Post Reports

Since the omicron outbreak began a few months ago, 10 times as many people have died in Hong Kong as in the previous two years. Today on Post Reports, how Hong Kong’s “zero covid” policy led to a devastating surge.

Read more:

Body bags, overflowing morgues and chaotic hospitals. Hong Kong — a wealthy financial center — now has the highest covid-19 death rate in the developed world. More than 4,000 people have died since the start of the city’s most recent outbreak, compared with just 213 in the two years prior. Those dying are overwhelmingly elderly, unvaccinated residents, but they also include toddlers and children too young to be immunized.

Shibani Mahtani reports from Hong Kong on how the city has gone from “zero covid” to a catastrophe.

Many experts predicted that Russia would take Ukraine in a matter of days –– but fighting is now in its third week. Today on Post Reports, the failures of Russia’s military strategy, the surprising strength of Ukrainian forces, and how this could end. 

Read more:

Almost three weeks into the Russian assault on Ukraine, Kyiv remains under Ukrainian control, to the surprise of many onlookers. 

“I think, broadly, there are two big reasons,” says national security reporter Shane Harris. “First, the Ukrainian people’s will to fight is, I think, greater than a lot of people had anticipated –– particularly Vladimir Putin. The second is that this ferocious, feared Russian military has turned out to be a lot less, maybe, than people had thought it was.”

On today’s episode of Post Reports, Shane and Martine discuss the mistakes of the Russian military apparatus and the strength of the underestimated Ukrainian forces and game out scenarios for the end of the war. 

Plus, we hear from reporter Sudarsan Raghavan in Kyiv about the local orchestra playing in the city’s Independence Square. “Fortunately, it was extremely quiet during the performance,” Sudarsan says. “We didn't hear any shells landing. A few moments afterwards, air raid sirens went off and people moved away from the square.”

Two years in, many Americans are ready to leave the pandemic behind. But some people don’t have that luxury — like the immunocompromised, parents of small children and covid “long-haulers.” Today on the show, what it means to “live with covid.”

Read more:

It’s been two years since the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. Today on Post Reports, we take stock of how far we’ve come … and how far we still have to go.

For many around the country, the pandemic is starting to feel like a thing of the past. In red and blue states alike, masks are coming off and vaccine requirements are relaxing. But for some — including the immunocompromised and parents of young kids — the pandemic is far from over.

Health reporter Fenit Nirappil explains what it means for the virus to become endemic, and how the United States is looking to return to normalcy after two years of covid-19 mitigation efforts. 

Meanwhile, potentially hundreds of thousands of people are experiencing symptoms of long covid, months — or even years — after they were first exposed. And as the world tries to move on, they’re trying not to fall through the gaps in the social safety net. 

Business reporter Chris Rowland talks about the covid “long-haulers” struggling to get the disability benefits they — and their doctors —think they’re due. 

After blocking media access, the Russian government banned what it calls “fake” news on its war with Ukraine. Journalists are now fleeing the country. Today on Post Reports, what that means for the truth and Russians’ access to it. 

Read more:

Independent journalists in Russia have been fleeing since Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a ban on “fake news,” which bars reporters from calling the war in Ukraine a “war” or referring to the “invasion.” (The preferred language is “special military operation.”) 

As foreign media outlets decide what that means for their coverage and staff, The New York Times this week became the first major American news organization to announce that it will pull its staff out of Russia in response to the new law.

Media reporter Elahe Izadi reports on the consequences — for Russians’ access to good information, and for the rest of the world’s understanding of what’s happening in Russia.  

“I think the biggest risk here is it obscures the truth,” Elahe says. “We need to know the truth of the facts of the situation in order to assess an appropriate response. That’s the same for people within Russia.”

This new law is also creating challenges for social media platforms. Nitasha Tiku explains how TikTok has responded, and what other platforms might do. As The Post has reported, TikTok has long tried to stay out of politics, but Russia’s invasion is making that harder.

Today on Post Reports, we explore the hidden cost of police misconduct. Cities around the country spent more than $1.5 billion between 2010 and 2020 to settle claims involving thousands of officers repeatedly accused of misconduct – and often left taxpayers in the dark.

Read more:

A warning to listeners: Today’s episode of Post Reports includes a story about police violence that may be disturbing to some people, especially animal lovers.

When we hear about lawsuits against police departments, it’s often in cases involving fatal police shootings, like Breonna Taylor’s or George Floyd’s, that result in multimillion-dollar settlements.

“Those cases, they make the headlines, they make the news,” says Washington Post reporter Keith Alexander. “But there are other cases where officers are the subject of numerous lawsuits — 10, 12, 13 — for much smaller offenses, but they're happening repeatedly.”

