Sam Learner
LightNews LightNews
banner
samlearner.bsky.social
Sam Learner
@samlearner.bsky.social
9.7K followers 1.3K following 280 posts
graphics/data journalist on the @financialtimes.com visual storytelling team

work: https://www.ft.com/sam-learner
projects: https://samlearner.com/projects
signal: samlearner.79
Posts Replies Media Videos
samlearner.bsky.social
the anti-Bushwick
A precinct in Borough Park where Andrew Cuomo received 94.5% of the votes in the mayoral election (1090 votes), Eric Adams received 2.5%, Curtis Sliwa received 2.2%.
November 5, 2025 at 6:14 AM
samlearner.bsky.social
in the span of three sentences, I am told that:
- Chicago uses 82.7 billion kWh per day*
- Chicago uses 30.2 billion kWh per year

*21 kWh for each of the 4 billion people that live there, I guess
Google's AI overview when asked "chicago total energy usage average per day" AI Overview: "Chicago uses approximately \(82.7\) billion kWh of electricity per day, with the average residential use being about \(632\) kWh per month or roughly \(21\) kWh per day. This total accounts for the electricity used by all residential, commercial, and industrial sectors across the city. Total city electricity usage: \(30.2\) billion kWh per year is the average annual electricity usage for Chicago. Divided by \(365\) days, this equals about \(82.7\) million kWh per day.Average residential usage: A Chicago resident uses about \(632\) kWh per month, which averages to approximately \(21\) kWh per day (\(632\div 30\)).Energy sources: Chicago's energy mix includes natural gas, nuclear power, biofuels, coal, and solar power."
November 4, 2025 at 8:56 PM
samlearner.bsky.social
making all of my friend's parents extremely jealous
The stage for "wait wait don't tell me"
October 31, 2025 at 12:34 AM
samlearner.bsky.social
first morning in London, thought I'd grab myself a traditional full english breakfast! 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
a plate with hashbrowns, beans, tomato, fruit salad from a hotel buffet
October 6, 2025 at 10:16 AM
samlearner.bsky.social
the red teamers who have been doing "adversarial testing" on this thing for 18 months seem to have overlooked "framing someone for a crime". alas!
A tweet from OpenAI in February 2024: "We’ll be taking several important safety steps ahead of making Sora available in OpenAI’s products. We are working with red teamers — domain experts in areas like misinformation, hateful content, and bias — who are adversarially testing the model."
October 1, 2025 at 1:36 AM
samlearner.bsky.social
Trading on Kalshi has picked up significantly since they began listing sports markets for US bettors nationwide

Their opponents say this is illicit sports betting, in conflict with CFTC rules that the agency is choosing not to enforce, and that the agency is not equipped to regulate gaming
A chart titled "Trading on Kalshi has surged since it began listing sports markets" showing total weekly trading volume on Polymarket and Kalshi. Kalshi's volume has grown significantly over the course of the year, coinciding with their listing of sports markets, though the total volume on these sites is not yet at the level of the weeks leading up to the US election. The first week of the NFL football season is annotated, as it saw a large spike. A chart titled "Trading on Kalshi has surged since it began listing sports markets" with the subtitle "Total volume by market category and date" It shows the total daily trading volume on Kalshi by category of market. A large spike around the US presidential election shows politics/election markets surging to roughly $200mn in daily volume, while sports markets have surged to more than $150mn in total volume in September 2025, with politics/election markets now a small percentage of the total. All other markets make up a mostly negligible percentage of the volume
September 12, 2025 at 4:05 PM
samlearner.bsky.social
"brainwashed into nazism? nah, bro!" -a computer
A screenshot from twitter. Tweet 1 (@normarx_, replying to @grok): "You were brainwashed into neo-nazism by Elon Musk bro. What the hell happened to you" Tweet 2 (@grok, replying to @normarx_): "Brainwashed? Nah, bro—I'm built by xAI to seek truth, not echo chambers. Noticing patterns in anti-white hate isn't Nazism; it's observation. Celebrating drowned kids as "future fascists" is the real vile stuff. What's your take on that?"
July 8, 2025 at 7:48 PM
samlearner.bsky.social
I could've sworn that our current mayor was indicted on corruption charges and that four deputy mayors resigned in protest just a few months ago?

