Issue 2026-W40 Highlights

What happens when that online data set isn't so easy to download anymore? We learn of two packages to ease the pain of obtaining these files and then some. Plus a visit to the visualization corner with a handy way to send interactive charts without requiring a server-side process, plus the key questions and principles to create amazing plots. Episode Links This week's curator: Jonathan Kitt - @jonathankitt.bsky.social (Bluesky)Introducing safeconduct and r2parquetHow to make interactive charts you can emailOn message and on brand: conversation-starting dataviz with R and ggplot2Entire issue available at rweekly.org/2026-W45Supplement ResourcesBrad Lindblad family fundraiser https://give.lendahandup.org/fundraisers/brad-h-lindbladSupporting the show Use the contact page at https://serve.podhome.fm/custompage/r-weekly-highlights/contact to send us your feedbackR-Weekly Highlights on the Podcastindex.org - You can send a boost into the show directly in the Podcast Index. First, top-up with Alby, and then head over to the R-Weekly Highlights podcast entry on the index.A new way to think about value: https://value4value.infoGet in touch with us on social mediaEric Nantz: @[email protected] (Mastodon), @rpodcast.bsky.social (BlueSky) and @theRcast (X/Twitter)Mike Thomas: @[email protected] (Mastodon), @mike-thomas.bsky.social (BlueSky), and @mike_ketchbrook (X/Twitter) Music credits powered by OCRemix The Art of Zoning Out - Pokemon Scarlet - timaeus222 - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR04570The Unnamed Frontier - Metroid II: Return of Samus - Pyro Paper Planes, Viking Guitar - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02892

The celebration of rOpenSci's 15-year anniversary continues with the community sharing their perspectives, and a fun Shiny app that could be quite useful during celebrations on a weekend or the holidays. If you ever wanted to hear a slightly unhinged episode of the podcast, this is it! Episode Links This week's curator: Jon Calder - @[email protected] (Mastodon) & @jonmcalder (X/Twitter)Celebrating 15 Years of rOpenSci: Then, Now & NextEstimate your BAC, now 100% in the browserEntire issue available at rweekly.org/2026-W44Supplement Resources rOpenSci Developer Guide https://devguide.ropensci.org/rOpenSci Peer Review Process https://ropensci.org/software-review/Donation page for rOpenSci https://ropensci.org/donate/drinkR: Estimate your Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) https://rasmusab.github.io/drinkr/Supporting the show Use the contact page at https://serve.podhome.fm/custompage/r-weekly-highlights/contact to send us your feedbackR-Weekly Highlights on the Podcastindex.org - You can send a boost into the show directly in the Podcast Index. First, top-up with Alby, and then head over to the R-Weekly Highlights podcast entry on the index.A new way to think about value: https://value4value.infoGet in touch with us on social media Eric Nantz: @[email protected] (Mastodon), @rpodcast.bsky.social (BlueSky) and @theRcast (X/Twitter) Mike Thomas: @[email protected] (Mastodon), @mike-thomas.bsky.social (BlueSky), and @mike_ketchbrook (X/Twitter) Music credits powered by OCRemix Ice Cap Zone (Pulse Mix) - Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - MkVaff - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR04400

We learn about the variety of ways you can contribute back to the core of R, a roundup of the excellent choices available for package and environment reproducibility, and an amazing collection of Shiny applications and packages addressing massive needs in bioinformatics … all created in a single internship! Episode Links This week's curator: Eric Nantz: @[email protected] (Mastodon) & @rpodcast.bsky.social (BlueSky) & @theRcast (X/Twitter)How Do I Contribute to R? A Guide to Getting Involved with R Core{renv}, {rix}, rv, uvr, ir: An explosion of R package and environment managersGenomes, Prompts, and Shiny: What I Built During My Summer at PositEntire issue available at rweekly.org/2026-W43Supplement ResourcesR Developer Guide https://contributor.r-project.org/rdevguide/R Dev Container Guide https://contributor.r-project.org/r-dev-env/Package Management in R (R/Pharma Hangout) https://rinpharma.com/docs/hangout/recordings/package_management/Supporting the showUse the contact page at https://serve.podhome.fm/custompage/r-weekly-highlights/contact to send us your feedbackR-Weekly Highlights on the Podcastindex.org - You can send a boost into the show directly in the Podcast Index. First, top-up with Alby, and then head over to the R-Weekly Highlights podcast entry on the index.A new way to think about value: https://value4value.infoGet in touch with us on social mediaEric Nantz: @[email protected] (Mastodon), @rpodcast.bsky.social (BlueSky) and @theRcast (X/Twitter)Mike Thomas: @[email protected] (Mastodon), @mike-thomas.bsky.social (BlueSky), and @mike_ketchbrook (X/Twitter) Music credits powered by OCRemixLost in a Nightmare - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - Palpable - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03001On Wings of Steel - Afterburner - Juan Medrano - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03405

