindata.org/four-minutes...
The new, excellent essay by my colleague @hannahritchie.bsky.social on energy poverty.
ourworldindata.org/four-minutes...
Four minutes of air conditioning
Billions of people have access to far less electricity per day than is required to run an air conditioner for just one hour.
ourworldindata.org
February 16, 2026 at 10:02 PM
'Four minutes of air conditioning'
The new, excellent essay by my colleague @hannahritchie.bsky.social on energy poverty.
ourworldindata.org/four-minutes...
The new, excellent essay by my colleague @hannahritchie.bsky.social on energy poverty.
ourworldindata.org/four-minutes...
Reposted by Josh Nicholas
Continuing my little run of stories about overlooked places in far north-western Victoria: this story was a joy to write but Stu Walmsley’s pics really make it sing
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
In the tiny outback town of Underbool, the community pool is a ‘vital’ part of life – and they almost lost it
Locals in the Victorian Mallee town, where summer temperatures regularly top 45C, fought for 10 years to save the only swimming spot for 50km
www.theguardian.com
February 16, 2026 at 9:02 PM
Continuing my little run of stories about overlooked places in far north-western Victoria: this story was a joy to write but Stu Walmsley’s pics really make it sing
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Reposted by Josh Nicholas
My latest post is a big drop of new data. For the first time I publish two-party preferred preference data in so-called Non-Classic divisions, including high profile Independents. Data for the 2019, 2022 and 2025 elections. antonygreen.com.au/fed2025-inde...
February 15, 2026 at 10:23 AM
My latest post is a big drop of new data. For the first time I publish two-party preferred preference data in so-called Non-Classic divisions, including high profile Independents. Data for the 2019, 2022 and 2025 elections. antonygreen.com.au/fed2025-inde...
Reposted by Josh Nicholas
Sussan Ley had the second shortest tenure of any federal Liberal leader – @joshnicholas.com for our One Big Chart series (and me copy-pasting parl handbook dates lol)
www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...
www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...
February 13, 2026 at 3:38 AM
Sussan Ley had the second shortest tenure of any federal Liberal leader – @joshnicholas.com for our One Big Chart series (and me copy-pasting parl handbook dates lol)
www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...
www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...
Reposted by Josh Nicholas
My friend Jon has died | First Dog on the Moon
My friend Jon has died | First Dog on the Moon
Jon Kudelka loved his beautiful family and was fiercely intolerant of greed and hypocrisy
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Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
February 13, 2026 at 4:29 AM
My friend Jon has died | First Dog on the Moon
Reposted by Josh Nicholas
newsletter is out! thanks to @joshnicholas.com we have a round-up of some of our fav graphics work from WaPo, in solidarity with all the excellent data and visual journalists who have lost their jobs. also.... HORSES
www.theguardian.com/news/2026/fe...
www.theguardian.com/news/2026/fe...
The Crunch: political donations, exceptional figure skating and the year of the horse
It was donations disclosure season and we crunched the numbers on the amount of money going to different places
www.theguardian.com
February 13, 2026 at 2:41 AM
newsletter is out! thanks to @joshnicholas.com we have a round-up of some of our fav graphics work from WaPo, in solidarity with all the excellent data and visual journalists who have lost their jobs. also.... HORSES
www.theguardian.com/news/2026/fe...
www.theguardian.com/news/2026/fe...
Reposted by Josh Nicholas
all the years of "the internet is the repository of all human knowledge" takes have given people a vastly inflated idea of how much human knowledge is actually on the internet
it's literally impossible for an LLM to do a historian's job
it's not even LLMs sucking it's that they need data input to do anything and where's that data supposed to be coming from without historians
never met a computer that can dig through a thousand year old book in a library
it's not even LLMs sucking it's that they need data input to do anything and where's that data supposed to be coming from without historians
never met a computer that can dig through a thousand year old book in a library
February 12, 2026 at 8:32 PM
all the years of "the internet is the repository of all human knowledge" takes have given people a vastly inflated idea of how much human knowledge is actually on the internet
Reposted by Josh Nicholas
Stunning project from Nadieh! Bird viz does seem to be the way to go these days
📣 NEW! I’ve just released the BIGGEST and perhaps most creative project I’ve ever worked on!
“Searching for Birds” searchingforbirds.visualcinnamon.com 🐤
A project, an article, an exploration that dives into the data that connects humans with birds, by looking at how we search for birds.
“Searching for Birds” searchingforbirds.visualcinnamon.com 🐤
A project, an article, an exploration that dives into the data that connects humans with birds, by looking at how we search for birds.
February 12, 2026 at 11:21 AM
Stunning project from Nadieh! Bird viz does seem to be the way to go these days
Reposted by Josh Nicholas
Australian Census on University Staff Wellbeing results are out. Every uni recorded scores indicating high/very high psych risk.
