Mitchell Thorson
@mitchellthorson.com
Lead data visualization engineer at the Urban Institute. Otherwise reading books, riding bikes, listening to music, or talking a walk.
💻 mitchellthorson.com
📍 Brooklyn, NY
💻 mitchellthorson.com
📍 Brooklyn, NY
Pinned
Today @urbaninstitute.bsky.social launches a new data tool: The American Affordability Tracker. We're collecting data that tracks the rising costs of a secure lifestyle, and indicators of financial distress that are contributing to a growing crisis. See the data here: www.urban.org/data-tools/a...
📊
📊
Reposted by Mitchell Thorson
Very nice network diagram in here mapping the many connections between Silicon Valley VC firms, Trump administration, and top defense contractors.
November 10, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Very nice network diagram in here mapping the many connections between Silicon Valley VC firms, Trump administration, and top defense contractors.
Not gonna lie, I am growing more excited and curious about the things that atproto makes possible by the day. Seeing the number of new ideas and experiments gaining traction right now is inspiring.
On Tuesday night, you may have noticed something a little different on Bluesky. Here's a peek behind the scenes of how the election feed came together. Endlessly grateful for this collaboration with @wnyc.org/@gothamist.com & @bsky.app!
About The Other Night...
How Graze is defining the next era of a decentralized, open social attention economy.
graze.leaflet.pub
November 10, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Not gonna lie, I am growing more excited and curious about the things that atproto makes possible by the day. Seeing the number of new ideas and experiments gaining traction right now is inspiring.
It's always fascinating to me to see the local geographic breakdown of how New York votes. Great election-district level map from @thecity.nyc www.thecity.nyc/2025/11/04/e...
November 5, 2025 at 1:12 PM
It's always fascinating to me to see the local geographic breakdown of how New York votes. Great election-district level map from @thecity.nyc www.thecity.nyc/2025/11/04/e...
Reposted by Mitchell Thorson
The stream has begun. Join us: www.youtube.com/live/fKA4Vpk...
November 5, 2025 at 1:04 AM
The stream has begun. Join us: www.youtube.com/live/fKA4Vpk...
Reposted by Mitchell Thorson
You now get double the amount of the 404 Media Podcast. We're airing two episodes a week now, with one of those being an interview with someone we've crossed paths with. This week, Joshua Aaron, creator of ICEBlock. Subs get early access.
Apple/Spotify/YouTube: www.404media.co/the-crackdow...
Apple/Spotify/YouTube: www.404media.co/the-crackdow...
The Crackdown on ICE Spotting Apps (with Joshua Aaron)
We speak to the creator of ICEBlock about Apple banning their app, and what this means for people trying to access information about ICE.
www.404media.co
November 3, 2025 at 3:43 PM
You now get double the amount of the 404 Media Podcast. We're airing two episodes a week now, with one of those being an interview with someone we've crossed paths with. This week, Joshua Aaron, creator of ICEBlock. Subs get early access.
Apple/Spotify/YouTube: www.404media.co/the-crackdow...
Apple/Spotify/YouTube: www.404media.co/the-crackdow...
Spent the weekend visiting family in the DC suburbs. What an absolutely perfect time of year.
November 3, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Spent the weekend visiting family in the DC suburbs. What an absolutely perfect time of year.
Good morning from the Amtrak Northeast Regional. Truly one of my favorite places to think, read, write and work on projects. The best way to travel and it’s not even close.
October 31, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Good morning from the Amtrak Northeast Regional. Truly one of my favorite places to think, read, write and work on projects. The best way to travel and it’s not even close.
Tailscale is genuinely one of the most useful tools I've adopted over the past few years. It simplified a piece of the puzzle enough to push me over the edge and start making my own self-hosted web tools all the time. Knowing I can securely access apps hosted in my apartment from anywhere rules.
Tailscale Services is now in beta!
This new feature makes hosting and scaling internal applications simpler and more secure than ever.
Blog: tailscale.com/blog/service...
Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mELA...
Webinar 1pm EDT 10/30 on all the Fall Update things: tailscale.com/events-webin...
