Data Vis Dispatch, February 17: Winter Olympics, Carnival, and searching for birds

Welcome back to the 232nd edition of Data Vis Dispatch! Every week, we’ll be publishing a collection of the best small and large data visualizations we find, especially from news organizations — to celebrate data journalism, data visualization, simple charts, elaborate maps, and their creators.

Recurring topics this week include the Winter Olympics, Carnival parades, and popular bird searches.

With the Winter Olympics still in full swing, U.S. citizens are asking themselves how accessible winter sports facilities actually are, and we continue to keep an eye on the total medal count.

The Washington Post: <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/interactive/2026/winter-olympic-sports-city-access/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNzcwNjEzMjAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzcxOTk1NTk5LCJpYXQiOjE3NzA2MTMyMDAsImp0aSI6IjE2NGVjODkyLTQzYjktNDYwMC04NzQ5LTgwYjhlOTg3MDVjMyIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9zcG9ydHMvb2x5bXBpY3MvaW50ZXJhY3RpdmUvMjAyNi93aW50ZXItb2x5bXBpYy1zcG9ydHMtY2l0eS1hY2Nlc3MvIn0.BmkvgBRRthY-DF6xzjMYvb0hlS02qnChUiJJrSSFvWY&itid=gfta"><strong>Explore where Winter Olympic sports are most accessible across the U.S</strong></a>, February 10 — The Washington Post: **Explore where Winter Olympic sports are most accessible across the U.S**, February 10

The New York Times: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/02/09/upshot/olympics-medal-table-milan-cortina.html"><strong>Milan-Cortina Olympics: Who Leads the Medal Count?</strong></a>, February 16 — The New York Times: **Milan-Cortina Olympics: Who Leads the Medal Count?**, February 16

The Olympic Games are a golden opportunity to sneak in a few more infographic pieces. We're including these to show the immense creative effort and novel ideas that go into recreating and annotating winning halfpipe runs, high-flying figure skating jumps, or the long, traditional process of making curling stones from an ancient Scottish rock.

The New York Times: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/02/10/sports/ilia-malinin-ice-skating-jumps-olympics.html"><strong>Ilia Malinin’s Jumps Put Him on Top After the Short Program</strong></a>, February 10 — The New York Times: **Ilia Malinin’s Jumps Put Him on Top After the Short Program**, February 10

Der Spiegel: <a href="https://www.spiegel.de/sport/olympia/dual-moguls-bei-olympia-so-spektakulaer-ist-die-neue-disziplin-a-5e6ac50f-8bbe-484a-9101-ffa4066277b9?giftToken=a412cbd0-9f27-4b20-9c21-54ac1fd28dd6"><strong>So funktioniert »Dual Moguls«, die wohl spektakulärste Olympiadisziplin</strong></a><strong> </strong>[<em>Chart title: This is how “dual moguls,” arguably the most spectacular Olympic discipline, works</em>], February 10 — Der Spiegel: **So funktioniert »Dual Moguls«, die wohl spektakulärste Olympiadisziplin** [*Chart title: This is how “dual moguls,” arguably the most spectacular Olympic discipline, works*], February 10

The New York Times: See How Gaon Choi Dethroned Chloe Kim in Women’s Halfpipe, February 12

Reuters: <a href="https://www.reuters.com/graphics/OLYMPICS-2026-CURLING/akvejbddlpr/"><strong>From island to ice</strong></a>, February 12 — Reuters: **From island to ice**, February 12

While many of us are enjoying the Winter Olympics, others seem to prefer the thrill of scratch cards, despite their low chance of winning.

Le Monde: <a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/les-decodeurs/visuel/2026/02/13/vendredi-13-pourquoi-nous-sommes-toujours-perdants-aux-jeux-d-argent-et-de-hasard_6207879_4355771.html"><strong>Jeux d'argent etde hasard,ticketsà gratter. Pourquoi nous sommes toujours perdants</strong></a> [<em>Chart title: Number of winning [scratch game] tickets, per million tickets, depending on the game and the prize</em>], February 13 — Le Monde: **Jeux d'argent etde hasard,ticketsà gratter. Pourquoi nous sommes toujours perdants** [*Chart title: Number of winning [scratch game] tickets, per million tickets, depending on the game and the prize*], February 13

Visualizations portraying the effects of U.S. policy around the world demonstrate a variety of map annotations and projections.

The Guardian: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2026/feb/13/these-charts-show-how-trump-is-isolating-the-us-on-the-world-stage"><strong>These charts show how Trump is isolating the US on the world stage</strong></a>, February 13 — The Guardian: **These charts show how Trump is isolating the US on the world stage**, February 13

Bloomberg: <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2026-cuba-oil-supply-power-grid-blackout/"><strong>Cuba Is Struggling to Keep Lights On Amid Trump’s Oil Blockade</strong></a>, February 13 — Bloomberg: **Cuba Is Struggling to Keep Lights On Amid Trump’s Oil Blockade**, February 13

The New York Times: How Trump Sees the World: It's Personal, February 11

Now, the not-so-happy topics of the week: from the shocking content of the Epstein files, to environmental defenders being murdered, and asylum centers in Greece.

