A friendly reminder on checking customization when upgrading R, how refactoring may not be so tedious when using the Jarl utility, and honest takes on various code smells you can prevent in your next testing suite. 
Episode Links 

• This week's curator: Batool Almarzouq - @batoolmm.bsky.social (Bluesky) & @batool664 (X/Twitter)
• The Lurking Dangers of the R Version Update
• Refactoring with Jarl: a coffee chat
• 11 Test Smells That Make Your Tests Lie to You
• Entire issue available at rweekly.org/2026-W24

Supplement Resources

• {renv} - Project environments in R https://rstudio.github.io/renv/index.html
• rig - The R installation manager https://github.com/r-lib/rig

Supporting the show

• Use the contact page at https://serve.podhome.fm/custompage/r-weekly-highlights/contact to send us your feedback
• R-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.info
• Get 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

• Vamo alla Django - Final Fantasy 9 - AndyP, Dan Bryant, Fishy - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03579
• Gurgling Desert Pond - Final Fantasy 1 - blackguitar - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02555

R is capable of many analyes in the world of data science, but can it build a computer? Also a massive usability feature landing in the latest bslib to power up your cards, and optimizing memory usage with the latest rleases of mirai and mori. 

Episode Links 

• This week's curator: Jonathan Kitt - @jonathankitt.bsky.social (Bluesky)
• Building a Computer in R
• Introducing Toolbars: Supercharge your Cards and Inputs
• A memory model for production async R: mirai 2.7.0 and mori 0.2.0
• Entire issue available at rweekly.org/2026-W23

Supplement Resources

• Mike's blog post: Reflections on AI and Security https://blog.ketchbrookanalytics.com/posts/2026-05-28-ai-security/ai-security.html

Supporting the show

• Use the contact page at https://serve.podhome.fm/custompage/r-weekly-highlights/contact to send us your feedback
• R-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.info
• Get 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

• The Unnamed Frontier - Metroid II Return of Samus - Pyro Paper Planes, Viking Guitar - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02892
• Brushwork - Mario Paint - Fratto, Wiesty, The OC Jazz Collective - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR04389

The power of choice is in full effect! How you can leverage GitLab to publish your next Quarto document online, how to bring key R functional paradigms to a Python session, and adding a larger safety net with your unit tests with {mutagen} 0.2.0. 

Episode Links 

• This week's curator: Jon Carroll - @[email protected] (Mastodon) & @jonocarroll.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy (Bluesky) & @carroll_jono (X/Twitter)
• Deploying Quarto documents with GitLab
• Functions over Idioms - Writing R in Python with rfuns
• muttest 0.2.0: More Mutators, Better Reporting, and Parallel Execution
• Entire issue available at rweekly.org/2026-W22

Supplement Resources

• Data Science at the Command Line https://datascienceatthecommandline.com/
• DevOps for Data Science https://do4ds.com/
• {pak} System Requirements https://pak.r-lib.org/reference/sysreqs.html

Supporting the show

• Use the contact page at https://serve.podhome.fm/custompage/r-weekly-highlights/contact to send us your feedback
• R-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.info
• Get 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
 

• Wrestling with Double Bass - Street Fighter II - Malcos - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01270
• A Simple Flip can Change Fate - Final Fantasy VI - Level 99 - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02692

Applying novel statistical and visualization techniques to predict war duration, why there is more than meets the statistical eye behind a classical model benchmarking statistic, and celebrating a major milestone for pioneers in open science with R. 
Episode Links 

• This week's curator: Colin Fay - @[email protected] (Mastodon) & @colinfay.bsky.social (Bluesky) & [@_ColinFay]](https://twitter.com/_ColinFay) (X/Twitter)
• Durations of wars by @ellis2013nz
• Learning Data Science: Why a High R^2 Can Be Misleading
• 15 Years of rOpenSci, and We're Just Getting Started
• Entire issue available at rweekly.org/2026-W21

Supplement Resources

• Correlates of war data set: https://correlatesofwar.org/data-sets/cow-war/
• tidymodels https://www.tidymodels.org/
• Donation to rOpenSci https://ropensci.org/donate/
• Upcoming rOpenSci events https://ropensci.org/events/
• Software peer review https://ropensci.org/software-review/
• R Pharma Hangouts recordings https://rinpharma.com/docs/hangout/recordings

Supporting the show

• Use the contact page at https://serve.podhome.fm/custompage/r-weekly-highlights/contact to send us your feedback
• R-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.info
• Get 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

• The Quick and the Blue - Mega Man 2 - The Megas - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02090
• Serenity & Grace - Chrono Cross - timaeus222 - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR04143

A massive milestone for the language that eventually led to the R we know and love, plus a comprehensive look at two popular workflow frameworks across the R and Python ecosystems.
 
