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Welcome to Kawan—our vibrant community of data heads and storytellers. We’re all about improving data literacy and sharing nuanced stories about Asia. Come hang!
the power of play— issue #64
My childhood was distinctly marked by improvisation. In the days before screens and social media, we played masak-masak and make-believe, using the everyday things around us to bring our imaginary worlds to life. The corridors of our HDB block became a makeshift supermarket aisle, a blanket transformed into a fort,
Bite-sized indulgences
There's something magical about childhood snacks. They're time machines wrapped in crinkly packages, portals to simpler days when 20 cents could buy happiness and sticky fingers were badges of honour, rather than inconveniences to be sanitised away. When I think about my own skittish excitement licking
Are you prepared for the new year? — issue #19
As 2020 rolled out (at last!), I did something I'd never done before—I paid for a tarot card reading. I'd never been one for the supernatural, but I found it a useful way to check in about where things are and how one might look
Faces of Indonesia’s LGBT people — seen through four films
In 2019, Garin Nugroho made waves with Kucumbu Tubuh Indahku, a coming-of-age film that portrays a boy’s exploration of his gender and…
Transitioning from journalism to data storytelling: Telling human-centric stories
Let’s be real — it was tough. During my first few months at Kontinentalist, I can now admit with less shame (since I’ve accepted it’s all…
Droppin' by to say thanks — issue #18
Fellow explorers, The year 2020 is coming to an end, and boy, what an adventure it has been. We started the year barely aware of COVID-19's existence, and now we have vaccines for it. Along the way, we've done our best to provide you with informative
Our favourite projects of 2020
We made it! What better time to reflect and give thanks to the end of this dastardly year than to look back at some of our favourite…
Creating my first data vis story: a process
In which I detail my experience with my first data vis story on spicy food in Asia and hope it helps someone else in a similar place.
A cause for celebration — issue #17
As pictures of Thanksgiving meals filled my social media, I found it hard to believe that we're almost at the year's end. No one would have ever foreseen that the world would spend 2020—a new decade—in chaos, confusion, and with only a glimmer of
How can a data visualisation be racist?
Halloween fell on a rainy Saturday this year, and I was feeling restless and bored. But instead of doomscrolling through Twitter and…
Humans of Kontinentalist: Mick Yang
I’m almost 3 months into my internship. Currently I’m writing a story about spicy food; specifically about chilies in Asia. The main thing…
Real life is scarier than Halloween — issue #16
I want to talk about the monsters lurking under the bed. The bogeyman scares kids all around the world—it stalks the shadows, silent until it gets you for your misbehaviour. Bogeymen are imagined as grotesque, vengeful, and dangerous, but nobody really knows what one looks like. We imagine them,
Humans of Kontinentalist: Zafirah Zein
Today we chat with Zafirah, who in her short time with Konti has produced a slew of awesome stories on sex trafficking, racism against…
Part III: Everything visual about the eighteen levels of hell
A few weeks ago, the Kontinentalist team published our narrative-based game, Hell’s Apprentice, based on the Buddhist-Taoist folklore of…