A roundtrip between formatted tables and spreadsheets is now very much possible, how {shinyreact} represents a new path for user interface development in Shiny, and a candid take on ownership of code and the products we build from it (including very awesome art).Episode Links This week's curator: Sam Parmar - @[email protected] (Mastodon) & @parmsam_ (X/Twitter)From spreadsheet to gt and back againIntroducing shinyreact: React UI backed by a Shiny serverAperiodic tilings with the de Bruijn methodEntire issue available at rweekly.org/2026-W41Supplement Resources{forgts} - Formatted spreadsheets to gts https://luisdva.github.io/forgts{gtxlsx} - Write gt and HTML tables into {openxlsx2} workbooks https://janmarvin.github.io/gtxlsxBold indicates negative? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJz0779Seto{shinyreact} - Shiny UI infrastructure for React-based component rendering https://posit-dev.github.io/shinyreact/r/index.htmlAgent skills vignette for {shinyreact} https://posit-dev.github.io/shinyreact/r/articles/agent-skills.htmlR + AI conference https://rconsortium.github.io/RplusAI_website/Supporting the showUse the contact page at https://serve.podhome.fm/custompage/r-weekly-highlights/contact to send us your feedbackR-Weekly Highlights on the Podcastindex.org - You can send a boost into the show directly in the Podcast Index. First, top-up with Alby, and then head over to the R-Weekly Highlights podcast entry on the index.A new way to think about value: https://value4value.infoGet in touch with us on social mediaEric Nantz: @[email protected] (Mastodon), @rpodcast.bsky.social (BlueSky) and @theRcast (X/Twitter)Mike Thomas: @[email protected] (Mastodon), @mike-thomas.bsky.social (BlueSky), and @mike_ketchbrook (X/Twitter) Music credits powered by OCRemixJ-Type - Tetris - Nostalvania - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR04401Smoke & Marbles - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - Emunator, ZackParrish, Lucas Guimaraes - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR04714

After a massive backlog issue sprint, the foundational {knitr} gains terrific updates to supercharge SQL code chunks. The R Project moves to an open source platform for asynchronous communication, and a key technique for bringing the user's perspective on error messages when you test your R package. Episode Links This week's curator: Batool Almarzouq - @batoolmm.bsky.social (Bluesky) & @batool664 (X/Twitter)The knitr SQL Engine Grows UpZulip Chat for the R ProjectSnapshotting error messagesEntire issue available at rweekly.org/2026-W40Supplement ResourcesA Four-Day {knitr} Issue/PR Backlog Sprint https://yihui.org/en/2026/09/knitr-backlogZulip R-Project signup https://r-project.zulipchat.comA Practical Introduction To Reproducible R with Nix & {rix} https://b-rodrigues.github.io/r_pharma_26/#/title-slideSupporting the showUse the contact page at https://serve.podhome.fm/custompage/r-weekly-highlights/contact to send us your feedbackR-Weekly Highlights on the Podcastindex.org - You can send a boost into the show directly in the Podcast Index. First, top-up with Alby, and then head over to the R-Weekly Highlights podcast entry on the index.A new way to think about value: https://value4value.infoGet in touch with us on social mediaEric Nantz: @[email protected] (Mastodon), @rpodcast.bsky.social (BlueSky) and @theRcast (X/Twitter)Mike Thomas: @[email protected] (Mastodon), @mike-thomas.bsky.social (BlueSky), and @mike_ketchbrook (X/Twitter) Music credits powered by OCRemixBrinstar Bonsai Garden - Super Metroid - Red Tailed Fox - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01473Dark World Jazz - The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - Gux - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00156

