Walt Hickey is a data journalist who launched a newsletter for numeric nerds several months ago. He’s worked for Business Insider, FiveThirtyEight, and, currently, Insider (a sister company to BI), often writing about the intersection of culture and data: How we can understand movies, books, and social trends better through a filter of numbers, or how numbers help us understand the world around us better.

Numlock News is an outgrowth of something he did at FiveThirtyEight, giving him a leg up—with that publication’s support—in creating a freemium newsletter with bite-sized nuggets delivered daily to everyone, while paid subscribers get a weekly extra. We talk about his approach and the tools he uses.

Sponsors

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This episode is also brought to you in part by Disruptor-level patrons Philip Borenstein, Rob McNair-Huff, Bryan Clark, Ready Chi, and Patrick Weyer. You can become a patron of the show on a one-time or recurring basis, and get rewards like an exclusive enamel pin and being thanked in this fashion!

Show notes

• Walt’s stories at Business Insider, FiveThirtyEight, and Insider


• Numlock News


• Open Secrets


• Sabermetrics


• Money Ball


• My story on gendered rejection of technology for The Ringer


• Walt’s Best Stuff page


• How much cod does Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson eat?


• Ben Thompson’s Stratechery


• Jessica Lessin’s The Information


• Substack, the company Hickey uses for his newsletter and collecting subscription fees