In a new investigation from The Post, Keith and fellow reporters tallied nearly 40,000 payments made by 25 major cities and counties around the country to settle repeat allegations of misconduct involving thousands of officers. What they found was the hidden cost of police misconduct: the staggering amount that’s been paid over the past decade and the way that taxpayers are often kept in the dark.

Steven Rich and Hannah Thacker contributed to this report. If you want to learn more about how The Post reported on the hidden billion-dollar cost of repeated police misconduct, check out this video.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, one question has loomed large: What does Putin want? Nonfiction book critic Carlos Lozada went looking for clues in the Russian leader’s 2000 book and other writings. Today on Post Reports, he shares what he learned. 

Read more:

Reporters Siobhan O’Grady and Whitney Shefte have been reporting from the Ukrainian city of Irpin, just outside of Kyiv, where people are desperately trying to escape a Russian attack. 

As the invasion of Ukraine goes on, so many of us around the world are asking: Where is this headed? What does Russia want? Or, maybe, a better question: What does Vladimir Putin want? 

“What Putin really wants” is a perennial topic for cable news debates and big-think magazine covers; the current invasion of Ukraine has prompted questions about the Russian leader’s mental health and pandemic-era isolation. But his motives can also be gleaned in part from his book and his frequent essays and major speeches, all seething with resentment, propaganda and self-justification. In light of his writings, Carlos Lozada says, Russia’s attack on Ukraine seems less about reuniting two countries than about challenging the United States and NATO. 

How Ukrainians are documenting the destruction of their country. And, why the international community may struggle to hold Russian officials accountable for alleged war crimes.

Read more:

As Russia continues its artillery assault of major population centers in Ukraine, Western officials have begun accusing Russian military officials of committing war crimes. 

“We've seen these really gruesome images of civilian casualties, of the shelling and the complete destruction of Ukrainian cities,” says foreign affairs reporter Claire Parker. “And mounting evidence of the use of weapons that have triggered serious alarm among international observers and raised allegations that Russia could be committing war crimes.”

On today’s Post Reports, Sudursan Raghavan reports from the rubble of a village near Kyiv, where a team was collecting evidence of possible war crimes. 

Then, Parker walks us through the accusations against the Russian military and why it may be difficult for the International Criminal Court to hold anyone accountable.

A team of Danish filmmakers spent more than two years following Trump confidant and adviser, Roger Stone. Their footage — and an investigation from The Washington Post — shed new light on Stone’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Read more:

As a mob ransacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Roger Stone, Donald Trump’s longtime political adviser, hurried to pack a suitcase inside his suite at downtown Washington’s Willard hotel. Before leaving the city on a private jet, he told an aide he feared prosecution by the incoming attorney general, Merrick Garland. “He is not a friend,” Stone said.

On today’s Post Reports, how two documentary makers gained extraordinary access to a member of Trump’s inner circle — and what their footage reveals about the campaign to overturn the 2020 election.

Their footage, along with other reporting by The Post, provides the most comprehensive account to date of Stone’s involvement in the former president’s effort to overturn the election and the Jan. 6 insurrection.

For months, he coordinated with far-right leaders and urged allies to join the “Stop the Steal” movement. When it all fell apart, he lobbied the former president for a pardon for himself and “the entire MAGA movement,” up until the day Trump left office.

Their film, “A Storm Foretold,” is expected to come out later this year. You can watch excerpts here.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s improbable journey — from an actor who played the president on TV, to the real president of Ukraine, to the center of an American impeachment, to a war hero. Plus, an interview with the director of “The Batman.”  

Read more:

The world has been captivated by videos from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over the past week. The TV president turned wartime leader has a habit of turning up center stage in global events. Producer Ted Muldoon talked to reporters from around the newsroom about Zelensky’s unlikely path from entertainer to wartime president. 

David Betancourt has been guest hosting Post Reports the past couple of days — but his day job is reporting on comic book culture for The Post. He says the new Batman movie marks a return to greatness for DC after a decade dominated by the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Today on Post Reports, David interviews the film’s director, Matt Reeves.

Today on Post Reports, how the U.S. is imposing sanctions on Russia’s elite. Plus, why Major League Baseball is canceling games. 

Read more:

On Thursday, the White House announced new sanctions against more Russian elites and their family members. Reporter Jeff Stein explains the strategy behind seizing yachts, jets and luxury apartments.  

This week, Major League Baseball announced that roughly 90 games would be canceled amid a labor dispute between the players union and team owners. Baseball reporter Chelsea Janes explains why the two parties can’t come to an agreement and why the lockout is so aggravating to fans.