# olson (blogs) — RSS Amplifier Recent posts from the 1 feeds in the RSS Amplifier directory that cover olson. Page: Feed: --- ## [The people who use AI the most are also the most worried about it](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/06/25/ai-heaviest-users-most-worried/) _2026-06-25 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ Pew's 2026 data shows the youngest U.S. adults use AI chatbots the most, yet they are also the most likely to expect AI to harm society. ## [In AI-exposed jobs, only the youngest workers are losing ground](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/06/22/ai-jobs-hit-youngest-workers/) _2026-06-22 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ Since ChatGPT, employment for U.S. workers aged 22 to 25 in the most AI-exposed jobs has fallen about 12%, while every older age group held steady or grew. ## [The Strait of Hormuz is Asia's oil lifeline, not the U.S.'s](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/06/21/strait-of-hormuz-oil-dependence/) _2026-06-21 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ As the 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis stoked U.S. oil fears, only about 7% of U.S. crude imports actually pass through it. Asia relies on it far more. ## [The world's richest person has never been this far ahead of No. 2](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/06/18/worlds-first-trillionaire-gap/) _2026-06-18 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ Elon Musk became the world's first trillionaire on June 12, 2026. His fortune is now about 3.7x the second-richest person, the widest gap on record. ## [The 2026 NBA Finals drew the biggest TV audience since 1998](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/06/17/nba-finals-viewership-2026/) _2026-06-17 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ The 2026 Knicks-Spurs Finals averaged 20.6 million viewers, double last year and the most since 1998, reversing a long slide in NBA TV ratings. ## [GLP-1 use peaks in middle age, then drops at 65](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/06/15/glp1-use-peaks-middle-age/) _2026-06-15 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ About 1 in 8 U.S. adults now take a GLP-1 like Ozempic, but use peaks in middle age: 22% at ages 50-64, falling to 9% at 65+ as Medicare stops covering it. ## [U.S. abortions rose after Dobbs, driven by mailed pills](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/06/12/us-abortions-rose-after-dobbs/) _2026-06-12 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ Dobbs was supposed to cut U.S. abortions. It did not. The national total rose after 2022, and the whole increase is telehealth: abortion pills by mail. ## [ICE detention hit a record, and most detainees have no conviction](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/06/12/ice-detention-no-criminal-conviction/) _2026-06-12 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ U.S. immigration detention hit a record 70,000+ people in early 2026, and TRAC data shows about 7 in 10 detainees have no criminal conviction. ## [Curaçao is the smallest nation ever at a World Cup](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/06/10/world-cup-2026-population-gap/) _2026-06-10 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ The 48 nations at the 2026 World Cup span a 2,181x gap in population, from the United States (340M) to Curaçao (156,000), the smallest ever to qualify. ## [The rise in LGBTQ+ identification is mostly young women](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/06/09/lgbtq-identification-by-generation/) _2026-06-09 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ Nearly 1 in 3 Gen Z women in the U.S. identifies as LGBTQ+, versus 12% of Gen Z men. Gallup data shows the generational surge is mostly about women. ## [One OS for your AI workforce (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/RGtpAgBiLkxA) _2026-06-09 · **Sponsored**_ Build, direct, and supervise an AI workforce from a single operating workspace. ## [Honey bees are dying at record rates, but the colony count holds steady](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/06/07/us-honey-bee-colony-paradox/) _2026-06-07 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ U.S. beekeepers lost a record 55.6% of their colonies in 2024-25, yet the total number of managed honey bee colonies has barely moved in 15 years. ## [CO2 is piling up faster every decade, and 2026 just set a record](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/06/05/co2-rising-faster-every-decade/) _2026-06-05 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ Atmospheric CO2 hit a record 432 ppm in May 2026, but the deeper story is the pace: CO2 is now piling up about 3 times faster than it did in the 1960s. ## [New U.S. college grads now have higher unemployment than the average worker](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/06/04/recent-grad-unemployment-flip/) _2026-06-04 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ A recent U.S. college degree long meant lower unemployment than the average worker. That edge flipped in 2019, and the gap is now the widest on record. ## [Gas prices feel like a record in 2026. Adjusted for inflation, they are not](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/06/03/us-gas-prices-inflation-adjusted-1973-2026/) _2026-06-03 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ U.S. gas prices jumped nearly 60% since January in the 2026 oil crisis, but adjusted for inflation they sit below the 1981, 2008, and 2022 peaks. ## [The countries that work the most hours produce the least per hour](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/06/02/oecd-hours-worked-vs-productivity/) _2026-06-02 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ Across 40 OECD economies, the countries that log the most annual hours have the lowest output per hour. Why working longer rarely means producing more. ## [U.S. World War II veterans are fading from living memory](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/06/01/wwii-veterans-fading/) _2026-06-01 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ Of the 16.4 million who served in World War II, the VA projects about 31,000 U.S. veterans are still alive in 2026, nearing zero by the early 2040s. ## [How chess openings rose and fell, 1850 to 2026](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/05/28/chess-openings-over-time/) _2026-05-28 