"A deeply human window into our shared curiosity... the most honest portrait of humanity you'll ever read."
Blown away by this incredible endorsement of What We Ask Google from the brilliant futurist Amy Webb. We are far more curious, helpful, and connected than we think! 🔍📈👇
whatweaskgoogle.blog
🚨Are you at #NICAR26 today? Don't miss the Data Journalism Podcast live recording at 5pm with @propublica.org plus @kleinmatic.bsky.social, @albertocairo.com and me!
schedules.ire.org/nicar-2026/#...
⏰ Clocks change soon ⏰. "When do we turn the clocks back?" is the #1 "When..." question about time. "Why am I so tired?" also spikes every March. 😴 Search data is the world's clock.
Find out more and pre-order WHAT WE ASK GOOGLE: whatweaskgoogle.blog
Win an advance copy of my new book What We Ask Google via this Goodreads giveaway! 📚👇
I’ve spent a decade as Google’s Data Editor tracking what the world types into the search bar. The verdict? We aren't as divided as you think.
www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...
Have you had to search "How to boil an egg" recently? 🥚 You're not alone—it's a top food search worldwide! We all need help with the basics. Want to know what else the world is searching for? Win a copy of What We Ask Google in this Goodreads giveaway:
www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...
Our bodies are mysteries to us, and we often don’t know where to start when something feels off. You might be surprised to learn that the #1 "What causes..." search around health isn't a disease at all—it's "hiccups"! 😲
Pre-order WHAT WE ASK GOOGLE here: whatweaskgoogle.blog
And another big thank you to @simonrogers.bsky.social and @albertocairo.com for their unwavering support and enthusiasm and making it possible for Google Trends to sponsor this piece 🙏
I'm a sucker for a pretty style guide. mtc.ca.gov/sites/defaul...
Bay Area friends! 🌉 I’m thrilled to be at Book Passage in San Francisco on May 6th to discuss my new book, WHAT WE ASK GOOGLE, with the incredible Clara Jeffery. 📍 Save the date!
A special FT magazine issue all about maps is out today, w great pieces by @okr.bsky.social and @theboysmithy.ft.com, plus maps by me on how glacial melt is redrawing Alpine borders, the battle to redraw America and more
Read it online here (though best enjoyed in print!) www.ft.com/content/efab...
📣 NEW! I’ve just released the BIGGEST and perhaps most creative project I’ve ever worked on!
“Searching for Birds” searchingforbirds.visualcinnamon.com 🐤
A project, an article, an exploration that dives into the data that connects humans with birds, by looking at how we search for birds.
Data + Birds = Beauty
Birdwatching is getting really popular: 96 million people in the US are birders and that produces a lot of Search data. And that means there is a lot of potential for beautiful data visuals (a great example is Jer Thorp's work in the field). So, when Nadieh Bremer told…
So, I have this book coming out in May: WHAT WE ASK GOOGLE. It's a real family portrait of who we are after two decades and counting of search data. It's about what we can see through this most honest of datasets.
Find out more and pre-order it here: whatweaskgoogle.blog
We love our pets so much we get metaphysical. "Does my dog know... that I love them?" is a top search. We also ask "Does my dog know I'm pregnant?" (Spoiler: They probably do). 🐶
Pre-order WHAT WE ASK GOOGLE here: whatweaskgoogle.blog
New podcast alert: Data journalism in the face of ICE and subzero temperatures in MN
MaryJo Webster is data editor at the Minnesota Star Tribune. She joins Alberto, Scott and Simon to talk about her team’s ongoing coverage of federal immigration troops deployed in Minnesota. They discuss…
Only a few months until publication! See sample pages from the upcoming book What We Ask Google, with illustrations by Nigel Holmes
Did you know "How to help a bee" spikes in the UK every June? 🐝 It might be the most British search ever. It’s proof that we are constantly trying to be better, kinder citizens of the planet. #WhatWeAskGoogle
whatweaskgoogle.blog
Happy New Year! 🎆 Search data proves we are creatures of rhythm. "Diet" and "Gym" spike every January. But so does "divorce lawyers." We want to reinvent ourselves. My new book What We Ask Google tracks these rhythms of our lives. Pre-order: whatweaskgoogle.blog
New podcast episode: Data storytelling in 2026
As a new year begins, we reflect on the state of data journalism. We discuss our dataviz favorites from 2025 and what Alberto, Scott and I are working on in 2026. What will happen in data visualisation and journalism this year?
Want to know what the world cares about? We just released our annual #YearinSearch. And thanks to AI in @Google search, the way we ask questions is changing. (And yes, that includes “What’s the deal with 6-7?”).
Explore the lists and video → trends.withgoogle.com/year-in-sear...
New podcast episode: "Launching the Trans News Initiative" goes inside a new way to see media reports as an interactive #dataviz
creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/...
NEW PODCAST EPISODE: We go inside the award-winning data journalism operation at The Straits Times
Not since Ross Perot’s famous TV presentations using cardboard charts have politicians used charts so much. This week, Philip Bump joins Scott and Simon to talk about it, and how AI will impact data journalism
Probably the most fun project our team gets to work on each year! It's Frightgeist time, an exploration fo the top trending Halloween costumes in 2025. Pro tip: have the volume turned up!
frightgeist.withgoogle.com
How data storytelling has changed
New podcast: what is data journalism today? Data analysis is at an inflection point, with new technologies entering the field, and increasingly more practitioners working outside of journalism. This episode, Alberto Scott and myself reflect on how we got into data…
Our desire to be serious and be taken seriously sometimes gets in the way of something even more important. Scarry understood the power of using fun to explain things that are complicated. This is how we can learn from that today.
simonrogers.net/2025/09/01/h...
COMING SOON: my new book about how we search and what that says about us. It is about why I feel optimistic about who we are. Insights from the world’s biggest dataset: an epic snapshot, two decades long and counting, of our collective brain.
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/798252...
Check out our latest interactive: find out which WNBA team you search like.
Props to Annanya Raghavan and the Polygraph team caitlyn ralph and Matt Daniels
goo.gle/wnbasearchfanquiz