Episode Links 

• This week's curator: Jon Calder - @[email protected] (Mastodon) & @jonmcalder (X/Twitter)
• S at 50
• Comparing R's {targets} and dbt for Data Engineering
• Entire issue available at rweekly.org/2026-W20

Supplement Resources

• Fifty years of S poster https://blog.r-project.org/post/S-at-50/s_at_50_poster.jpg
• Quarto 2: Parsing and Source Maps https://opensource.posit.co/blog/2026-05-07_quarto-2-parsing/
• Beyond Feasibility: Learning from FDA’s Response to WebAssembly and Container-Based Submissions https://r-consortium.org/posts/beyond-feasibility-learning-from-fdas-response-to-webassembly-and-container-based-submissions/

Supporting the show

• Use the contact page at https://serve.podhome.fm/custompage/r-weekly-highlights/contact to send us your feedback
• R-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.info
• Get 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

• J-Type - Tetris - Nostalvania - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR04401

If Shiny wasn't awesome enough, a new toolkit is bringing the awesome to new heights! Plus a handful of ggplot2 functions that can immediate impact common visualization operations, and knitr gains support for a much-hyped typesetting format for the static document crowd. 


Episode Links 

• This week's curator: Eric Nantz: @[email protected] (Mastodon) & @rpodcast.bsky.social (BlueSky) & @theRcast (X/Twitter)
• Announcing shiny.webawesome: a web UI package for R/Shiny
• Five ggplot2 functions I wish I’d known about earlier
• Preliminary Support for Typst in knitr
• Issue available at rweekly.org/2026-W19

Supplement Resources

• Add links discussed in the episode (in place of this sentence)
• {shiny.webawesome} documentation https://www.shiny-webawesome.org
• Web Awesome: The Web's Open Source Design System https://webawesome.com
• {lemon} Freshen up your ggplots https://github.com/stefanedwards/lemon
• ligt.js Miscellaneous lightweight tools and utilities in JavaScript https://github.com/yihui/lite.js/blob/main/js/pages.js
• R 4.6.0 binary transition https://github.com/eddelbuettel/R-4.6.0-binary-transition
• Exploring and Learning Quantum Computing Part 1 https://www.kenkoonwong.com/blog/qc1/
• Mike's talk "Fully Reproducible Model Validation Reports Using Docker, R, Quarto, {renv} and {targets}" https://youtube.com/watch?v=hRIbxv516hY

Supporting the show

• Use the contact page at https://serve.podhome.fm/custompage/r-weekly-highlights/contact to send us your feedback
• R-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.info
• Get 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

• Moonlight Vibin - Megaman X5 - DCT - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02053
• Countdown to Infinity - Megaman X: Maverick Rising - WillRocky - https://maverick.ocremix.org/music.php

How the new logrittr package gives you a peek behind the tidy pipelines of dplyr, and a fascinating glimpse into the universe of seeds going far beyond a favorite 80's song. 


Episode Links 

• This week's curator: Jonathan Kitt - @jonathankitt.bsky.social (Bluesky)
• logrittr: A Verbose Pipe Operator for Logging dplyr Pipelines
• Generating universes within universes with a single seed
• Working Smarter in R: Tips, Tricks & Real-World Lessons
• Entire issue available at rweekly.org/2026-W18

Supplement Resources

• tidylog https://github.com/elbersb/tidylog/
• logrittr documentation https://guillaumepressiat.github.io/logrittr/
• Fine-grained control of RNG seeds in R https://blog.djnavarro.net/posts/2023-12-27_seedcatcher

Supporting the show

• Use the contact page at https://serve.podhome.fm/custompage/r-weekly-highlights/contact to send us your feedback
• R-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.info
• Get 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

• Passing Breeze (Lounge Suite) - OutRun - Remorse - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00875

After an unexpected break we are back with a new episode of R Weekly Highlights! If you thought the easiest way to create pivot tables was in Excel, the a new package just might change your perspective. Plus how you can pull the strings for a multi-agent LLM workflow with the new puppeteeR package.