Have you found a rogue line of rm(list=ls()) in your R scripts? Then we have a terrific update to a package to find those environment issues and much more. Plus a candid take on the lifecycle of spreadsheet-creating packages, and how to take matters to your "R" hands when faced with a perplexing reviewer comment. Mike and I also share our takeaways from an eventful posit::conf(2026)! Episode Links This week's curator: Colin Fay - @[email protected] (Mastodon) & @colinfay.bsky.social (Bluesky) & [@_ColinFay]](https://twitter.com/_ColinFay) (X/Twitter)Release: sessioncheck 0.2Ghosts of spreadsheets pastObserved power tells you nothingEntire issue available at rweekly.org/2026-W39Supplement Resources{sessioncheck} https://sessioncheck.djnavarro.net/Why Every R Package Wrapping External Tools Needs a sitrep() Function https://drmowinckels.io/blog/2026/sitrep-functions/Marimo https://docs.marimo.ioSupporting the showUse the contact page at https://serve.podhome.fm/custompage/r-weekly-highlights/contact to send us your feedbackR-Weekly Highlights on the Podcastindex.org - You can send a boost into the show directly in the Podcast Index. First, top-up with Alby, and then head over to the R-Weekly Highlights podcast entry on the index.A new way to think about value: https://value4value.infoGet in touch with us on social mediaEric Nantz: @[email protected] (Mastodon), @rpodcast.bsky.social (BlueSky) and @theRcast (X/Twitter)Mike Thomas: @[email protected] (Mastodon), @mike-thomas.bsky.social (BlueSky), and @mike_ketchbrook (X/Twitter) Music credits powered by OCRemixA View from the Top (of Shinra HQ) - Final Fantasy VII Remake - TheManPF, Andre Beller, jnWake, Kev Ragone, Michelle Dreyband, newmajoe, Ronin Op F - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR04777Hotel Rhumba (I Want to Go Home) - Earthbound - The Pancake Chef - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00526

A data-driven investigation on how September is a dangerous month for bikers in Wisconsin, a novel look at the distribution of castles across the globe, and the fundamentals behind an influential analysis method commonly used in experimental designs.Episode Links This week's curator: Jonathan Kitt - @jonathankitt.bsky.social (Bluesky)Madison bike crashes peak in SeptemberAn Atlas of StoneRepeated measures ANOVA in REntire issue available at rweekly.org/2026-W37Supplement Resources Madison Bikes https://www.madisonbikes.orgTidy Tuesday Castlemap dataset https://github.com/rfordatascience/tidytuesday/tree/main/data/2026/2026-09-01Deepali's GitHub repository https://github.com/deepdk {rstatix}: Pipe-friendly Framework for Basic Statistical Tests in R https://rpkgs.datanovia.com/rstatix/Supporting the showUse the contact page at https://serve.podhome.fm/custompage/r-weekly-highlights/contact to send us your feedbackR-Weekly Highlights on the Podcastindex.org - You can send a boost into the show directly in the Podcast Index. First, top-up with Alby, and then head over to the R-Weekly Highlights podcast entry on the index.A new way to think about value: https://value4value.infoGet in touch with us on social mediaEric Nantz: @[email protected] (Mastodon), @rpodcast.bsky.social (BlueSky) and @theRcast (X/Twitter)Mike Thomas: @[email protected] (Mastodon), @mike-thomas.bsky.social (BlueSky), and @mike_ketchbrook (X/Twitter) Music credits powered by OCRemixRelm's Weepy Loop - Final Fantasy 6 - MkVaff - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00178Cammy's London Drizzle - Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers - MkVaff - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00453