This new feature makes hosting and scaling internal applications simpler and more secure than ever.
Blog: tailscale.com/blog/service...
Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mELA...
Webinar 1pm EDT 10/30 on all the Fall Update things: tailscale.com/events-webin...
October 30, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Tailscale is genuinely one of the most useful tools I've adopted over the past few years. It simplified a piece of the puzzle enough to push me over the edge and start making my own self-hosted web tools all the time. Knowing I can securely access apps hosted in my apartment from anywhere rules.
Just landed a pretty big refactor of the Svelte-powered @urbaninstitute.bsky.social data viz component library that fully embraces runes syntax across all of our components. Svelte continues to be a flexible and powerful tool for our work.
Check out our code on Github github.com/UrbanInstitu...
Check out our code on Github github.com/UrbanInstitu...
October 30, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Just landed a pretty big refactor of the Svelte-powered @urbaninstitute.bsky.social data viz component library that fully embraces runes syntax across all of our components. Svelte continues to be a flexible and powerful tool for our work.
Check out our code on Github github.com/UrbanInstitu...
Check out our code on Github github.com/UrbanInstitu...
Reposted by Mitchell Thorson
The US federal government's spending on housing—directly through the budget, or through tax expenditures—amounts to more than $400 billion a year.
Only about 1/4 of that goes to low-income renters. The majority is spent on subsidizing higher-income homeowners.
www.urban.org/research/pub...
Only about 1/4 of that goes to low-income renters. The majority is spent on subsidizing higher-income homeowners.
www.urban.org/research/pub...
October 30, 2025 at 1:46 PM
The US federal government's spending on housing—directly through the budget, or through tax expenditures—amounts to more than $400 billion a year.
Only about 1/4 of that goes to low-income renters. The majority is spent on subsidizing higher-income homeowners.
www.urban.org/research/pub...
Only about 1/4 of that goes to low-income renters. The majority is spent on subsidizing higher-income homeowners.
www.urban.org/research/pub...
Today @urbaninstitute.bsky.social launches a new data tool: The American Affordability Tracker. We're collecting data that tracks the rising costs of a secure lifestyle, and indicators of financial distress that are contributing to a growing crisis. See the data here: www.urban.org/data-tools/a...
📊
📊
October 28, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Today @urbaninstitute.bsky.social launches a new data tool: The American Affordability Tracker. We're collecting data that tracks the rising costs of a secure lifestyle, and indicators of financial distress that are contributing to a growing crisis. See the data here: www.urban.org/data-tools/a...
📊
📊
Did you know that nearly half of families in the US with children under 4 struggle to afford diapers?
📊 A new data tool from @urbaninstitute.bsky.social looks at data in states and counties to understand where the largest gaps are.
www.urban.org/data-tools/m...
📊 A new data tool from @urbaninstitute.bsky.social looks at data in states and counties to understand where the largest gaps are.
www.urban.org/data-tools/m...
September 9, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Did you know that nearly half of families in the US with children under 4 struggle to afford diapers?
📊 A new data tool from @urbaninstitute.bsky.social looks at data in states and counties to understand where the largest gaps are.
www.urban.org/data-tools/m...
📊 A new data tool from @urbaninstitute.bsky.social looks at data in states and counties to understand where the largest gaps are.
www.urban.org/data-tools/m...
Excited to share this new piece from @urbaninstitute.bsky.social @wcurrangroome.bsky.social @andrewrumbach.bsky.social @sara-mctarnaghan.bsky.social and team that gives an excellent data-driven overview of the last 20 years of natural disasters and federal spending in Gulf Coast states. Lots of 📊!
August 13, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Excited to share this new piece from @urbaninstitute.bsky.social @wcurrangroome.bsky.social @andrewrumbach.bsky.social @sara-mctarnaghan.bsky.social and team that gives an excellent data-driven overview of the last 20 years of natural disasters and federal spending in Gulf Coast states. Lots of 📊!
