I think this is my favorite visualization (not because of the topic) but because they have managed to nail down a very specific and powerful narrative: not how many people died, but how many years were not lived. It’s a great example of something that I call “negative space” exploration in a dataset – unpack the storyline so much that in the end you only have one variable (usually a unit of something). The interaction and interface design then help this one variable’s story shine.