The Backstory

In this episode of the Backstory, we speak to members of Type’s research team: Managing editor Maha Ahmed, Assistant Editor Nina Zweig, and Don and Doris Shaffer Researcher Emma Davis. They walk us through Type’s fact-checking process, talk about the toughest investigations they’ve had to fact-check, and give reporters their advice on how to make the fact-checking process easier.

Don and Doris Shaffer Researcher 2023-2024 application: https://bit.ly/3ZD26bU

Transcript: http://bit.ly/3YYo9s5

In this conversation, we talk to reporters Fazil Khan and Liz Donovan about their newest article, “The Pandemic Robbed Thousands of NYC Children of Parents. Many Aren’t Getting the Help They Need.”, produced in partnership with The City, Columbia Journalism Investigations, and City Limits. Khan and Donovan discuss what it was like reporting on the crisis for over a year, how they reached out to grieving families, and their difficulties getting answers from the New York Department of Education.

“The Pandemic Robbed Thousands of NYC Children of Parents. Many Aren’t Getting the Help They Need:” http://bit.ly/3lZRgxH

“Kids Who Lost Parents to COVID, In Their Own Words:” http://bit.ly/3Z81eeu

“1 in Every 200 Children in NYC Has Lost a Parent or Caregiver to COVID. That’s Almost Twice the National Rate:” http://bit.ly/3SBXsbv

Transcript: http://bit.ly/3Kydr8s

Type Investigations is a newsroom for independent investigative journalists. For our latest, subscribe to our newsletter: www.typeinvestigations.org/subscribe

In this conversation, we talk to reporting fellow Aaron Miguel Cantú about his investigation with Kandist Mallett, “How to Crush a Movement for Racial Justice Movement,” produced in partnership with The Nation. Cantú talks about how he started reporting on the federal prosecution of protestors, what it’s been like reporting across two presidential administrations, and how he discovered Little Rock activists were being tracked by law enforcement.

“How to Crush a Movement for Racial Justice Movement”: https://bit.ly/3hwnFJK

“Biden is Expanding Trump’s War on “Domestic Violent Extremism” — and It’s Sweeping Up Black People:” https://bit.ly/3hxVdrf

“Federal Prosecutors Hold Protesters for Months Pretrial:” https://bit.ly/3hwpOVZ

Transcript: https://bit.ly/3UsiBEP

Type Investigations is a newsroom for independent investigative journalists. For our latest, subscribe to our newsletter: www.typeinvestigations.org/subscribe

In this conversation, we talk to San Quentin News editor Juan Haines about his investigation with Katie Rose Quandt, “San Quentin Is Still Punishing People for Being Sick,” produced in partnership with the American Prospect. Haines talks about what drew him to investigate San Quentin’s Adjustment Center, the challenges of reporting while incarcerated, and what it was like to report on the prison’s Covid-19 crisis as he was living through it.

FURTHER READING

“San Quentin Is Still Punishing People for Being Sick:” https://bit.ly/3SLx3qa

The Inside/Out Journalism Project: https://bit.ly/3BTTNxt

Transcript: https://bit.ly/3UU8E3V

Type Investigations is a newsroom for independent investigative journalists. For our latest, subscribe to our newsletter: www.typeinvestigations.org/subscribe

In this conversation, we talk to Alex Lubben and Olga Loginova, two members of the reporting team for “Harm’s Way,” a three-part series on the growing need for climate relocation around the U.S., produced in partnership with Columbia Journalism Investigations and the Center for Public Integrity. Lubben and Loginova discuss how they obtained the data necessary for the investigation, how they developed sources in affected communities, and the challenges of working on a large project with multiple stories.

