Alan Smith
@theboysmithy.ft.com
Head of Visual and Data Journalism @financialtimes.com; Honorary Prof @UCL Social Data Institute. Views expressed are my own. Reposts are not necessarily endorsements.
Council tax valuation bands in England are increasingly disconnected from house prices - new with Sam Fleming and Jonathan Vincent. You can even tap in your own details to see how unfair your council tax bill is on.ft.com/46JBbB9
October 9, 2025 at 10:41 AM
Council tax valuation bands in England are increasingly disconnected from house prices - new with Sam Fleming and Jonathan Vincent. You can even tap in your own details to see how unfair your council tax bill is on.ft.com/46JBbB9
@olihawkins.com getting deep into blockchain nerdery with maths students at @ucl.ac.uk
September 29, 2025 at 5:39 PM
@olihawkins.com getting deep into blockchain nerdery with maths students at @ucl.ac.uk
A second seismic event of the week that has failed to create the impact most feared... According to Yale Budget Lab, the US effective tariff rate as at August 1 is now 17.3% (after consumption shifts). This is the highest since 1935, but still a shade down on estimates earlier this week...
August 1, 2025 at 4:28 PM
A second seismic event of the week that has failed to create the impact most feared... According to Yale Budget Lab, the US effective tariff rate as at August 1 is now 17.3% (after consumption shifts). This is the highest since 1935, but still a shade down on estimates earlier this week...
New: Donald Trump's tariff blitz brings US levies to highest level since 1930s on.ft.com/3IRgx8M
July 29, 2025 at 8:17 AM
New: Donald Trump's tariff blitz brings US levies to highest level since 1930s on.ft.com/3IRgx8M
The UK government is set to raise tens of billions of pounds in debt to fund the Sizewell C nuclear power station - the costliest nuclear power plant in the world on.ft.com/40s9GZh
July 22, 2025 at 2:17 PM
The UK government is set to raise tens of billions of pounds in debt to fund the Sizewell C nuclear power station - the costliest nuclear power plant in the world on.ft.com/40s9GZh
Great to do Hikarigaoka parkrun this morning - but once you see Donald Trump’s hair in the GPS track, you can’t unsee it…
July 12, 2025 at 5:04 AM
Great to do Hikarigaoka parkrun this morning - but once you see Donald Trump’s hair in the GPS track, you can’t unsee it…
There's been a lot of talk of oil prices as the 'dog that didn't bark' over the past couple of weeks — but what happened to prices during and after previous crises in the Middle East? Our latest draw your own chart game with @raydouglas.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/c618...
June 26, 2025 at 8:05 AM
There's been a lot of talk of oil prices as the 'dog that didn't bark' over the past couple of weeks — but what happened to prices during and after previous crises in the Middle East? Our latest draw your own chart game with @raydouglas.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/c618...
New with @pmdfoster.bsky.social - ahead of 'Liberation Day', a look at what an escalating trade war could mean for the global economy, based on new modelling by @shepotylo.bsky.social and Jun Du at @astonuniversity.bsky.social. Gift link: on.ft.com/4iOHIOi
April 1, 2025 at 3:26 PM
New with @pmdfoster.bsky.social - ahead of 'Liberation Day', a look at what an escalating trade war could mean for the global economy, based on new modelling by @shepotylo.bsky.social and Jun Du at @astonuniversity.bsky.social. Gift link: on.ft.com/4iOHIOi
GIS nerds with a penchant for UK maps might appreciate Sir George Airy photobombing this Ian Bott illustration of the Airy Transit Circle. Check out Ian's amazing illustrated guide to London's Royal Observatory at Greenwich just in time for the clocks going forward (gift link: on.ft.com/4iVA2u1)
March 25, 2025 at 9:40 AM
GIS nerds with a penchant for UK maps might appreciate Sir George Airy photobombing this Ian Bott illustration of the Airy Transit Circle. Check out Ian's amazing illustrated guide to London's Royal Observatory at Greenwich just in time for the clocks going forward (gift link: on.ft.com/4iVA2u1)
New: The end of Europe's 'peace dividend' - [gift link] on.ft.com/41T31az
March 17, 2025 at 12:11 PM
New: The end of Europe's 'peace dividend' - [gift link] on.ft.com/41T31az
👀 Latest US trade figures ... via our Trade tracker (free to read link on.ft.com/4bwBsYF)
March 6, 2025 at 4:40 PM
👀 Latest US trade figures ... via our Trade tracker (free to read link on.ft.com/4bwBsYF)
Waldo Tobler's first law of geography is alive and well on our new US trade and tariff tracker. Gift link: on.ft.com/3CAC7eT
February 6, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Waldo Tobler's first law of geography is alive and well on our new US trade and tariff tracker. Gift link: on.ft.com/3CAC7eT
I can now add 'running in sub-zero temperatures' to the list of things I've done for the @financialtimes.com - a little celebration of the international phenomenon that is Parkrun on.ft.com/4jlBXbN
January 21, 2025 at 8:22 AM
I can now add 'running in sub-zero temperatures' to the list of things I've done for the @financialtimes.com - a little celebration of the international phenomenon that is Parkrun on.ft.com/4jlBXbN
Also, was amazing to see your self-defence skills spring into action when called upon unexpectedly at the FT!
