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Explore Explain is a long-form podcast and video series hosted by Andy Kirk and launched early 2020. It goes deep behind the scenes of data visualisation projects. Each episode is structured around a conversation with visualisation designers, developers, or data journalists to explore the design story behind a single visualisation or a related major project. Guests explain the thought-process behind and share insights about the myriad little decisions that underpin the finished works they pr ...
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Since Mark's dad is in town, we decided to corner him and talk his ear off about how great The Journal of Justice was. We think he's starting to understand it, but can anyone truly understand the magic of such a time? ----------- WE HAVE MERCH! bit.ly/loreheadmerch Twitter! twitter.com/loreheads Discord! https://t.co/o21E0W4C8z?amp=1 Twitch! twitch…
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Okay so SOMEONE might have forgotten to tell their wife we were going to do an Ionian quiz. It doesn't matter who. Just someone. SO we got to do a quiz about The Void instead, which was honestly way more fun anyway. Please play along! You'll probably do much better than we did. ------ WE HAVE MERCH! bit.ly/loreheadmerch Twitter! twitter.com/lorehea…
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Mount Targon is an area with big ideas, few champions, and even fewer ideas on what to do with this place. While we love the vibes and world-building, nothing is bringing out any emotions in us. We want emotions ya know? ---------- WE HAVE MERCH! bit.ly/loreheadmerch Twitter! twitter.com/loreheads Discord! https://t.co/o21E0W4C8z?amp=1 Twitch! twit…
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The Spirit Blossom AU is unique in that it's actually a part of canon lore! Not totally, of course. Ashe isn't actually in Ionia or anything. Just in spirit! I mean, not really, but imagine her vibe? That's there? And it looks like her? I think I've got that right. --- WE HAVE MERCH! bit.ly/loreheadmerch Twitter! twitter.com/loreheads Discord! http…
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Who would have thought our jokes about everyone being LeBlanc would end up being so...accurate? At this point, we all just need to admit The Loreheads are amazing at predicting the future. We're loving LeBlanc as a villain here and can't wait to see how much she's gonna mess up Runeterra. At least some of her plans aren't failing! -------- WE HAVE …
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So we're a bit behind on coming up with predictions, but at least this way we have a jumping off point. Do we think most of these are going to happen? No, but I'm confident that at least one will. The void event! obviously. -------------- WE HAVE MERCH! bit.ly/loreheadmerch Twitter! twitter.com/loreheads Discord! https://t.co/o21E0W4C8z?amp=1 Twitc…
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We only have one story to discuss here, but they managed to fit quite a lot in there. With a ton of new Star Guardians, old, new, and back from the dead, it's a little hard to focus on anyone for too long. But we do know that super powered big bad attacks are very cool, and sometimes all you need is a good old fashioned sacrifice. ------------- WE …
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We're slowly but surely getting through the Realms of Runeterra book! All of the short stories have been incredible so far, especially the two we read for this weeks episode. Between a dope old lady we're desperate to see as a champion, and a deep look into how Noxus rules once they've won the battle, we got a lot to rave about here. -------- WE HA…
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Sometimes it's nice to take a break from the Noxus event to discuss some dirt and grime. Uhh, but a different dirt and grime. The piratey kind! A lot of our favorite stories are from Bilgewater, and because there aren't many champions here, it's all put together coherently. And....a live action show??? ARE WE SURE?! ---- WE HAVE MERCH! bit.ly/loreh…
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It's nice to get another full length novel of League lore! Ambessa: Chosen of the Wolf: A League of Legends Novel: Arcane was a great look into parts of Ambessa's character that Arcane greatly struggled with. Although there aren't a ton of champions in the book, the novel does a great job expanding the few League champions it does include. Mostly R…
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Most of Mel's lore is in Arcane, which we've already talked about, just, so so much. But Riot also released more and more Noxus lore, so here we are again to dive in! Of course Noxus means Leblanc, and Leblanc means we get weird and gross for some reason. Maybe that's just us? Who knows! That's clearly what y'all are here for. ------ WE HAVE MERCH!…
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We might talk about people other than Akali way more than we talk about Akali here. But hey, that's exactly what all her lore does too! So we're just following the pattern here. There's no way for us to predict where future TV shows will focus in when they do an Ionian season, but since that's where most of the lore seems to be coming from these da…