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ A streamgraph of 1.2 million master-level games shows the King's Pawn losing ground, the Queen's Pawn rising, and the Sicilian taking over after 1945. ## [The Misery Index Stopped Predicting the National Mood](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/05/27/consumer-sentiment-vs-misery-index/) _2026-05-27 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ By the misery index the U.S. economy is unremarkable, yet consumer sentiment is at an all-time low. That breaks a 40-year link no single number explains. ## [The 2026 Indy 500 was the closest finish in race history](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/05/26/indy-500-closest-finish-2026/) _2026-05-26 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ Felix Rosenqvist beat David Malukas by 0.0233 seconds at the 2026 Indianapolis 500, breaking the 1992 closest-finish record that had stood for 34 years. ## [NOAA's hurricane outlook misses one way: it underforecasts big seasons](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/05/19/noaa-hurricane-outlook-vs-reality/) _2026-05-19 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ From 2003 to 2025 the Atlantic named-storm total fell outside NOAA's May range 9 times, 8 of them underforecasts. NOAA's 2026 outlook lands May 21. ## [Licensed Dispensaries, Pay with Crypto (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/0eG6F8q4TwE3) _2026-05-19 · **Sponsored**_ Search verified licensed dispensaries and pay with Bitcoin, Lightning, or stablecoins. ## [Inflation worry flipped party lines while inflation itself barely moved](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/05/14/inflation-worry-flipped-parties/) _2026-05-14 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ Pew Research finds Republicans and Democrats traded places on inflation worry from 2024 to 2026, even though CPI rose less than a percentage point. ## [U.S. measles cases broke the post-elimination floor in 2025 and 2026](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/05/13/us-measles-elimination-status-at-risk/) _2026-05-13 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ The U.S. reported 2,288 measles cases in 2025 and 1,842 by May 7, 2026, 23x the typical post-elimination year. WHO reviews elimination status in November. ## [1 in 5 U.S. registered nurses are now 65 or older](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/05/12/us-rn-workforce-aging/) _2026-05-12 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ The U.S. registered nurse workforce has split into two extremes: 1 in 5 RNs are now 65 or older, and the under-30 share fell to a 10-year low. ## [U.S. federal workforce hits 60-year low after fastest peacetime cut](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/05/09/us-federal-workforce-fastest-peacetime-cut/) _2026-05-09 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ Year over year, U.S. federal civilian employment is shrinking faster than at any point since 1939 outside wars and the decennial Census. ## [World Happiness Report 2026: what income can't explain](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/05/07/whr-2026-happiness-beyond-income/) _2026-05-07 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ In the 2026 World Happiness Report, all but one Latin American country scores above what income predicts. East Asia shows the opposite pattern. ## [Mexico ships 83% of every fresh avocado the U.S. imports](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/05/05/us-avocado-imports-mexico-cinco-de-mayo/) _2026-05-05 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ In 2025, the U.S. imported 2.7 billion pounds of fresh avocados. Mexico supplied 83%. Peru, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic split the rest. ## [No horse has broken Secretariat's 1973 Kentucky Derby record](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/05/04/kentucky-derby-winning-times-secretariat/) _2026-05-04 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ Winning times at the Kentucky Derby improved steadily from 1896 through 1973, then hit a wall. Secretariat's 1:59.40 remains the only sub-2:00 Derby ever run. ## [U.S. women 40+ now have more babies per capita than teens](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/05/01/us-births-teens-vs-40plus/) _2026-05-01 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ Teen pregnancy was a defining U.S. public health worry of the 1990s. Having a baby at 40 was rare. 30 years later those positions have flipped. ## [U.S. drug overdose deaths are down 35% from the 2022 peak](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/04/29/us-drug-overdose-deaths-1999-2025/) _2026-04-29 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ U.S. drug overdose deaths peaked at 107,941 in 2022, then fell two years in a row to a provisional 70,000 in 2025: a 35% drop from the peak. ## [U.S. birth rate fell to a record low in 2025](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/04/28/us-birth-rate-record-low-2025/) _2026-04-28 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ The CDC reported in April 2026 that the U.S. general fertility rate fell to 53.1 in 2025, a record low in data going back to 1909. ## [Collect Open Source Legends (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/bRqzBIoAwsZ1) _2026-04-28 · **Sponsored**_ Open-licensed art, limited foil trading packs, and optional on-chain mints. ## [Artemis II ended humanity's 54-year confinement to low Earth orbit](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/04/27/human-spaceflight-distance-1961-2026/) _2026-04-27 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ After Apollo 17 in 1972, every crewed mission stayed inside low Earth orbit. Artemis II broke that streak in April 2026 on a lunar flyby of 406,771 km. ## [Sabastian Sawe ran the first sub-2-hour marathon: 118 years of marathon records](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/04/26/mens-marathon-world-record-1908-2026/) _2026-04-26 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ On April 26, 2026, Kenya's Sabastian Sawe ran 1:59:30 at London to become the first man to break two hours in a record-eligible marathon. ## [Every Atlantic hurricane track, 1980 to 2025](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/04/23/atlantic-hurricane-tracks-1980-2025/) _2026-04-23 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ Every Atlantic tropical cyclone from 1980 to 2025 on one map. The shape of the basin and the deadliest storms of 46 seasons emerge from the density. ## [U.S. oil: from peak importer to net exporter in one decade](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/04/23/us-oil-importer-to-net-exporter-1973-2025/) _2026-04-23 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ The U.S. imported a record 13.7 MMb/d of oil in 2005. By 2025 it exports 2.8 MMb/d more than it imports. Here is what actually changed. ## [A thousand springs in Kyoto, in one chart](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/04/23/kyoto-sakura-1200-years/) _2026-04-23 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ Kyoto's 1,200-year cherry blossom record shows modern decades hold the earliest cluster of blooms ever seen. A warming signal written in flowers. ## [130 years of Boston Marathon winning times](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/04/23/boston-marathon-winning-times-1897-2026/) _2026-04-23 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ John Korir broke a 15-year-old Boston Marathon course record in 2026. The full 1897-2026 arc shows why, and what the women's line has been doing. ## [Libraries were transforming. Then COVID hit.](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/04/22/us-public-library-transformation/) _2026-04-22 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ Two decades of IMLS data show U.S. libraries were successfully pivoting from book warehouses to community hubs. Then the pandemic set the transformation back years. ## [The Claude Code leak in four charts: half a million lines, three accidents, forty tools](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/04/02/claude-code-leak-four-charts/) _2026-04-02 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ Community mirrors of the @anthropic-ai/claude-code npm package spilled 513k lines of TypeScript. Four charts break down what was inside. ## [Every generation rediscovers art: 270 years of cultural interests in one chart](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/03/30/rise-and-fall-of-art-forms/) _2026-03-30 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ Engraving dominated the 1800s until photography killed it. 270 years of book data show how every generation picks its own art forms. ## [The rise and fall of bowling in the United States](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/03/30/the-rise-and-fall-of-bowling-in-the-united-states/) _2026-03-30 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ The U.S. had roughly 12,000 bowling alleys at the peak of the bowling boom in the mid-1960s. By 2023, only 3,154 remained. ## [The rise and fall of nuclear weapons testing](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/03/27/the-rise-and-fall-of-nuclear-weapons-testing/) _2026-03-27 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ Between 1945 and 1998, seven countries detonated over 2,000 nuclear weapons across just a handful of remote test sites. This chart maps every one of them. ## [Housing and getting around eat half of the average American household's spending](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/03/26/household-spending-2024/) _2026-03-27 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ A treemap of BLS data shows where the average American household spent its $78,535 in 2024. Housing and transportation alone account for half. ## [96% of U.S. counties grew more diverse from 2010 to 2020](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/03/26/us-racial-diversity-change-2010-2020/) _2026-03-27 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ A county-level map of how racial diversity changed across America between the 2010 and 2020 Census. The Northeast and Midwest diversified fastest. ## [The engineering and tech gender gap has barely budged in 50 years](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/03/26/bachelors-degrees-women-by-major-1970-2022/) _2026-03-27 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ Computer Science and Engineering remain below 25% women after 50 years. How the gender composition of U.S. college majors changed from 1970-2022. ## [Americans eat 3x more cheese and half as much milk as they did in 1970](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/03/26/how-americas-diet-has-transformed-since-1970/) _2026-03-27 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ USDA data reveals how the American diet has transformed since 1970. Cheese consumption tripled, chicken surpassed beef, and fluid milk was cut in half. ## [Where racial diversity lives in America, county by county](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/03/26/us-racial-diversity-by-county/) _2026-03-27 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ A county-level map of racial and ethnic diversity in the U.S., built from 2020 Census data. The national diversity index crossed 61% for the first time. ## [Americans used to outlive their peers. Now they die 4 years sooner.](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/03/26/us-life-expectancy-vs-peer-nations-1960-2023/) _2026-03-26 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ In 1960, Americans lived 1.5 years longer than peers in wealthy nations. By 2023, they die 4 years sooner. World Bank data shows how the U.S. fell behind. ## [Working your way through college now takes 5x more hours than in 1970](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/03/26/working-your-way-through-college-1963-2024/) _2026-03-26 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ In 1970, a student could work 5 hours per week at minimum wage to cover public university tuition. By 2022, that number hit 26. ## [Coal collapsed and natural gas took over the U.S. power grid](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/03/26/us-electricity-generation-by-source-1950-2024/) _2026-03-26 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ Coal went from generating half of U.S. electricity to just 15% in two decades. 75 years of EIA data show how fast the American power grid is changing. ## [156 years of marriage and divorce in the United States](https://www.randalolson.com/2026/03/26/us-marriage-and-divorce-rates-1867-2023/) _2026-03-26 · Dr. Randal S. Olson_ U.S. marriage rates have fallen 42% since the 1980s. A chart of 156 years of CDC marriage and divorce data, through the COVID-era record low.