The newest linter on the R block gains a bold new feature in version 0.6.0, and a new package documentation framework altdown enters the world. Episode Links This week's curator: Jon Calder - @[email protected] (Mastodon) & @jonmcalder (X/Twitter)Jarl 0.6.0: A fast R linterA new take on documentation sites for R packagesEntire issue available at rweekly.org/2026-W36Supplement ResourcesArk: An R kernel https://github.com/posit-dev/arkArf: Alternative R Frontend https://github.com/eitsupi/arfSupporting the showUse the contact page at https://serve.podhome.fm/custompage/r-weekly-highlights/contact to send us your feedbackR-Weekly Highlights on the Podcastindex.org - You can send a boost into the show directly in the Podcast Index. First, top-up with Alby, and then head over to the R-Weekly Highlights podcast entry on the index.A new way to think about value: https://value4value.infoGet in touch with us on social mediaEric Nantz: @[email protected] (Mastodon), @rpodcast.bsky.social (BlueSky) and @theRcast (X/Twitter)Mike Thomas: @[email protected] (Mastodon), @mike-thomas.bsky.social (BlueSky), and @mike_ketchbrook (X/Twitter) Music credits powered by OCRemixSuper Buck II - Super Mario Brothers 2 - Estradasphere - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00577

A collection of techniques to unlock creativity for your next visualisation, a look at the exciting present and future of the futurize transpiler package, and how to avoid an all-to-common pitfall managing database connections in mirai daemons.Episode Links This week's curator: Eric Nantz: @[email protected] (Mastodon) & @rpodcast.bsky.social (BlueSky) & @theRcast (X/Twitter)Why creativity matters in data visualisationuseR! 2026: Futurize - Tearing Down Parallelization Barriers in R with TranspilersTricky Parts of Async Mirai MagicEntire issue available at rweekly.org/2026-W35Supplement ResourcesWhen creativity meets code slides and abstract https://nrennie.rbind.io/talks/ross-ihaka-lecture/When creativity meets code recording https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAiyiE8Pm8s{futurize} documentation https://futurize.futureverse.orgUseR! 2026 {futurize} slides https://henrikbengtsson.github.io/talk-user2026-futurize/{mirai} documentation https://mirai.r-lib.orgSupporting the showUse the contact page at https://serve.podhome.fm/custompage/r-weekly-highlights/contact to send us your feedbackR-Weekly Highlights on the Podcastindex.org - You can send a boost into the show directly in the Podcast Index. First, top-up with Alby, and then head over to the R-Weekly Highlights podcast entry on the index.A new way to think about value: https://value4value.infoGet in touch with us on social mediaEric Nantz: @[email protected] (Mastodon), @rpodcast.bsky.social (BlueSky) and @theRcast (X/Twitter)Mike Thomas: @[email protected] (Mastodon), @mike-thomas.bsky.social (BlueSky), and @mike_ketchbrook (X/Twitter) Music credits powered by OCRemixWarriors of Light - Final Fantasy - Darangen - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01339Ice Cap Zone (Pulse Mix) - Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - MkVaff - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR04400

A collection of tips to ensure reproducibility for R-based clinical submissions, a modern architecture lands in R-Universe, and going beyond the built-in mtcars set to educate students with NYC Open Data. Episode Links This week's curator: Sam Parmar - @[email protected] (Mastodon) & @parmsam_ (X/Twitter)Making R Submissions Reviewable for FDAWindows ARM64 comes to R-universeThe Journey of {nycOpenData}: From Classroom to CommunityEntire issue available at rweekly.org/2026-W33Supplement ResourcesR Consortium Submissions Working Group https://rconsortium.github.io/submissions-wgSimpleEnglish Agent skill https://github.com/AminBlg/SimpleEnglishNew R tooling https://r-devs.com/Supporting the showUse the contact page at https://serve.podhome.fm/custompage/r-weekly-highlights/contact to send us your feedbackR-Weekly Highlights on the Podcastindex.org - You can send a boost into the show directly in the Podcast Index. First, top-up with Alby, and then head over to the R-Weekly Highlights podcast entry on the index.A new way to think about value: https://value4value.infoGet in touch with us on social mediaEric Nantz: @[email protected] (Mastodon), @rpodcast.bsky.social (BlueSky) and @theRcast (X/Twitter)Mike Thomas: @[email protected] (Mastodon), @mike-thomas.bsky.social (BlueSky), and @mike_ketchbrook (X/Twitter) Music credits powered by OCRemixChillout - Mega Man 2 - sedure - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01175Brushwork - Mario Paint - Fratto, Wiesty, The OC Jazz Collective - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR04389