Molly Cook Escobar

Visual Journalist and Graphics Developer committed to thoughtful storytelling. Currently based in Queens and making graphics at The New York Times.

How Trump Moved Money to Pay $100 Million in Legal Bills

The New York Times

Illustrating how Donald Trump moved money raised shortly after the 2020 election to cover mounting legal expenses.

Responsibilities: Reporting & graphics

Tools: Ai2html & Illustrator

Third Year Anniversary of the Jan. 6 Riot

The New York Times

Animating data from the Department of Justice to show outcomes of the Jan. 6 riots.

Responsibilities: Story planning, design, development & illustration

Tools: Svelte, Illustrator, digital tablet, d3.js

The Summer of Strikes

The New York Times

Contextualizing union strikes in the summer of 2023 using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Responsibilities: Reporting, graphics & data analysis

Tools: R, Illustrator, Datawrapper

The Lineup for the First Republican Presidential Debate

The New York Times

Tracking which candidates have met necessary qualifications for the Republican primary debate.

Responsibilities: Data gathering, development & graphics

Tools: Svelte, Layercake, ai2html, javascript, archieML

Mapping the Wildfire Destruction in Lahaina

The New York Times

Surveying the community of Lahaina destroyed by a wildfire using satellite imagery.

Responsibilities: Story planning, data analysis, reporting & development

Tools: Felt, Svelte, Illustrator

Live Debate Trackers

The New York Times

Real-time monitoring of attacks and speaking time during the first 3 primary debates, providing up-to-the-second insights into events and discourse dynamics.

Responsibilities: Live data gathering, development & graphics

Tools: Svelte, d3.js, javascript, archieML

NYT/ Siena Polls Collection

The New York Times

Crafting narratives with New York Times poll data to uncover insights into public opinion, societal trends, and political dynamics.

Responsibilities: Development & graphics

Tools: Svelte, Layercake, ai2html, d3.js

Keeping Track of the Trump Investigations

The New York Times

Tracking the status of Trump's investigations.

Responsibilities: Reporting & graphics

Tools: Svelte, javascript, d3.js

Which Presidential Candidates are Leading the 2024 Money Race?

The New York Times

Visualizing Federal Election Commission (FEC) data to assess the financial status of Republican candidates.

Responsibilities: Reporting, graphics, & design

Tools: Illustrator, ai2html, Svelte

What It Means to Be a Texan Is Changing in Surprising Ways

The New York Times

Analyzing decades of census data to chart the changing demographics in Texas.

Responsibilities: Data gathering, analysis, and graphics

Tools: Illustrator, ai2html, Mapshaper

Live Vote Count: House Removes McCarthey as Speaker

The New York Times

Developing a live vote count system to track the House of Representatives' vote on removing McCarthy as Speaker.

Responsibilities: Live data gathering & reporting

Tools: Live reporting, archieML

The Long Wait for Help as Massacres Unfolded in Israel

The New York Times

Constructing a timeline to determine how long citizens in Israel waited for IDF assistance by gathering and analyzing news reports, official statements, eyewitness accounts, and social media posts.

Responsibilities: Reporting, data gathering, design & graphics development

Tools: Illustrator, ai2html, Svelte, javascript

Where U.A.W. Strikes are Happening

The New York Times

Mapping the locations where United Automobile Workers (U.A.W.) strikes are occurring.

Responsibilities: Data reporting

Tools: Svelte, d3.js

Political Podcasts

Brookings Institution

Interactive charts that dissect misinformation and extreme rhetoric in conservative political podcasts.

Responsibilities: Development & graphics

Tools: Svelte, Tailwind, Layercake, d3.js

Ukraine Index

Brookings Institution

A dashboard that is continuously updated by scholars and research assistants to monitor wartime metrics in Ukraine.

Responsibilities: Design & development

Tools: Svelte, Tailwind, Layercake, d3.js

Vulnerability Indicator

Brookings Institution

Identifying the metrics related to vulnerability, despair, and other factors that may contribute to misinformation across the US.

Responsibilities: Design & development

Tools: Svelte, Tailwind, Layercake, d3.js

Mapping Vulnerability in the Opioid Crisis

Parsons School of Design

Using attribute clustering, analyzing overdose deaths, prescription rates, and MAT provider availability to identify vulnerability in the opioid epidemic.

Responsibilities: Design, development, data gathering, analysis & story planning

Tools: Svelte, Tailwind, Layercake, d3.js

In Crisis, Again

Parsons School of Design

Illustrating, mapping, and charting the enduring impact of the opioid crisis. My master's thesis.

Responsibilities: Design, development, illustration, & story planning

Tools: Vue, javascript, d3.js

Awards and mentions: The Pudding Cup Honorable Mention, 2022 & Information is Beautiful Awards Long List, 2022

Instacart Maps: Halloween

The DataFace

Charts driven by Instacart's insights on trends derived from user purchase data.

Responsibilities: Front-end development

Tools: Svelte, Tailwind, Illustrator

Yelp Economic Average

The DataFace

Measuring the impacts of inflation on consumer habits with yelp data.

Responsibilities: Front-end development & design

Tools: Svelte, Tailwind, Layercake, d3.js

QGIS Maps

Parsons School of Design

Responsibilities: Data analysis and mapmaking

Tools: QGIS

3D Display Production

Saks Fifth Avenue, Anthropologie

A collection of work from my previous career as a 3D production artist and project manager.

Responsibilities: Design, production & project management

Tools: 3D production methods. 3ds Max, autoCAD, sketching, and Illustrator for design.