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President Donald Trump’s pick for education secretary caused quite a stir. Betsy DeVos barely passed her senate confirmation hearing, sparking protests from teachers and education advocates across the country. Their biggest complaint? Her support of something called school vouchers or scholarships. These programs give students public money to attend private schools. On this week’s episode, we talk with Orlando Sentinel reporter Leslie Postal about her on-the-ground look at Florida’s program, one of the largest in the country. Leslie, along with colleagues Annie Martin and Beth Kassab, visited 35 schools, dug through thousands of pages of documents and looked beyond the political debate to the people most affected: parents and students.
You can find the podcast on Soundcloud, iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play. If you have a story you think we should feature on the show, drop us a note at web@ire.org. We’d love to hear from you.
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Drifting Spade (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Borough (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Bad Scene (Podington Bear) / CC BY-NC 3.0
Little Dipper (Podington Bear) / CC BY-NC 3.0
Tweedlebugs (Podington Bear) / CC BY-NC 3.0
Thirteens (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Erin McKinstry reported this episode. IRE Editorial Director Sarah Hutchins edits the podcast. Blake Nelson draws our episode art. We are recorded in the studios of KBIA at the University of Missouri.
A slow-moving housing crisis has been tearing apart communities in the city of Detroit. Homeowners have been replaced by renters. Mortgage and tax foreclosures have allowed landlords to scoop up potential rental properties on the cheap. On this episode, Detroit News reporter Christine MacDonald walks us through her data-driven investigation into evictions. Christine explains how the paper analyzed nearly 285,000 eviction cases and developed sources who could put a human face on the problem.
You can find the podcast on Soundcloud, iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play. If you have a story you think we should feature on the show, drop us a note at web@ire.org. We’d love to hear from you.
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Sunday Lights (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Waterbourne (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Filing Away (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
One Quiet Conversation (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Balti (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
LaBranche (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Abby Ivory-Ganja reported this episode. Erin McKinstry is our host. IRE Editorial Director Sarah Hutchins edits the podcast. Blake Nelson draws our episode art. We are recorded in the studios of KBIA at the University of Missouri.
The Society of Professional Journalists advises that reporters should only use undercover methods when absolutely necessary to get information that’s vital to the public. But even if a reporter follows those guidelines, where do they stand in the eyes of the law? Are they still vulnerable to civil suits and criminal charges? On this bonus episode, Jane Kirtley, the head of the Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law at the University of Minnesota, talks about some of the legal implications of going undercover in the U.S.
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Soothe (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Trickledown (Podington Bear) / CC BY-NC 3.0
Erin McKinstry reported this story. IRE Editorial Director Sarah Hutchins edits the podcast. We are recorded in the studios of KBIA at the University of Missouri.
When you think about temp work, short-term office jobs are likely to come to mind. But across North America, all of that is changing. These days, factories and other industrial companies are using temporary laborers to fill jobs that used to go to employees. The combination of low pay, minimal training and reduced liability has created a recipe for tragedy. On this episode, Sara Mojtehedzadeh of the Toronto Star talks about her decision to go undercover in an industrial bakery to understand the realities of a workforce at risk.
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Massive (Podington Bear) / CC BY-NC 3.0
Two Dollar Token (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Balti (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Sparse (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Doghouse (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Yarrow and Root (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Erin McKinstry reported this story. IRE Editorial Director Sarah Hutchins edits the podcast. Original episode artwork by Blake Nelson. We are recorded in the studios of KBIA at the University of Missouri.
The numbers are striking: Across the country, some 700-900 women die every year from pregnancy or childbirth-related causes. The U.S. has the worst rate of maternal deaths in the developed world. For more than six months, ProPublica’s Nina Martin and NPR’s Renee Montagne dug into the stories behind these statistics. On this episode of the podcast, Nina and Renee discuss how they shed light on a system that places a greater emphasis on caring for newborns than the mothers who birthed them.
You can find the podcast on Soundcloud, iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play. If you have a story you think we should feature on the show, drop us a note at web@ire.org. We’d love to hear from you.
Looking for links to the stories and resources we discussed on this week's podcast? We've collected them for you.
Purple Light (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Filing Away (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Fervent (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Illway (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
November Mist (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Felt Lining (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Thoughtless (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Thanks to ProPublica and NPR’s All Things Considered for use of their audio interview with Larry Bloomstein.
Tessa Weinberg reported this episode. Erin McKinstry is our host. IRE Editorial Director Sarah Hutchins edits the podcast. Blake Nelson draws our episode art. We are recorded in the studios of KBIA at the University of Missouri.
For a local sheriff, Joe Arpaio can’t seem to stay out of the national news. The longtime Maricopa County Sheriff made headlines again this summer when, in the wake of a criminal conviction, he was was pardoned by President Trump. But Arpaio’s story goes back nearly two decades. On this episode we’re turning back the clock to the late 2000s, when reporter Ryan Gabrielson and Paul Giblin of the East Valley Tribunethe launched an investigation into some of the questionable things happening in Arpaio’s office. Their investigation would go on to win a Pulitzer Prize and change the conversation around "America’s toughest sheriff."