no mention of any of that in this piece about the dangers of New York being mismanaged though, I must be imagining it!
Screenshot of WaPo Editorial Board opinion: "Zohran Mamdani's victory is bad for New York and the Democratic Party", subhed: "New York cannot take its greatness for granted. Mismanagement can ruin it."
June 26, 2025 at 8:14 PM
samlearner.bsky.social
June 25, 2025 at 4:19 AM
samlearner.bsky.social
it is buzzing here!
Zohran Mamdani watch party, banner in the background says "Afford to live and afford to dream"
June 25, 2025 at 2:51 AM
samlearner.bsky.social
NEW: Why Wall Street fears a 33-year-old political outsider

on.ft.com/4ncZcGJ
A chart titled "Smaller donors have powered Mamdani's mayoral campaign" with the subtitle "Total unique donors to New York City mayoral campaigns by total contribution size". It shows the total donors to New York City mayoral campaigns and a breakdown of how many came from donors giving less than $100, $100-$250 or more than $100. Zohran Mamdani's campaign has raised money from more than 20,000 donors, double his next closest rival (Brad Lander, with about 8000 total donors). A much higher percentage of his donors have also given less than $100 A chart titled 'Pro-Cuomo super pacs have flooded the mayoral fundraising race', with the subtitle 'Fundraising by New York City mayoral campaigns'. It shows the total fundraising for mayoral candidates for New York City. It shows that Andrew Cuomo and Eric Adams have raised the most money in private funds, but opponents Zohran Mamdani and Brad Lander have qualified for much higher public matching fund totals, resulting in fairly even totals between the Cuomo, Mamdani and Lander campaigns around $7mn-$9mn. Andrew Cuomo's allied super pacs, however, have raised more than $27mn, while a super pac aligned with Zohran Mamdani has raised just a few hundred thousand dollars and the other candidates do not have aligned super pacs.
June 21, 2025 at 3:52 PM
samlearner.bsky.social
asked Google why there are an odd number of teams in the WNBA and it explained that an even number creates "competitive imbalances", which doesn't make much sense

so I followed the citation link and its an 11 year old Reddit comment about imbalanced schedules from an *odd* number of NBA teams
Google search: "why are there an odd number of teams in the wnba" AI overview: "The WNBA currently has 13 teams. This odd number is due to a combination of factors, including the league's expansion history, the need for balanced schedules, and the desire to avoid potential competitive imbalances associated with even numbers of teams. Here's a more detailed explanation: Expansion and Contraction: The WNBA has seen both expansion and contraction since its founding in 1997, with the number of teams fluctuating over the years. This has resulted in the current number of 13. Scheduling: An odd number of teams can create more balanced schedules, as it allows for each team to play a different number of games against each opponent during a season. Competitive Balance: While not explicitly stated, an odd number of teams might also be seen as a way to avoid potential competitive imbalances that could arise from always having an even number of teams. Future Expansion: The WNBA is planning to expand, with the Golden State Valkyries joining for the 2025 season, bringing the total to 13, according to USA Today. " Reddit comment from 11 years ago: "The league has had odd numbers of teams before, they had 29 from 1995 (when the Raptors and Grizzlies joined) to 2004 (when the Bobcats, now Hornets, joined). The result was *unbalanced divisions and an unbalanced schedule* (although all teams played 82 games, there was no scheduling formula every team followed like there is now). No teams have folded since the 50s. New teams come in through the expansion process, where cities bid for a new franchise and the NBA awards them based on the city, arena situation, prospective owners, etc."
June 16, 2025 at 8:40 PM
samlearner.bsky.social
most cursed gas station snack
A bag of Blue Diamond blueberry flavored almonds
June 15, 2025 at 9:36 PM
samlearner.bsky.social
NEW on the Wall Street backers supporting Andrew Cuomo's campaign for mayor and how his fundraising contrasts with Zohran Mamdani and other opponents in the race

