A Data Visualization Newsletter

As gas prices soar and airfares tick upward, many Americans are worried that a period of significant inflation is right around the corner. But Josh Bivens and Stuart A. Thompson of The New York Times argue not so fast. Yes, inflation has accelerated in recent months, but for now, it’s contained to a narrow group of sectors deeply affected by the pandemic.

How much can the sales of cappuccinos and tuna baguettes tell you about the ongoing economic recovery? A lot, actually. Bloomberg has teamed up with Pret — maker of coffee and baked goods — to track their weekly transaction volume in major financial hubs like New York, London, Paris, and Hong Kong. The data provides an interesting way of gauging whether workers are actually returning to the office.

Since the Taliban took full control of Afghanistan’s capital last Sunday, only one commercial flight has flown into or out of Kabul. But that doesn’t mean the airspace has been shut down completely. Afghan helicopters, military evacuations, and other unidentified operations have been traversing the city’s skies. Reuters uses data from FlightRadar24 to track recent flight activity in Kabul.

LeBron fans rejoice: here’s a data-driven defense of his playoff greatness. Using RAPTOR-WAR — an all-in-one advanced statistic developed by FiveThirtyEight — Russell Goldenberg ranks the biggest “carry jobs” in NBA Finals history. Turns out LeBron owns four of the top six performances across both winning and losing teams, dating back to the 1977 season.