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We've been in and out of Ionia for quite a while now, but we wanted to take a look at the region as a whole. There are so many important characters here, and we have no idea how they'll decide who shows up in the new Arcane show. We're hoping for Irelia! And, like, a hundred other people. ------ WE HAVE MERCH! bit.ly/loreheadmerch Twitter! twitter.…
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We have to break this AU up into a few different parts. As League's most dense Alternate Universe, there are so many characters and stories to explore here. We enjoyed season 1 and 2 and are looking forward to seeing where these characters end up! Oh wait, the other seasons are about other people? Okay well surely they won't forget about Lux and Ji…
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There are a lot of skin lines in League of Legends, but we wanted to try our hand at dressing these silly little guys up. It's uhhh harder than we thought it would be. We might be a little predictable here, but hey, it's fun to imagine League camps running around killing their friends and/or trying to date each other. Wait, is that an AU or just Ar…
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We decided to check out what other loreheads were talking about around the internet. What better place for that than Reddit? We pulled some popular threads and interesting discussions feat: the MMO that's definitely still happening, future Arcane shows, and Garen/Darius fanfiction. ------ WE HAVE MERCH! bit.ly/loreheadmerch Twitter! twitter.com/lor…
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Welcome to episode 1 of season 6 of Explore Explain, a long-form video and podcast series all about data visualisation design. This episode is taken from a recorded webinar held on 27th January 2025 titled ‘Data Viz Freelancing’ and featuring a panel of guests including: Julie Brunet - Data Designer and Creative Director for Nightingale Magazine Ti…
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Happy Valentine's Day! There isn't much to talk about when it comes to the Valentine skin AU's, but there are plenty of couples in Runeterra floating around. Some are old, some are new, and some have not yet come to pass. But we talk about it all in a totally normal, not gross way. --------- WE HAVE MERCH! bit.ly/loreheadmerch Twitter! twitter.com/…
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Weeeeell now that I know Sarah is going to read these sometimes: HEY GIRL! It's probably just us in here. Thank you for putting our quiz together. It was a lot of fun, and you're wonderful. If anyone else reads these, hello! And mind your business. This is now the journal between me and my bestie. -------- WE HAVE MERCH! bit.ly/loreheadmerch Twitte…
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There are a lot of big players in The Freljord, so we've talked quite a bit about the region. But for anyone who needs a refresher or doesn't want to dig through 200 episodes, here's a handy little hour of conversion all about the Freljord. Yuup, just that and nothing else at all. -------- WE HAVE MERCH! bit.ly/loreheadmerch Twitter! twitter.com/lo…
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Riot Games made a promise to start feeding us lore in different ways, and it looks like they've been following through with that. With lore being so heavily tied into League of Legends, we've decided to talk about the game occasionally now too! Because we do play it sometimes. Also in conversation: the in client comic and Bite Marks (ft. TEYA) vide…
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Welcome to episode 9 of season 5 of Explore Explain, a long-form video and podcast series all about data visualisation design. In this latest episode, I am delighted to welcome Alan Smith, Head of Visual and Data Journalism at the Financial Times in London. We explore the story behind a unique project Alan worked on titled the 'FT Money Machine': f…
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As the first original Arcane champion to be released into League of Legends, Ambessa has quite a bit of story. Unfortunately, a lot of it is hidden from us. We're hoping with the release of her novel, along with an upcoming Arcane-like show featured around Noxus, we'll get a bit more about who Ambessa is behind that very hard, sexy shell she wears.…
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Let's be honest, we really just wanted to relax a bit before the holidays. Especially after having so many heavy Arcane discussions. So please join us in our light exploration of some Snowdown AU's. Oh and maybe some Netflix Christmas movie recs. Have you seen the one with Lindsay Lohan? No not that one! The title? WHY would I know that?! ---------…