FURTHER READING

“Harm’s Way”: https://bit.ly/3PAnfxC

“Trapped in Harm’s Way as Disasters Mount”: https://bit.ly/3Pnl4wZ

“Too Little, Too Late for People Seeking Climate Relief”: https://bit.ly/3w9l254

"Leaving the Island: The Messy, Contentious Reality of Climate Relocation": https://bit.ly/3K7Uozp

Transcript: https://bit.ly/3Pvgb5f

Type Investigations is a newsroom for independent investigative journalists. For our latest, subscribe to our newsletter: www.typeinvestigations.org/subscribe

In this conversation, investigative journalist Aviva Stahl talks about her reporting process for her 18-month investigation into force-feeding in federal prisons, how she developed her sources, and the risks incarcerated people take when they talk to reporters. Her investigation, “An American Black Site,” was produced in partnership with The Nation. (This Backstory was originally posted on our website on June 4, 2019.)

FURTHER READING

“An American Black Site:” https://bit.ly/3MPsit0

Transcript: https://bit.ly/3FemBC6

Type Investigations is a newsroom for independent investigative journalists. For our latest, subscribe to our newsletter: www.typeinvestigations.org/subscribe

In this conversation, award-winning journalist Lisa Armstrong discusses her investigation about a young woman who was sent to isolated confinement multiple times before she died by suicide, the challenges of reporting on such a delicate topic, and how she got access to the documents and videos to tell the story. Her investigation, “When Solitary Confinement is a Death Sentence,” was produced in partnership with Huffington Post, and aired as a documentary titled “The Perils of Private Prison Health Care” on CBS News. (This Backstory was originally posted on our website on October 4, 2019.)

FURTHER READING:

“When Solitary Confinement Is A Death Sentence:” https://bit.ly/3KDz3g1

“The Perils of Private Prison Health Care:” https://bit.ly/3LMJIWS

“Hard Time:” https://bit.ly/3FjlYaI

Transcript: https://bit.ly/382SgdG

Type Investigations is a newsroom for independent investigative journalists. For our latest, subscribe to our newsletter: www.typeinvestigations.org/subscribe

In this conversation, we talk to Sarah Sax about her investigation “When the Heat Is Unbearable but There’s Nowhere to Go,” produced in partnership with High Country News. Sax discusses Washington state prisons’ grievance process, how she connected with incarcerated sources, and her advice for reporters interested in reporting on conditions inside prisons.

FURTHER READING

“When the Heat Is Unbearable but There’s Nowhere to Go:” https://bit.ly/3OBhe3P

Transcript: https://bit.ly/3OUvWmq

Type Investigations is a newsroom for independent investigative journalists. For our latest, subscribe to our newsletter: www.typeinvestigations.org/subscribe

In this conversation, we talk to Type Investigations reporting fellow Sarah Posner about her latest piece on Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s leaked draft opinion for Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and her reporting on the evangelical Christian right. Posner discusses how she started reporting on the Christian right, the tactics evangelical right wing groups use in their campaign to reverse Roe v. Wade, and how advocates can challenge the attack on reproductive rights. Posner’s article, “Overturning Roe Is the Crowning Achievement of Christian Nationalism,” was published in partnership with The Nation.

FURTHER READING

“Overturning Roe Is the Crowning Achievement of Christian Nationalism:” https://bit.ly/3ys3inu

“Trump’s Christian Judges March On:” https://bit.ly/397JKu2

“Inside The Christian Legal Army Weakening the Church-State Divide:” https://bit.ly/3sreXiI

Transcript: https://bit.ly/395MNmy

Type Investigations is a newsroom for independent investigative journalists. For our latest, subscribe to our newsletter: www.typeinvestigations.org/subscribe

In this conversation, we talk to reporter Jaeah Lee about her investigation, “This Rap Song Helped Sentence a 17-Year-Old to Prison for Life,” produced in partnership with The New York Times. Lee discusses why she felt it was important to use a data-driven approach for her investigation, why she focused on Tommy Canady’s case, and the challenges of having an incarcerated source.

“This Rap Song Helped Sentence a 17-Year-Old to Prison for Life:” https://bit.ly/3wOUPdj

Transcript: https://bit.ly/3LJIsUj

Type Investigations is a newsroom for independent investigative journalists. For our latest, subscribe to our newsletter: www.typeinvestigations.org/subscribe