diff --git a/apps/zui/src/app/features/inspector/views/null-view.ts b/apps/zui/src/app/features/inspector/views/null-view.ts
index 27300bd5de..75b6b252a5 100644
--- a/apps/zui/src/app/features/inspector/views/null-view.ts
+++ b/apps/zui/src/app/features/inspector/views/null-view.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,14 @@ import {View} from "./view"
 import * as zed from "@brimdata/zed-js"
 
 export class NullView extends View<zed.Any> {
+  get showDecorator() {
+    return !zed.isPrimitiveType(this.type)
+  }
+
+  get decorator(): string {
+    return this.type.toString()
+  }
+
   render() {
     return "null"
   }
diff --git a/apps/zui/src/app/features/inspector/views/record-view.ts b/apps/zui/src/app/features/inspector/views/record-view.ts
index 87137c9492..5969ecc7d7 100644
--- a/apps/zui/src/app/features/inspector/views/record-view.ts
+++ b/apps/zui/src/app/features/inspector/views/record-view.ts
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ export class RecordView extends ContainerView<zed.Record> {
   }
 
   *iterate(n?: number) {
-    const fields = this.value.fields || []
+    const fields = this.value.fields
     const length = n ? Math.min(n, fields.length) : fields.length
 
     for (let i = 0; i < fields.length; ++i) {
diff --git a/apps/zui/src/app/query-home/loader.ts b/apps/zui/src/app/query-home/loader.ts
index c95a491c40..ce85bce322 100644
--- a/apps/zui/src/app/query-home/loader.ts
+++ b/apps/zui/src/app/query-home/loader.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import Pools from "src/js/state/Pools"
 import {invoke} from "src/core/invoke"
 import {runHistogramQuery} from "src/views/histogram-pane/run-query"
 import {runResultsQuery} from "src/views/results-pane/run-results-query"
+import Layout from "src/js/state/Layout"
 
 export function loadRoute(location: Location): Thunk {
   return (dispatch) => {
@@ -46,11 +47,14 @@ function syncEditor(dispatch, getState) {
 function fetchData() {
   return (dispatch, getState, {api}) => {
     const version = Current.getVersion(getState())
+    const histogramVisible = Layout.getShowHistogram(getState())
 
     startTransition(() => {
       if (version) {
         dispatch(runResultsQuery())
-        runHistogramQuery(api)
+        if (histogramVisible) {
+          runHistogramQuery(api)
+        }
       }
     })
   }
diff --git a/packages/zed-js/src/types/type-map.ts b/packages/zed-js/src/types/type-map.ts
index f2f8772061..ea33a1b572 100644
--- a/packages/zed-js/src/types/type-map.ts
+++ b/packages/zed-js/src/types/type-map.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import { ZedMap } from '../values/map';
 import { Type } from './types';
 
 export class TypeMap implements Type {
-  kind = 'union';
+  kind = 'map';
 
   constructor(public keyType: Type, public valType: Type) {}
 
diff --git a/packages/zed-js/src/types/type-record.ts b/packages/zed-js/src/types/type-record.ts
index a78c341be8..4fc50330a0 100644
--- a/packages/zed-js/src/types/type-record.ts
+++ b/packages/zed-js/src/types/type-record.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+/* eslint-disable @typescript-eslint/no-non-null-assertion */
 import * as zjson from '../zjson';
 import { DecodeStream } from '../decode-stream';
 import { EncodeStream } from '../encode-stream';
@@ -32,7 +33,7 @@ export class TypeRecord implements Type {
   }
 
   toString() {
-    if (isNull(this.fields)) return 'null';
+    if (isNull(this.fields)) return '{}';
     let s = '{';
     let sep = '';
     this.fields.forEach((f) => {
@@ -48,17 +49,19 @@ export class TypeRecord implements Type {
     stream: DecodeStream,
     parent?: Field
   ) {
-    if (values === null || isNull(this.fields)) return new Record(this, null);
+    // If this.fields == null that means it's an empty record type
+    if (values === null) return new Record(this, null);
     const record = new Record(this, null /* temp */);
     // If a parent was passed in, then we are constructing a nested record
     // and the parent is a Field. If no parent, then we are creating the
     // root record and the parent is this record.
     const progenitor = parent || record; // just needed another variable name for parent
 
-    record.fields = this.fields.map((f, i) => {
+    record.fields = values.map((value, i) => {
+      const f = this.fields![i];
       if (trueType(f.type) instanceof TypeRecord) {
         const field = new Field(f.name, new Null() /* temp */, progenitor);
-        field.value = f.type.create(values[i], stream, field);
+        field.value = f.type.create(value, stream, field);
         return field;
       } else {
         return new Field(f.name, f.type.create(values[i], stream), progenitor);
diff --git a/packages/zed-js/src/values/record.ts b/packages/zed-js/src/values/record.ts
index adedbca6d4..48abba3603 100644
--- a/packages/zed-js/src/values/record.ts
+++ b/packages/zed-js/src/values/record.ts
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ export class Record implements Value {
   }
 
   isUnset() {
-    return false;
+    return this.fields == null;
   }
 
   toJS(opts: JSOptions = {}) {