Reposted by Mitchell Thorson
New visual story: Inside the relentless race for AI capacity
The quest for superintelligence is spurring a data centre boom — but critics question the cost, environmental impact and whether it is all needed
ig.ft.com/ai-data-cent...
The quest for superintelligence is spurring a data centre boom — but critics question the cost, environmental impact and whether it is all needed
ig.ft.com/ai-data-cent...
July 31, 2025 at 11:50 AM
New visual story: Inside the relentless race for AI capacity
The quest for superintelligence is spurring a data centre boom — but critics question the cost, environmental impact and whether it is all needed
ig.ft.com/ai-data-cent...
The quest for superintelligence is spurring a data centre boom — but critics question the cost, environmental impact and whether it is all needed
ig.ft.com/ai-data-cent...
When I read Mood Machine earlier this year, I began seriously thinking about cancelling my Spotify sub. This piece from @hearingthingsco.bsky.social finally pushed me to act. I've been buying more music from @bandcamp.com, and from now on I'll be using a different platform for streaming.
I don’t know how any ardent music fan could read @lizpelly.bsky.social's book 𝘔𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 and *not* be moved to cancel their Spotify subscription
Why We Quit Spotify
Enough is enough
www.hearingthings.co
July 15, 2025 at 2:08 PM
When I read Mood Machine earlier this year, I began seriously thinking about cancelling my Spotify sub. This piece from @hearingthingsco.bsky.social finally pushed me to act. I've been buying more music from @bandcamp.com, and from now on I'll be using a different platform for streaming.
Reposted by Mitchell Thorson
Cremieux’s real name is Jordan Lasker. I put his name in the newspaper. He’s a scientific racist www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
July 3, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Cremieux’s real name is Jordan Lasker. I put his name in the newspaper. He’s a scientific racist www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Reposted by Mitchell Thorson
New case study up on my redesigned website! Full process of building a custom #datavisualization tool: brainstorming and prototyping to refining the UX through cross-functional teamwork and creative problem-solving! Inspired by @alv9n.com's great project walkthroughs!
Ben Kates - Case Study: Getting a Good Job Depends More on Race and Gender than Education
Ben is a data-focused technologist based in Philadelphia, PA creating custom data experiences for clients across industries.
benkates.com
July 3, 2025 at 3:33 PM
New case study up on my redesigned website! Full process of building a custom #datavisualization tool: brainstorming and prototyping to refining the UX through cross-functional teamwork and creative problem-solving! Inspired by @alv9n.com's great project walkthroughs!
What a beautiful new album from Duval Timothy out this week: duvaltimothy.bandcamp.com/album/wishfu...
wishful thinking, by Duval Timothy
16 track album
duvaltimothy.bandcamp.com
May 15, 2025 at 1:34 PM
What a beautiful new album from Duval Timothy out this week: duvaltimothy.bandcamp.com/album/wishfu...
This week, @urbaninstitute.bsky.social launched the Education-to-Workforce Framework data tool.
This was one of the more complex @svelte.dev apps we've built, and @benkates.com led the way on development and made something really cool with this one.
apps.urban.org/features/edu...
This was one of the more complex @svelte.dev apps we've built, and @benkates.com led the way on development and made something really cool with this one.
apps.urban.org/features/edu...
May 15, 2025 at 12:19 PM
This week, @urbaninstitute.bsky.social launched the Education-to-Workforce Framework data tool.
This was one of the more complex @svelte.dev apps we've built, and @benkates.com led the way on development and made something really cool with this one.
apps.urban.org/features/edu...
This was one of the more complex @svelte.dev apps we've built, and @benkates.com led the way on development and made something really cool with this one.
apps.urban.org/features/edu...
Reposted by Mitchell Thorson
Learn ggplot from the best in the field! 👇
This is also super interesting for my friends in science and their research groups.
This is also super interesting for my friends in science and their research groups.
Excited to launch "ggplot2 [un]charted" with @yan-holtz.bsky.social! 🎉
An online course to master #ggplot2 with exercises, quizzes, and modules—and hands-on code running in your browser!