The Economist: <a href="https://www.economist.com/interactive/international/2026/02/12/inside-epsteins-network"><strong>Inside Epstein’s network</strong></a>, February 12 — The Economist: **Inside Epstein’s network**, February 12

Valerie Beccari: "Over the past six months — working on and off — I developed this data visualization based on the 2023 dataset on murdered land and environmental defenders. The original data from Global Witness provided the names, dates, and countries and some of the main findings on activism field and perpetrators... but I wanted take it a step further [...]," February 13 (<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/valeriabeccari_over-the-past-six-months-working-on-and-ugcPost-7427780777158991872-50zO/"><strong>LinkedIn</strong></a>) — Valerie Beccari: "Over the past six months — working on and off — I developed this data visualization based on the 2023 dataset on murdered land and environmental defenders. The original data from Global Witness provided the names, dates, and countries and some of the main findings on activism field and perpetrators... but I wanted take it a step further [...]," February 13 (**LinkedIn**)

Neue Zürcher Zeitung: <a href="https://www.nzz.ch/visuals/fluechtlingslager-in-griechenland-einblick-in-das-lager-auf-samos-ld.1916539"><strong>Die Schweiz und die EU finanzieren in Griechenland gefängnisartige Asylzentren. Was passiert im Innern?</strong></a> <em>[Switzerland and the EU are funding prison-like asylum centers in Greece. What happens inside?]</em>, February 17 — Neue Zürcher Zeitung: **Die Schweiz und die EU finanzieren in Griechenland gefängnisartige Asylzentren. Was passiert im Innern?** *[Switzerland and the EU are funding prison-like asylum centers in Greece. What happens inside?]*, February 17

As we have all experienced, our climate is heating up, and it's happening faster than we thought. It can even have an impact on the location of borders. Additionally, human activities — often measured in GDP — are also key drivers of air pollution.

The Washington Post: Scientists thought they understood global warming. Then the past three years happened, February 11

Financial Times: <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/957f6d87-acba-41d5-b0a7-312998dedf94"><strong>5 maps that will change the way you see the world,</strong></a> February 14 — Financial Times: **5 maps that will change the way you see the world,** February 14

The Update: <a href="https://www.update.news/p/why-are-so-many-english-speakers"><strong>The relationship between GDP and urban air pollutio</strong></a><a href="https://www.update.news/p/why-are-so-many-english-speakers%5C"><strong>n</strong></a><strong>, </strong>February 12 — The Update: **The relationship between GDP and urban air pollutio**n, February 12

We end this week's Data Vis Dispatch with topics that we believe shouldn't go unnoticed: transportation, tech, bird species, and Carnival parades in Europe.

El Mundo: <a href="https://www.elmundo.es/motor/2026/02/13/698f59fae4d4d8366a8b45bb.html"><strong>El grave deterioro de las carreteras en España: llueve (y mucho) sobre mojado</strong></a><strong> </strong>[<em>Chart title:</em> <em>Payment for toll-free highways</em>], February 13 — El Mundo: **El grave deterioro de las carreteras en España: llueve (y mucho) sobre mojado** [*Chart title:* *Payment for toll-free highways*], February 13

The Update: <a href="https://www.update.news/p/london-housebuilding-lowest-in-the?open=false#%C2%A7the-comeback-of-san-francisco"><strong>The comeback of San Francisco</strong></a><strong>,</strong> February 16 — The Update: **The comeback of San Francisco**, February 16

Nadieh Bremer: <a href="https://searchingforbirds.visualcinnamon.com/"><strong>Searching for Birds</strong></a>, February 12 — Nadieh Bremer: **Searching for Birds**, February 12

The European Correspondent: <a href="https://europeancorrespondent.com/en/r/europe-is-in-carnival-mode"><strong>Europe is in Carnival mode</strong></a>, February 13 — The European Correspondent: **Europe is in Carnival mode**, February 13

What else we found interesting

The New York Times: From a Whiff of Mystique to Witty Love: Over 200 Years of Valentine’s Cards, February 13

revisuallabs: "Last November, we partnered with the Joint Data Center on Forced Displacement and UNHCR to tell the story of forced displacement across 4 East African countries. Swipe through to see how we took this project from concept to completion, then head to the link in our bio to explore the full story!" February 11 (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DUnhCZlgeHj/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&img_index=6"><strong>Instagram</strong></a>) — revisuallabs: "Last November, we partnered with the Joint Data Center on Forced Displacement and UNHCR to tell the story of forced displacement across 4 East African countries. Swipe through to see how we took this project from concept to completion, then head to the link in our bio to explore the full story!" February 11 (**Instagram**)

Applications are open for…

A visual storyteller at Verité Research
A visuals editor at ProPublica
A graphics multimedia editor in elections and polling at The New York Times
A working student in data journalism at Der Spiegel

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Data Vis Dispatch, February 17: Winter Olympics, Carnival, and searching for birds

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