You can find the podcast on Soundcloud, iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play. If you have a story you think we should feature on the show, drop us a note at web@ire.org. We’d love to hear from you.
Looking for links to the stories and resources we discussed on this week's podcast? We've collected them for you.
Blammo (Podington Bear) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Discovery Harbor (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Fingernail Grit (Podington Bear) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Line Exchange (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Relay-7 (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Veins of Silver 3 (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
When in the West (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Abby Ivory-Ganja reported this episode. Erin McKinstry is our host. IRE Editorial Director Sarah Hutchins edits the podcast. Blake Nelson draws our episode art. We are recorded in the studios of KBIA at the University of Missouri.
On this week’s episode, former Chicago Tribune reporter Jason Grotto explains why investigating municipal finance isn’t as dry and daunting as you might think. What started with a dig through county property taxes ended with a three-part series delving into how and why Chicago’s broken property tax system benefited the wealthy and burdened the poor. During his two-year investigation, Jason ran up against complex data analysis, tight-lipped officials and hesitant sources.
You can find the podcast on Soundcloud, iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play. If you have a story you think we should feature on the show, drop us a note at web@ire.org. We’d love to hear from you.
Looking for links to the stories and resources we discussed on this week's podcast? We've collected them for you.
When in the West (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Venndet (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Vengeful (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Solage (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Inamorata (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Grapefruit (Podington Bear) / CC BY-NC 3.0
November Mist (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Erin McKinstry reported this story. IRE Editorial Director Sarah Hutchins edits the podcast. Original episode artwork comes by Blake Nelson. We are recorded in the studios of KBIA at the University of Missouri.
Investigations often don’t go according to plan. Dead-end data and stubborn sources are just some of the factors that can throw off a months-long reporting project. Other times, breaking news can put your work on the fast track to publication. That’s exactly what happened to the Tampa Bay Times when reporter Corey Johnson and colleague John Romano started digging into Henry Lyons, a powerhouse preacher who once swindled millions as the head of one of the largest religious organizations in the country. On this episode, we talk to Corey about how he was able to obtain church records and how breaking news forced the paper to make a detour from their original plans.
You can find the podcast on Soundcloud, iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play. If you have a story you think we should feature on the show, drop us a note at web@ire.org. We’d love to hear from you.
Looking for links to the stories and resources we discussed on this week's podcast? We've collected them for you.
Emily Hopkins reported this story. IRE Editorial Director Sarah Hutchins edits the podcast. Original episode artwork comes from podcast host Blake Nelson. We are recorded in the studios of KBIA at the University of Missouri.
Soothe (Blue Dot Session) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Inamorta (Blue Dot Session) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Astrisx (Blue Dot Session) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Our Fingers Cold (Blue Dot Session) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Trois Gnossiennes 2 (Blue Dot Session) / CC BY-NC 4.0
After the 2016 election, reporters across the country began noticing what seemed like a wave of hate crimes, harassment and abuse. But with limited data, they weren’t sure if what they were seeing marked an increase. To solve that problem, more than 100 news organizations united to tell the story of hate in America. They’re led by ProPublica’s Rachel Glickhouse, the partner manager for the project “Documenting Hate.” On this episode, we talk to Rachel and Jessica Weiss, a Univision reporter participating in the collaboration.
You can find the podcast on Soundcloud, iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play. If you have a story you think we should feature on the show, drop us a note at web@ire.org. We’d love to hear from you.
Looking for links to the stories and resources we discussed on this week's podcast? We've collected them for you.
Emily Hopkins reported this story. IRE Editorial Director Sarah Hutchins edits the podcast. Original episode artwork comes from podcast host Blake Nelson. We are recorded in the studios of KBIA at the University of Missouri.
MIlkwood (Blue Dot Session) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Veins of Silver (Blue Dot Session) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Our Quiet Company (Blue Dot Session) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Federal regulators counted 99 cases of advanced black lung over a five-year period in the U.S. So why is it that hundreds of miners with the most serious stage of the disease are walking into clinics across Appalachia? That’s the question NPR’s Howard Berkes set out to answer last year. Howard ultimately found that the number of advanced black lung cases was at least 10 times the number generated by federal regulators. On this episode, Howard takes us through his reporting and explains how he found and counted cases the regulators missed.
You can find the podcast on Soundcloud, iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play. If you have a story you think we should feature on the show, drop us a note at web@ire.org. We’d love to hear from you.
Looking for links to the stories and resources we discussed on this week's podcast? We've collected them for you.
Emily Hopkins reported this story. IRE Editorial Director Sarah Hutchins edits the podcast. Original episode artwork comes from podcast host Blake Nelson. We are recorded in the studios of KBIA at the University of Missouri.
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