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Well, after today, we'll be done talking about Arcane forever. Never again will we talk about these episodes or characters. That's right, it's alllll in the past. Ok probably not, but we'll be excited to talk about something else next week. In the meantime, please don't come for us okay? The critiques come from a place of love. ------ WE HAVE MERCH…
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Welcome to episode 8 of season 5 of Explore Explain, a long-form video and podcast series all about data visualisation design. This episode is the second of a two-part special taken from a recorded webinar held on 4th December 2024 titled ‘The State of Data Viz’ and featuring a panel of guests including: Evelina Parrou, Founder & Creative Director …
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Welcome to episode 7 of season 5 of Explore Explain, a long-form video and podcast series all about data visualisation design. This episode is the first of a two-part special taken from a recorded webinar held on 4th December 2024 titled ‘The State of Data Viz’ and featuring a panel of guests including: Evelina Parrou, Founder & Creative Director a…
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We'd be lying if we said we weren't a little disappointed in Act 3. Between pacing issues and a ton of unanswered questions, we had so much to talk about that 2 hours wasn't enough. So stay tuned for more Arcane discussions next week! ---------- WE HAVE MERCH! bit.ly/loreheadmerch Twitter! twitter.com/loreheads Discord! https://t.co/o21E0W4C8z?amp=…
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Well, the show is still amazing. Between Warwick's debut and our Orianna confirmation, we Loreheads were pretty hyped this week. Now let's not think about how there are only three episodes left... --------- WE HAVE MERCH! bit.ly/loreheadmerch Twitter! twitter.com/loreheads Discord! https://t.co/o21E0W4C8z?amp=1 Twitch! twitch.tv/loreheads Patreon! …
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Y'ALL IT'S HERE CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! Arcane has its own massive shoes to fill after a basically perfect first season, and so far, we're really feeling all of the emotions. Literally all of them. Even if Mark can't remember what they're called. -------- WE HAVE MERCH! bit.ly/loreheadmerch Twitter! twitter.com/loreheads Discord! https://t.co/o21E0W4C…
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On our continuation of rewatching Arcane, we've come to a decision: This show is liiiike really good, y'all. --- WE HAVE MERCH! bit.ly/loreheadmerch Twitter! twitter.com/loreheads Discord! https://t.co/o21E0W4C8z?amp=1 Twitch! twitch.tv/loreheads Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leagueofloreheads Song Title | Dragon Trainer Tristana Artist | League…
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Some of us haven't watching Arcane since season 1 dropped, and some of us have watching it 20+ times. So we have some different perspectives here. We're all in agreement thought that Arcane is awesome, and we can't wait for season 2! It's definitely going to rip our hearts right tf out. ----- WE HAVE MERCH! bit.ly/loreheadmerch Twitter! twitter.com…
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Welcome to episode 6 of season 5 of Explore Explain, a long-form video and podcast series all about data visualisation design. In this latest episode, I am delighted to welcome Michael Brenner (Head of Creative at Data4Change), Sarah Slobin (Visual Editor, Reuters), and Jon Schwabish (Senior Fellow, Urban Institute). In a show I've titled ‘The Tool…
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Happy Halloween! For the season, we decided to read 2 Realms of Runeterra stories. One features Kindred at a terrifying Bilgewater festival, the other a ragtag team of Shadow Isle treasure hunters (and Vlkadimir I guess). We also discuss some great horror movies we've been watching lately. --------- WE HAVE MERCH! bit.ly/loreheadmerch Twitter! twit…
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Since Teemo is a yordle, we doubt he'll ever have a ton of lore, but hey, at least it's canon now! Finally one of Riot's oldest champions got a great visual update and a sick new theme song. It has been stuck in my head for several days now. Please help. I can't sleep ------- WE HAVE MERCH! bit.ly/loreheadmerch Twitter! twitter.com/loreheads Discor…
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We've talked a lot about the Shadow Isles but still really wanted to focus on the region as a whole. Still, it's impossible not to bring up The Shadow Isles without ranting about Viego at LEAST a LITTLE bit right? ------- WE HAVE MERCH! bit.ly/loreheadmerch Twitter! twitter.com/loreheads Discord! https://t.co/o21E0W4C8z?amp=1 Twitch! twitch.tv/lore…
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Welcome to episode 5 of season 5 of Explore Explain, a long-form video and podcast series all about data visualisation design. I am delighted to welcome Kat Greenbrook, Data Storyteller, Author, and founder of Rogue Penguin based in Wellington, New Zealand. In this episode, we discussed Kat's life as a freelancer, starting with learning more about …