Still WIP—sign up now for a limited discount:
👉 www.ggplot2-uncharted.com
#rstats #DataViz #DataVisualization
An online course to master #ggplot2 with exercises, quizzes, and modules—and hands-on code running in your browser!
Still WIP—sign up now for a limited discount:
👉 www.ggplot2-uncharted.com
#rstats #DataViz #DataVisualization
May 13, 2025 at 6:28 AM
Learn ggplot from the best in the field! 👇
This is also super interesting for my friends in science and their research groups.
This is also super interesting for my friends in science and their research groups.
Reposted by Mitchell Thorson
NYC’s congestion pricing is a policy miracle: Less traffic, less noise, faster transit, more business sales, more transit revenue. And it hasn’t produced the negative effects outside the cordon zone we were afraid of.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
May 12, 2025 at 12:10 PM
NYC’s congestion pricing is a policy miracle: Less traffic, less noise, faster transit, more business sales, more transit revenue. And it hasn’t produced the negative effects outside the cordon zone we were afraid of.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Reposted by Mitchell Thorson
the html review 04: my favorite internet journal put out a fourth issue of experimental web writing https://thehtml.review/04/
the html review 04
It reminds me of the motivational lies my dad told my siblings and I while hiking: promising the
summit was just around the corner, over that next hill, past this one last tree. The
infinite scrollbar is grotesque, it just keeps pulling us
along with no summit in sight, but somehow, we all go along with it.
thehtml.review
March 20, 2025 at 7:45 PM
the html review 04: my favorite internet journal put out a fourth issue of experimental web writing https://thehtml.review/04/
Reposted by Mitchell Thorson
New data tool launch today 🚨 @urbaninstitute.bsky.social's Federal Infrastructure site.
It includes detailed information on funds from 110 programs across all states, counties & metro areas.
Tool pinpoints the support that communities receive for transportation, housing, energy, water & broadband.
It includes detailed information on funds from 110 programs across all states, counties & metro areas.
Tool pinpoints the support that communities receive for transportation, housing, energy, water & broadband.
Are Federal Infrastructure Dollars Meeting Your Community’s Needs?
Data analysis tracking whether the billions in funding that the US has committed to its roads, bridges, housing, and other infrastructure are getting to the communities that need it most.
apps.urban.org
March 13, 2025 at 2:37 PM
New data tool launch today 🚨 @urbaninstitute.bsky.social's Federal Infrastructure site.
It includes detailed information on funds from 110 programs across all states, counties & metro areas.
Tool pinpoints the support that communities receive for transportation, housing, energy, water & broadband.
It includes detailed information on funds from 110 programs across all states, counties & metro areas.
Tool pinpoints the support that communities receive for transportation, housing, energy, water & broadband.
Reposted by Mitchell Thorson
Very gratifying to see three data visualization projects we worked on at @urbaninstitute.bsky.social longlisted at the Information is Beautiful awards.
Kudus to @mitchellthorson.com @benkates.com and @arobotwriting.bsky.social for their outstanding work bringing these complex datasets to life.
Kudus to @mitchellthorson.com @benkates.com and @arobotwriting.bsky.social for their outstanding work bringing these complex datasets to life.
March 11, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Very gratifying to see three data visualization projects we worked on at @urbaninstitute.bsky.social longlisted at the Information is Beautiful awards.
Kudus to @mitchellthorson.com @benkates.com and @arobotwriting.bsky.social for their outstanding work bringing these complex datasets to life.
Kudus to @mitchellthorson.com @benkates.com and @arobotwriting.bsky.social for their outstanding work bringing these complex datasets to life.
Reposted by Mitchell Thorson
For the German election we wanted to use a cartogram of German election districts but didn't find anything good, so we created our own. Here's a little nerd thread how the final algorithm worked 🤓 🧵 #gis #cartogram #election #datavis #cartography
February 27, 2025 at 4:48 PM
For the German election we wanted to use a cartogram of German election districts but didn't find anything good, so we created our own. Here's a little nerd thread how the final algorithm worked 🤓 🧵 #gis #cartogram #election #datavis #cartography