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
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• 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