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Happy October! We're excited to start exploring some of the creepier sides of Runeterra this month, and we're starting with the Coven Alternate Universe. Between witches and old gods and dark woods, there's plenty to enjoy this Halloween season. And of course we had too much fun doing it. ---------- WE HAVE MERCH! bit.ly/loreheadmerch Twitter! twit…
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We're excited because Ahri actually got some lore that progressed her story forward. With the release of The Ruined King game, Ahri developed some friendships, found out about those rocks she's been carrying around, and solved her dark and shady past. So rare! We're excited to see where she goes next, and would even be happy if she just chilled her…
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We've talked a ton about Noxus, but never really all together like this. It's a confusing place. What kind of strength are we looking for? Where do bakers fall into all of this? Would Talon kill for a really good muffin? We explore all of this and more in this episode. ---------- WE HAVE MERCH! bit.ly/loreheadmerch Twitter! twitter.com/loreheads Di…
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The Project Alternate universe includes quite a few skins, and our lovely John did a ton of work and collecting all of their lore for us! It's a bit tough to piece this all together, but what we have here is some good old fashioned POTENTIAL. How beautiful to say the word again! --------- WE HAVE MERCH! bit.ly/loreheadmerch Twitter! twitter.com/lor…
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There are plenty of plot holes in the League of Legends lore, and we certainly don't blame Riot Games for that. I mean, we do, but we get it too. Still, we wanted to try filling some of those holes (I'm sorry blame John), by making some champions of our own! Being creative is hard please be nice to us. -------------- WE HAVE MERCH! bit.ly/loreheadm…
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Sure we've already talked about this guy, but that was like a million years ago. Also, we weren't even doing the AU's back then! It's definitely nice to revisit this area of Shurima's history now that we know more about it, although we do still have some questions. But let's face it, the aspects and ascended will always be a little confusing. -----…
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Although we've now read more lore than most League fans, some of us still haven't even looked at a map of Runeterra. And so for those people (Rebecca) and anyone who might be coming over from Arcane or just Riot's numerous games, here is a little rundown of the world of Runeterra. There are a lot of regions to cover, and we're just trying to scratc…
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It's our first look into an Alternate Universe, and of course we started with the coolest one. Gods, demons, devils (THEY'RE DIFFERENT OK???), angels. Miss Fortune is there too for some reason?? It's dope, trust us. And we're once again putting it into the universe that we really really need an animated show for this. ----- WE HAVE MERCH! bit.ly/lo…
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It's been a long and incredible journey, everyone! This week we wanted to sit down and discuss some of our favorite and less than favorite lore we've read these last few years. And, of course, what we're hoping for the future. We're excited about this next chapter of our podcast, and we hope you all can join us! ----------- WE HAVE MERCH! bit.ly/lo…
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WE DID IT, LOREHEADS. We made it all the way to Zyra. It's been an amazing journey going through all the champs, and don't worry, this podcast will absolutely continue onward. We have AU's, regions, and plenty of revisits to get through. For now, here's a little bit of Zyra lore. She doesn't have much, but we're hoping Riot will eventually tie her …
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Somehow we've made it this far and still can't really tell you what an aspect is. It certainly doesn't help that The Aspect of Twilight is extremely confusing. Is she a child? An alien? An alien child? Who knows! But she certainly acts very strange. At least we have a ton of Star Guardian content! ------ WE HAVE MERCH! bit.ly/loreheadmerch Twitter!…
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Listen, were we expecting a lot of Zilean lore? Of course not. But it's always still a bummer when you don't even get a story. Except maybe he's in all the stories? Maybe he's everything, everywhere, all at once. I think I saw a movie about that recently. --------- WE HAVE MERCH! bit.ly/loreheadmerch Twitter! twitter.com/loreheads Discord! https://…
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Welcome to episode 4 of season 5 of Explore Explain, a long-form video and podcast series all about data visualisation design. In this latest episode, I am delighted to welcome Dominikus Baur, Data Visualization Designer & Engineer, and Alice Thudt, Data Visualization Designer, who are based in Munich, Germany. We explore the story behind a project…
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