And in news surprising no one, "only senior execs and deans rated their workplaces as medium or low risk while all other staff groups reported high-risk conditions."
And in news surprising no one, "only senior execs and deans rated their workplaces as medium or low risk while all other staff groups reported high-risk conditions."
February 12, 2026 at 3:50 AM
Australian Census on University Staff Wellbeing results are out. Every uni recorded scores indicating high/very high psych risk.
And in news surprising no one, "only senior execs and deans rated their workplaces as medium or low risk while all other staff groups reported high-risk conditions."
And in news surprising no one, "only senior execs and deans rated their workplaces as medium or low risk while all other staff groups reported high-risk conditions."
Reposted by Josh Nicholas
House prices have risen significantly more than inflation since the CGT discount was introduced in 1999... Cutting it won't cause them to fall.
But there could be other benefits.
But there could be other benefits.
How far house prices would fall if the capital gains tax discount changed
House prices have risen more than fourfold since the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount was introduced in 1999.
www.theage.com.au
February 11, 2026 at 10:47 PM
House prices have risen significantly more than inflation since the CGT discount was introduced in 1999... Cutting it won't cause them to fall.
But there could be other benefits.
But there could be other benefits.
Reposted by Josh Nicholas
Reposted by Josh Nicholas
GamesHub's newest author Tanaka Haruto has produced this __banger__ article, a straight rip from Xbox Wire that claims Suda51 sat down with the diminished Australian outlet for a chat on Romeo is a Dead Man...
February 10, 2026 at 10:29 PM
GamesHub's newest author Tanaka Haruto has produced this __banger__ article, a straight rip from Xbox Wire that claims Suda51 sat down with the diminished Australian outlet for a chat on Romeo is a Dead Man...
Reposted by Josh Nicholas
It’s a category mistake nobody really talks about: most AI companies are not trying to sell creative tools, they are trying to sell content streams.
Why would anyone buy an AI-written romance novel when you can just prompt the chatbots yourself and "write" your own? www.nytimes.com/2026/02/08/b...
February 10, 2026 at 10:39 PM
It’s a category mistake nobody really talks about: most AI companies are not trying to sell creative tools, they are trying to sell content streams.
Reposted by Josh Nicholas
Cohesion.
My @smh cartoon.
My @smh cartoon.
February 10, 2026 at 8:45 PM
Cohesion.
My @smh cartoon.
My @smh cartoon.
Thinking about all the uni kids who are going to be deducted marks in the coming weeks coz they didn't put the book title in italics in their references (I'm not still bitter) www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Concerns ‘AI slop’ used by University of Sydney-based institute to lobby for $20m gambling education funding
‘Evidence review’ sent by OurFutures Institute to David Pocock and other politicians references studies that do not exist or make opposing findings
www.theguardian.com
February 10, 2026 at 8:34 PM
Thinking about all the uni kids who are going to be deducted marks in the coming weeks coz they didn't put the book title in italics in their references (I'm not still bitter) www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Reposted by Josh Nicholas
OPB has been the gold standard of journalism in this state for so many years, it's incredibly disheartening to hear what's been happening behind the scenes, especially from someone whose work I respect enormously!
This is easily the hardest thing I've ever had to write.
I Had a Dream Journalism Job. Here's Why I Quit.
The rot that hollowed out trust in corporate media finally reached OPB. I had to go.
westernedgemedia.substack.com
February 10, 2026 at 6:04 PM
OPB has been the gold standard of journalism in this state for so many years, it's incredibly disheartening to hear what's been happening behind the scenes, especially from someone whose work I respect enormously!
Reposted by Josh Nicholas
Uline – a company owned a MAGA mega-donor – brought in workers from Mexico who earned per day about the same as their US counterparts were paid by the hour...
Now one worker from Mexico who was badly hurt on the job has spoken to the Guardian about his experience working for the company.
Now one worker from Mexico who was badly hurt on the job has spoken to the Guardian about his experience working for the company.
Please read our latest of the Maga donors at Uline and their reliance on Mexican labor. For the first time, one worker who was badly hurt on the job has spoken to us and told us his story (with @maanvisingh.bsky.social ) www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
‘They always gave us the heaviest work’: how Maga billionaires relied on Mexican labor
Trump administration seeks to remove ‘illegal aliens’ but Uline’s past employment practices reveal a different reality
www.theguardian.com
February 10, 2026 at 6:09 PM
Uline – a company owned a MAGA mega-donor – brought in workers from Mexico who earned per day about the same as their US counterparts were paid by the hour...
Now one worker from Mexico who was badly hurt on the job has spoken to the Guardian about his experience working for the company.
Now one worker from Mexico who was badly hurt on the job has spoken to the Guardian about his experience working for the company.