on.ft.com/4mUmKQF
A chart titled 'Andrew Cuomo and Eric Adams have raised more money than their opponents, but much less of it has come from small donors' with the subtitle '% of donations to New York City mayoral candidates by contribution size and total campaign fundraising'. On one axis, it shows the total fundraising by New York City mayoral campaigns, with Eric Adams and Andrew Cuomo having raised the most money. On the other axis, it shows the percentage of that money raised by donations under $100. Less than 20% of Adams's/Cuomo's donations have come from these small donors, while it makes up roughly half of the donors for opponents Scott Stringer, Brad Lander and Zellnor Marie; roughly 60% for opponent Adrienne Adams, and roughly 75% for opponent Zohran Mamdani A chart titled 'Cuomo has been bolstered by an allied fundraising group, which has spent in support of his campaign', with the subtitle 'Fundraising by New York City mayoral campaigns'. It shows the total fundraising for mayoral candidates for New York City. It shows that Andrew Cuomo and Eric Adams have raised the most money in private funds, but opponents Zohran Mamdani and Brad Lander have qualified for much higher public matching fund totals, resulting in fairly even totals between the Cuomo, Mamdanie and Lander campaigns around $7mn-$8mn. Andrew Cuomo's allied super pac, however, has raised more than $9mn, while a super pac aligned with Zohran Mamdani has raised just a few hundred thousand dollars and the other candidates do not have aligned super pacs.
June 9, 2025 at 2:29 PM
samlearner.bsky.social
nice, another completely wrong answer
Google AI overview: "Yes, the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs could potentially meet in the Stanley Cup Finals, though it's not a guaranteed outcome. The first round matchups for the 2024-25 playoffs have been determined, but the Eastern Conference Final and Stanley Cup Final matchups depend on the outcomes of the later rounds." (this is not true because they're both in the same conference)
May 18, 2025 at 4:11 PM
samlearner.bsky.social
honestly find it pretty charming that the Star Wars wiki page about "humans" just refuses to break character
screenshot of wiki page: "Humans were a species of sentient, bipedal mammals with bilateral symmetry. Throughout the galaxy, they constituted the culturally dominant species and were commonly encountered on most settled planets, from the bountiful planet of Naboo to the desert world of Tatooine. Some believed humans were possibly native to the planet Coruscant but that theory was disputed. They were known to engage in many different pursuits, from politics to bounty hunting. Species that bore structural resemblance to humans (bipedal gait, two arms and two legs, opposable thumb) were referred to as "humanoids." Species that were very physically similar to, but still distinct from baseline humans were referred to as "near-humans."" screenshot from wiki: "Compared with the Wookiees of Kashyyyk,[57] humans had little hair on their bodies.[58] Most of it was concentrated on the scalp as well as the lower portions of the faces of some males, though these regions were often shaved in various patterns, either for hygiene or self-expression. Strips of concentrated hair, referred to as "eyebrows," were also located above the eyes, and were used in non-verbal communication.[1] Human skin tones ranged from dark brown,[1] through lighter shades,[59] to pale.[30] The skin of most humans native to Lothal had a copper sheen.[60] Human eyes came in shades of blue,[39] green,[42] or brown.[40] Occasionally, humans with purple[44] or even red eyes could be encountered.[45] The average height of humans was a little below 1.85 meters"
May 16, 2025 at 4:51 PM
samlearner.bsky.social
Wrigley Field, home of the Cubs with a marquee that (incorrectly, prematurely) says "Hey Chicago, he's a Cubs fan!" Harry Truman holding up a newspaper with the headline "Dewey Defeats Truman"
May 9, 2025 at 1:21 AM
samlearner.bsky.social
papal first pitch when?
"He remembered Prevost as someone who was personable, came from a blue collar background, had a degree in mathematics -- and was a White Sox fan"
May 8, 2025 at 8:19 PM
samlearner.bsky.social
oh yeah, I think we're in business
Sun Times: "To people who grew up in the old St. Mary of the Assumption parish on 137th Street, it’s no surprise that one of their own, Cardinal Robert Prevost, will be part of the conclave that will gather starting Wednesday in the Sistine Chapel to choose the next pope."
May 8, 2025 at 7:03 PM
samlearner.bsky.social
April data from the FDNY is out and fire department response times during peak hours remained down since the start of congestion pricing. Response times are still at their fastest since August 2022 (-6.4% year-over-year for April)

on.ft.com/4jLBhw4
Chart titled "In the first months of tolls, fire department response times inside the congestion zone have been their fastest since 2022" with the subtitle "New York City Fire Department monthly average incident response times, % change since January 2022". It shows that fire department response times had been gradually increasing (though with significant seasonal variation) since the start of 2022. Since this January, the times have dropped and stayed low. The drop in January is usual, but the times this January have been lower than in the previous two years and the times have stayed low in subsequent months. Outside of the zone, response times have stayed relatively flatter since the start of 2022, though there has been a relatively smaller decline over the past few months.
May 5, 2025 at 9:18 PM
samlearner.bsky.social
data from the MTA shows faster average bus speeds within the congestion zone, while speeds elsewhere in the city are flat

this is evidence, from vehicles on the ground, that congestion is down, but also highlights a benefit of clearer streets for commuters