Episode Links 

• This week's curator: Batool Almarzouq - @batoolmm.bsky.social (Bluesky) & @batool664 (X/Twitter)
• perspectiveR: Interactive Pivot Tables and Charts from R
• puppeteeR - orchestrate multiple LLM agents into coordinated workflows
• Entire issue available at rweekly.org/2026-W16

Supplement Resources
 

• Perspective upstream library https://perspective-dev.github.io
• You can just build your own programming language https://brodrigues.co/posts/2026-04-03-tproject.html
• {gglite} https://pkg.yihui.org/gglite/

Supporting the show
 

• Use the contact page at https://serve.podhome.fm/custompage/r-weekly-highlights/contact to send us your feedback
• R-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.info
• Get 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

• A flea and his giant - Mega Man X: Maverick Rising - Chuck Dietz - https://maverick.ocremix.org/music.php

Choice is good, but sometimes you may want a little help! Our first two highlights showcase approaches you can take to inform your next LLM for analyses and open-source license. Plus how to make your mark(s) within your version control history. 


Episode Links 

• This week's curator: Sam Parmar - @[email protected] (Mastodon) & @parmsam_ (X/Twitter)
• How to choose the best LLM using R and vitals
• Pick a License, Not Any License
• Git commits: please mark your stitches!
• Entire issue available at rweekly.org/2026-W09

Supplement Resources

• rollama - R wrapper to Ollama https://jbgruber.github.io/rollama/
• Opps, Git! How to recover from common mistakes workshop https://r-posts.com/oops-git-how-to-recover-from-common-mistakes-workshop/

Supporting the show

• Use the contact page at https://serve.podhome.fm/custompage/r-weekly-highlights/contact to send us your feedback
• R-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.info
• Get 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

• Seven Pipes to Heaven - Super Mario Land - Nostalvania - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03256
• You Are Not Confined - Final Fantasy 9 - Sonicade - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01064

A glimpse into the R Consortium Submissions Working Group's recent successes and future work, and a new way to view those nested lists from a familiar face making his return to blogging! 


Episode Links 

• This week's curator: Batool Almarzouq - @batoolmm.bsky.social (Bluesky) & @batool664 (X/Twitter)
• Submissions Working Group: 2026 Plans and 2025 Success
• Viewing Nested Lists with xfun::tabset()
• Entire issue available at rweekly.org/2026-W08

Supplement Resources

• R Consortium Submissions Pilot 4 https://rpodcast.quarto.pub/submissions-wg-pilot-4/
• R-Podcast Episode 18 (Yihui Xie Returns) https://r-podcast.org/024-rstudioconf-yihui-xie/
• litedown: R Markdown Reimagined https://yihui.org/litedown

Supporting the show

• Use the contact page at https://serve.podhome.fm/custompage/r-weekly-highlights/contact to send us your feedback
• R-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.info
• Get 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

• A Toadstool Mix - Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - Reuben Spiers, Gamer of the Winds - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR04064

A prominent leader at the intersection of data science and data engineering across multiple languages shares her insights, how a recent Git workshop tailored for data science de-mystifies common pitfalls, and for the second straight episode a new transpiler bringing dplyr syntax to databases (quite literally). 
Episode Links 

• This week's curator: Jon Carroll - @[email protected] (Mastodon) & @jonocarroll.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy (Bluesky) & @carroll_jono (X/Twitter)
• The Test Set Pod - Column selectors, data quality, and learning in public (Episode link)
• Git & GitHub: Practical Version Control for Data Work
• dplyr comes to duckdb
• Entire issue available at rweekly.org/2026-W06

Supplement Resources
 

• Risk Conference 2026 Agenda (Mike is presenting!) https://rconsortium.github.io/Risk_website/program.html
• libdplyr https://github.com/mrchypark/libdplyr

Supporting the show
 

• Use the contact page at https://serve.podhome.fm/custompage/r-weekly-highlights/contact to send us your feedback
• R-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.info
• Get 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
 

• Lost Woods Inglewood - Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - BenCousins - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00853
• Aerobotics - Mega Man 8 - Just Coffee - https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03323