Dec. 23, 2022, 9:18 p.m.

The mathematical oddity that enables the super rich, and more

Projects from The Pudding about economic mobility, emotional awareness, and why the rich get richer.

The Pudding

The Pudding is a journal for visual essays. You may have stumbled upon some of our projects, such as Women’s Pockets are Inferior, How Bad is Your Spotify or Apple Music?, or A People Map of the US.

In this issue, we explore the hidden forces that shape our lives, including the neighborhoods we grow up in, our emotional undercurrents, and the strange math that underlies wealth inequality.


On Upward Mobility

How do the neighborhoods that we grow up in shape who we are? Inspired by research from The Opportunity Atlas, author Aaron Williams tells a data story about economic mobility, family, and coming home.

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A Journey of Emotional Awareness

Like a lot of us, Abby VanMuijen didn’t used to pay much attention to their feelings—until they got to be too much. Abby shares what they’ve learned since then, taking us on an illustrated, interactive journey through our own emotions.

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Why The Super Rich Are Inevitable

Why do the rich get richer? Alvin Chang’s piece uses simulations and interactivity to guide us through one answer from the field of econophysics.

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Watercooler moments at The Pudding

Here are some stories and projects that our team can’t stop talking about. Join the chat in realtime on our patron-only Slack channel #stuff-we-love:

  • Most popular people names for dogs — The Washington Post

  • atlas of blobs — Zach Lieberman. Commissioned from M+ museum

  • How migration has shape The World Cup — Vox

  • How one billionaire dominates every aspect of life in India — Rest of World

Thanks for taking in our latest issue, and for continuing to subscribe. ❤️❤️❤️

P.S. questions? comments? email us at sup@pudding.cool
P.P.S. have a cool essay idea that you want to make? Check out our pitch guidelines.
P.P.P.S. Want to hire our team to produce data-led, visual stories? Check out our sister studio, Polygraph.

You just read issue #5 of The Pudding. You can also browse the full archives of this newsletter.