“What happened on that Friday and in the days after, when police rounded up even more kids, would expose an ugly and unsettling culture in Rutherford County, one spanning decades. In the wake of these mass arrests, lawyers would see inside a secretive legal system that’s supposed to protect kids, but in this county did […]
investigation
Posted inNonfiction
The Cult That Promises to Cure Addiction
For 50 years, Enthusiastic Sobriety programs have offered to help teenagers kick drugs and alcohol. But former followers say ES doesn’t save lives—it destroys them.
Posted inEditor's Pick
‘We Are All Suffering in Silence’ — Inside the US Military’s Pervasive Culture of Eating Disorders
U.S. military service members develop harmful and unhealthy habits to maintain “body composition standards” that are outdated.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Incalculable Cost of Cheap Chicken—and the Hidden Industry That Shoulders It
“The exact number of COVID-19 deaths connected to poultry plants may never be known, but one thing is clear: the Latinx population in North Carolina has been hit hard by the pandemic.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Why Do Detainees Keep Dying in This Baton Rouge Jail?
“In one decade, 45 people died in East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. Most were charged with nonviolent misdemeanors. Most didn’t have their day in court. Most were Black. How did the system fail them?”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The ‘Race Realist’ on Campus
“Why was Professor Gregory Christainsen allowed to teach Black and Latino students at Cal State East Bay that they were inherently less smart?”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Tampa Teens Reported a Teacher’s Sexual Comments. Then a Student’s Life Was Upended.
“Madisyn didn’t know it, but Hillsborough County Public Schools has a troubled history when it comes to protecting students from sexual misconduct.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Inside the Unlicensed Counseling That Led Boston Students to Allege Emotional Abuse
“RC’s critics say it has no place in public schools and could harm students who feel pressured to participate or burdened by peers’ psychological suffering. Steven Hassan, a Newton-based licensed mental health counselor and cult expert, considers RC a splinter group of Dianetics and a cult.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
‘This Is How You Get Your Power Back’
“Brady’s team, though, had been haunted by a serial rapist they could not identify, much less arrest. His DNA had been found in a half-dozen old cases in which evidence remained at the hospital.” The final installment in a three-part “Cold Justice” series.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Man Who Didn’t Invent Flamin’ Hot Cheetos
“He’s now retired in his early 60s, after a full career climbing the corporate ladder. Montañez made it, from rags to riches, from factory floor to corporate suite. He just didn’t make Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.”