The Backstory

In this conversation, we talk to 2020-2021 Ida B. Wells fellow Akintunde Ahmad about his investigation “What Happened When Oakland Tried To Make Police Pay for Misconduct.” Ahmad discusses how he developed some of the sources for his story, the challenges he faced reporting on events from decades ago, and what activists can learn from this failed attempt at police reform.

“What Happened When Oakland Tried To Make Police Pay for Misconduct”: https://bit.ly/3CcuZR9

Transcript: https://bit.ly/3C4G0nD

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 Lannan reporting fellow Melissa del Bosque about her experiences reporting on the U.S.-Mexico border and her investigation into the murder of two Guatemalan migrants by Texas state troopers. Del Bosque discusses how she started reporting on the border, the difficulty of talking to the families of victims when there hasn’t been any justice, and why it’s important to talk to people on the ground when reporting for a national audience.

FURTHER READING:

“Texas Troopers Opened Fire From a Helicopter in 2012. Families Are Still Fighting to Hold Them Accountable”: https://bit.ly/3qMiY0J

“Texas National Guard Filmed Trespassing During Border Operations”: https://bit.ly/3GMp9aH

“Secretive CBP Counterterrorism Teams Interrogated Over 180,000 U.S. Citizens Over Two-Year Period”: https://bit.ly/3tNDDDm

The Border Chronicle: https://bit.ly/3Io9oaj

Transcript: https://bit.ly/3H1Bx6W

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 Adam Federman about his newest article on permafrost thaw in Alaska, and his reporting on government policy on oil and gas development on public lands. Federman discusses how he started reporting on the government’s role in fossil fuel development, the importance of emphasizing the human impacts of climate change, and the difficulty of communicating complex science. Federman’s story, “The Big Thaw,” was published in partnership with Sierra Magazine.

FURTHER READING:

“The Big Thaw”: https://bit.ly/3oU1tuu

“Abrupt Permafrost Thaw Has Scientists Worried”: https://bit.ly/327xzdm

Transcript: https://bit.ly/3s71M7g

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 former Type Investigations reporting fellow Seth Freed Wessler about his new documentary “The Facility and how his reporting led to the film’s creation. Wessler discusses how he started reporting on Georgia’s Irwin County Detention Center, why he felt it was important to show what was happening as COVID-19 spread inside the facility, and how reporting on it would have been impossible without the organizing done by the detainees.

A Field of Vision production in partnership with Type Investigations and Rayuela Films, the film is told primarily through video chats with the detainees. “The Facility” is available to stream on fieldofvision.org, and airs on MSNBC Sunday, December 5 at 10 PM ET.

FURTHER READING:

“The Facility”: https://bit.ly/3xNZF93

Fear, Illness and Death in ICE Detention: How a Protest Grew on the Inside: https://bit.ly/3G5OawP

‘I Can’t Do Anything’: Doctor Detained By ICE Waits For Coronavirus Outbreak To Hit: https://bit.ly/3xPhpRB

Immigrant Detainees Stage Protest For More COVID-19 Protections: ‘WE ARE NOT SAFE’: https://bit.ly/3ogCmBK

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

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 Ida B. Wells fellow Irene Romulo about her investigation into ‘gang contracts’ students in Cicero and Berwyn, Illinois, are pressured into signing. Romulo discusses how she discovered the ‘gang contracts,’ the importance of writing for the community you report on, and the impact her story has had on students in her community. Romulo’s story, “‘Gang Contracts’ in Cicero and Berwyn Schools Raise Concerns About Criminalization of Youth,” was published in May in partnership with Injustice Watch and the publication she co-founded, Cicero Independiente.

FURTHER READING:

“‘Gang Contracts’ in Cicero and Berwyn Schools Raise Concerns About Criminalization of Youth”: https://bit.ly/3AC3RZp

"‘Contratos de Pandillas’ en escuelas de Cicero y Berwyn causan preocupación sobre la criminalización juvenil": https://bit.ly/3iZs1ae

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

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

In this conversation, we hear from journalist and author Sylvia A. Harvey about her investigation into how the foster care system often removes parental rights from parents who have been to prison. Harvey talks about the challenges of covering the foster care system, why she focused on a father, Kenneth Clark, rather than a mother, and how she slowly gained his trust. Harvey’s story, in partnership with The Nation, follows Clark, a father of five who lost custody of his children after being sent to prison for failure to appear in court. (This episode was originally posted on our website on July 24, 2020.)

FURTHER READING:

“How a Trip to Prison Cost Kenneth Clark His Right to Be a Parent”: https://bit.ly/2WHEAPx

Transcript: https://bit.ly/3A7OmYY

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

In this conversation, investigative journalist and documentary filmmaker Sarah McClure describes her year-long reporting into sexual abuse in the Amish communities, her reporting process, and the difficulties of covering sexual assault in insular communities. The investigation, published in partnership with Cosmopolitan, reveals how Amish church leaders concealed sexual abuse in their communities. (This episode was originally posted on our website on January 21, 2020.)

FURTHER READING:

“The Amish Keep to Themselves. And They’re Hiding a Horrifying Secret”: bit.ly/3Ae4ZlR

Transcript: bit.ly/3iwG5ry

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

In this conversation, we learn from film producer and director Juliana Schatz Preston about the challenges of reporting on bureaucratic systems, how Preston broached sensitive topics with sources, and why it’s important to report on solutions as well as problems.

Preston, a 2018-17 Ida B. Wells Fellow with Type Investigations, revealed how parents of children with severe mental illness feel pressured to relinquish custody to the state so their children can receive residential treatment. Preston’s reporting became a radio story produced in partnership with Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting and a TV documentary produced in partnership with FRONTLINE. (This Backstory episode was originally posted on our website on October 8, 2019.)

FURTHER READING:

“Waiting for Tearah”: https://bit.ly/3Agn1E3

“A Desperate Bargain”: https://bit.ly/2Yk4SrM

Transcript: https://bit.ly/3Bieku9

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