In Nashville, it’s become all too common for homeowners to find themselves on the receiving end of spurious fines for alleged code violations — an unnerving pattern rooted in the city’s policies, and weaponized by disingenuous (and gentrifying) neighbors. Radley Balko investigates, in a long and damning feature that embodies exactly why local journalism is […]
investigative journalism
Posted inEditor's Pick
Untold
The legend of Penn State football coach Joe Paterno was ultimately tarnished by the heinous crimes of Paterno assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. Before Sandusky, however, there was another monster connected to the school’s football program — one whose many unspeakable violations are only coming to light now, in Junod and Lavigne’s tireless, exhaustive investigation. This […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Bullet and the Ballplayer
In 2019, beloved baseball player David Ortiz was shot at a bar in the Dominican Republic. The shooting swiftly unraveled the two very different lives the Boston Red Sox star had been living, in Boston and in his home country. Mike Damiano masterfully tells Ortiz’s story for Boston magazine. That frenzied quest for answers has […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
Homegrown and Homeless in Oakland
“Leonard ‘Pumpkin’ Ambrose lives just down the street from the house where he grew up. Derrick Soo lives 2 miles from his former family home, Delbra Taylor is a mile from hers and Gwyn Teninty can walk the distance in 15 minutes. All four grew up here, in Oakland. And they succeeded in their own […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
Police Are Giving Amazon Ring Cameras to Survivors of Domestic Violence. Is It Helping?
“Experts question whether these always-on surveillance devices, provided by police departments with close ties to Ring marketing representatives, are really the right tools to make survivors safer.”
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
Airbnb Is Spending Millions of Dollars to Make Nightmares Go Away
“When things go horribly wrong during a stay, the company’s secretive safety team jumps in to soothe guests and hosts, help families—and prevent PR disasters.”
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
Reporter’s Notebook: The Power of Proximity
“A behind-the-scenes look at a year-long investigation into Mississippi’s laws that automatically put some kids as young as 13 into adult prisons and jails.”
Posted inNonfiction
Longreads Best of 2020: Investigative Reporting
Our top picks for investigative journalism this year.