| CARVIEW |
The Data Culture Group builds collaborative projects to interrogate our datafied society with a focus on rethinking participation and power in data processes. Our work generally fall into the categories of applied computational journalism or creative data representation. Led by Professor Rahul Bhargava, we are a part of the College of Arts, Media and Design at Northeastern University.
Recent Blog Posts
We think out loud, sharing our process and research via blog posts. Consider our blog as our open notebook, full of sketches and under-construction ideas.
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Data Journalism in Dark Times: notes from the C+J keynotes by Rahul Bhargava on December 14, 2025I just returned from the Computation + Journalism Symposium in Miami, and I’m still processing the weight of what I heard. The four keynotes this year painted a sobering picture of data journalism operating under pressure—from authoritarian governments, algorithmic complexity, and infor...
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Notes from MISI Summit on Building Trust in Climate and Science Journalism by Rahul Bhargava on November 10, 2025I attended the inaugural Boston University Center for Media Innovation & Social Impact (MISI) Summit recently, where a diverse group of leaders came together to discuss the theme of “Communicating Climate.” Hosted by the Center’s Directory Eric Gordon, the event included sessions on...
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Notes from csv,conf,v9: Community-Centered Data Stories by Rahul Bhargava on September 29, 2025The University of Bologna graciously hosted csv,conf,v9 in Palazzo Malvezzi. Accordion music drifted in through the windows while we gathered, echoing the mix of technical innovation and creative application that folks shared. Speakers from around the world shared how they’re using data...
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Protest Mapper: a new tool for journalists covering protests by Rahul Bhargava on May 8, 2025As protests against the Trump administration spread, journalists are covering local rallies — but putting them in context of larger movements can be a challenge. To help, I built a simple tool that lets you search for recent protests near you and create an embeddable map you can use in ...
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AI for Good: Five Key Principles for the Pro-Social Sector by Rahul Bhargava on February 26, 2025Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping industries across the board, but its impact in the pro-social sector is worth digging into more to understand emerging norms and challenges. Our typical examples stem from years of work on “civic tech”, “public interest tech”, “data science for ...
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Nebraska Data Art Jam: Beyond Visualization by Rahul Bhargava on January 14, 2025I’m just back from delivering the keynote talk at the Data Storytelling Workshop and Data Art Jam, which brought together a fascinating mix of creative thinkers, from scientists to journalists to artists. Hosted by Dan Novy at the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts, this inter...
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Journalism papers at IEEE Vis 2024: selected highlights by Rahul Bhargava on January 3, 2025IEEE Vis is the premiere global academic computation-focused visualization conference. Each year about a thousand people attend, presenting around 100 papers. Some of those touch on data visualization and storytelling in journalism settings, bringing deep technical thinking and research...
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Talk Summary: Dr. Vishwanath on Science Communication & Misinformation by Rahul Bhargava on December 18, 2024Notes from a talk By Vish Vishwanath (Harvard School of Public Health; Dana-Farber Cancer Institute), hosted by David Lazar and the Internet Democracy Initiative, December 18, 2024.
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Reflections on 'UN Human Security in the AI Era' Event by Rahul Bhargava on December 1, 2024I was honored to attend and speak at a recent UN event about how AI might be reshaping the contours of human security: Human Security at 30: New Security and Development Horizons in the Artificial Intelligence Age (hosted by the UN Human Development Report Office). It was fascinating to...
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Sculpting Data with Clay – A New Take on Data Physicalization by Rahul Bhargava on November 19, 2024I’m a big fan of sculptural forms of data, particularly because I think they offer novel opportunities to think harder about the material as an interface to, and representation of, the data. Two projects have popped onto my radar while researching for my forthcoming Community Data book,...