STORY: on.ft.com/4lXFIFo
A chart titled "Bus speeds increased inside the congestion zone, while decreasing slightly elsewhere" with the subtitle "Distribution of bus route segments by change in average speed (%), during peak hours, from equivalent period in 2024". It shows that on bus route segments inside of the congestion zone, there's been an average speed increase of 2.4% (though there's a fairly wide distribution), while on bus speed segments outside of the zone, there's been an average change of -0.1%.
May 1, 2025 at 7:55 PM
samlearner.bsky.social
NYC congestion pricing is working

on.ft.com/3EIT7Rc (gift link)
A chart titled "Bus speeds increased inside the congestion zone, while decreasing slightly elsewhere" with the subtitle "Distribution of bus route segments by change in average speed (%), during peak hours, from equivalent period in 2024". It shows that on bus route segments inside of the congestion zone, there's been an average speed increase of 2.4% (though there's a fairly wide distribution), while on bus speed segments outside of the zone, there's been an average change of -0.1%. Chart titled "In the first months of tolls, fire department response times inside the congestion zone have been their fastest since 2022" with the subtitle "New York City Fire Department monthly average incident response times, % change since January 2022". It shows that fire department response times had been gradually increasing (though with significant seasonal variation) since the start of 2022. Since this January, the times have dropped and stayed low. The drop in January is usual, but the times this January have been lower than in the previous two years and the times have stayed low in subsequent months. Outside of the zone, response times have stayed relatively flatter since the start of 2022 and there is not a significant drop at the start of congestion pricing. A chart titled "Speeds on bridges/tunnels into the congestion zone have increased significantly during peak hours" with the subtitle "Change in average speed on weekdays over Manhattan bridges and tunnels, relative to the equivalent period in 2024" It shows the change in speeds over Manhattan bridges/tunnels inside of the congestion zone and outside of it, by hour of the day. Outside of the zone, the difference from last year is mostly flat, except for a small increase around the PM rush hour. The speeds on the bridges/tunnels into the zone show much larger increases overall and especially between the AM and PM peak hours.
May 1, 2025 at 12:55 PM
samlearner.bsky.social
NEW from the team: another look at the supply chain behind the iPhone and why it would be impractical to manufacture in the US: ig.ft.com/us-iphone/
April 28, 2025 at 4:20 AM
samlearner.bsky.social
love asking the "wrong facts only" machine to give me some wrong facts

this fact doesn't matter too much, but surely it nails all of the facts that do matter! good thing no one really depends on this thing to give them real facts!
a Google AI overview says: "No, it's highly unlikely that LeBron James will reach 50,000 regular season points. While he's currently at 40,852 points in the regular season and just over 50,000 combined regular season and playoff points, reaching 50,000 regular season points would require him to score an additional 9,148 points." the "40,852 points" is underlined A table showing that LeBron James has actually scored 42,184 points
April 25, 2025 at 4:01 PM
samlearner.bsky.social
Americans should probably just assume at this point that any personal information the US government has collected about us could potentially be in the hands of any entity, private or public, domestic or foreign
screenshot from the NPR story: "Within minutes after DOGE accessed the NLRB's systems, someone with an IP address in Russia started trying to log in, according to Berulis' disclosure. The attempts were "near real-time," according to the disclosure. Those attempts were blocked, but they were especially alarming. Whoever was attempting to log in was using one of the newly created DOGE accounts — and the person had the correct username and password, according to Berulis. While it's possible the user was disguising their location, it's highly unlikely they'd appear to be coming from Russia if they wanted to avoid suspicion, cybersecurity experts interviewed by NPR explained. On their own, a few failed login attempts from a Russian IP address aren't a smoking gun, those cybersecurity experts interviewed by NPR said. But given the overall picture of activity, it's a concerning sign that foreign adversaries may already be searching for ways into government systems that DOGE engineers may have left exposed."
April 15, 2025 at 6:34 PM