December 23, 2024 at 11:12 AM
Also, was amazing to see your self-defence skills spring into action when called upon unexpectedly at the FT!
An early christmas present courtesy of @visualisingdata.com - a 3rd edition to get tucked into over a mince pie and sherry - thanks Andy!
December 23, 2024 at 9:42 AM
An early christmas present courtesy of @visualisingdata.com - a 3rd edition to get tucked into over a mince pie and sherry - thanks Andy!
How well do you know the global jobs market? Fun 'draw your own' charts from Will Crofton and Stephanie Stacey. Free-to-read/play link: on.ft.com/3P3wpEY
December 19, 2024 at 9:52 AM
How well do you know the global jobs market? Fun 'draw your own' charts from Will Crofton and Stephanie Stacey. Free-to-read/play link: on.ft.com/3P3wpEY
The last 37 districts where the winning party is not yet certain will determine who controls the US House of Representatives. We're tracking every race live, here (free to read): ig.ft.com/us-elections...
November 7, 2024 at 4:31 PM
The last 37 districts where the winning party is not yet certain will determine who controls the US House of Representatives. We're tracking every race live, here (free to read): ig.ft.com/us-elections...
Phenomenal effort from the FT data team overnight to get this early analysis on the swing to Trump out (gift link) on.ft.com/3Cj7Fp1
November 6, 2024 at 8:29 AM
Phenomenal effort from the FT data team overnight to get this early analysis on the swing to Trump out (gift link) on.ft.com/3Cj7Fp1
Love this cameo appearance from the FT Visual Vocabulary in the artwork for The Chancellor Game: can you run the UK economy? Superb stuff from Sam Joiner, @emmalewis.bsky.social, Caroline Nevitt, Justine Williams and Sam Fleming working with the @resfoundation.bsky.social
ig.ft.com/chancellor-g...
ig.ft.com/chancellor-g...
October 15, 2024 at 7:15 AM
Love this cameo appearance from the FT Visual Vocabulary in the artwork for The Chancellor Game: can you run the UK economy? Superb stuff from Sam Joiner, @emmalewis.bsky.social, Caroline Nevitt, Justine Williams and Sam Fleming working with the @resfoundation.bsky.social
ig.ft.com/chancellor-g...
ig.ft.com/chancellor-g...
Sobering @financialtimes.com Big Read from @peter.andringa.me and Eva Xiao on attempts to throw doubt on US election results. Gift link on.ft.com/3Ynoxne
October 14, 2024 at 7:54 AM
Sobering @financialtimes.com Big Read from @peter.andringa.me and Eva Xiao on attempts to throw doubt on US election results. Gift link on.ft.com/3Ynoxne
Watched the new Apple immersive film ‘Submerged’ on Vision Pro. The hardware needs to evolve - and the platform needs to be more social - but boy does it engage the senses. Felt like I was on a sinking submarine, not watching a film about a sinking submarine.
October 12, 2024 at 8:20 PM
Watched the new Apple immersive film ‘Submerged’ on Vision Pro. The hardware needs to evolve - and the platform needs to be more social - but boy does it engage the senses. Felt like I was on a sinking submarine, not watching a film about a sinking submarine.
4/ … but not lead paint or cigarettes
October 4, 2024 at 12:19 PM
4/ … but not lead paint or cigarettes
3/ … and also .. the ads. People in the 1950s seem to have been constantly worried about their trousers and socks falling down…
October 4, 2024 at 12:17 PM
3/ … and also .. the ads. People in the 1950s seem to have been constantly worried about their trousers and socks falling down…
2/ includes the famous parody of the Phillips machine …
October 4, 2024 at 12:16 PM
2/ includes the famous parody of the Phillips machine …