On the Making + Unmaking of Cities
The unfinished business of Flint’s water crisis, ProPublica
How the problem of ‘Waste’ affects the rural poor, New York Times Book Review
‘Broke’ chronicles a city out of cash and awash in desperation, New York Times Book Review
Clean, affordable drinking water is a racial issue, Washington Post
Old motels, campsites and shelters fill housing void in Northwest Michigan, Bridge
The improbable small business comeback of Flint, CityLab
2 Michigan cities are steps apart – but inequality between them runs deep, Detroit Free Press
The city that unpoisoned its pipes, Next City
The threat to Detroit’s rebound isn’t crime or the economy. It’s the mortgage industry, Next City
Designing for the dead: The perfect city cemetery, Next City
The unlikely boom of Chicago’s Chinatown, Next City
Going without water in Detroit, New York Times
On Public Health
A sweeping report finds multiple failures, troubled aftermath, ProPublica
They trusted their prenatal test. They didn’t know the industry is an unregulated ‘Wild West.’” ProPublica, with Adriana Gallardo, Jenny Deam + Mariam Elba
Pregnant? Here’s what you need to know about NIPTs, ProPublica, with Adriana Gallardo + Mariam Elba
The tests are vital. But Congress decided regulation is not, ProPublica
Scores of critical lab tests fall into a regulatory void. The FDA is trying to close it, ProPublica
Detroit’s health care workers ask: ‘How many lives can we save?’, Huffington Post + Type Investigations, with Patricia Anstett, Jonathan Cohn, + Tom Perkins
‘By not acting, you’re enabling.’ Why survivors are abandoned to protect institutions, Michigan Radio
‘Nothing to worry about. The water is fine.’ How Flint poisoned its people, The Guardian
Michigan made Flint’s water crisis worse than it should have been, Business Insider
The poisoned city: Confronting the catastrophe in Flint, Detroit Free Press
Some of the best opioid coverage is not where you’d expect, Columbia Journalism Review
A forensic nurse explains: What goes into collecting a rape kit, Elle
On the Environment
When the dams broke in Midland, Michigan, Belt
The future of the Great Lakes, Belt; also published as the cover story of Cleveland’s Scene
Rising: Dispatches from the new American shore, Waxwing Literary Journal
Who could ever love a river now?, Lapham’s Quarterly
Michigan chips away at agency meant to protect environment, Detroit Free Press
Is Foxconn really worth risking a Great Lake?, Washington Post
On Education, School, Families + Children
The nonprofit college that spends more on marketing than financial aid, ProPublica, with David Jesse, in partnership with the Detroit Free Press
Baker College threatens legal action against former teacher who talked to reporters, ProPublica, with David Jesse, in partnership with the Detroit Free Press
Baker College faces federal investigation over “recruitment and marketing practices, ProPublica
Federal scrutiny, plunging revenue plague a private college’s attempt at a turnaround, ProPublica, with David Jesse, in partnership with the Chronicle of Higher Education and the Detroit Free Press
A fifth of American adults struggle to read. Why are we failing to teach them?, ProPublica, with Annie Waldman + Aliyya Swaby
These children fled Afghanistan without their families. They’re stuck in U.S. custody, ProPublica, with Melissa Sanchez
A sweeping report on a Michigan school shooting finds multiple failures and a trouble aftermath, ProPublica
Big plan on campus, Land Lines
Pandemic takes toll on Michigan children with autism and their families, Bridge Detroit
Scores of Detroit schools are empty eyesores. Here’s why it’s so hard to bring them back to life, Chalkbeat Detroit
Food insecurity is rising in Detroit. So is the number of people fighting it, Planet Detroit
On Justice + Prisons
Why is Michigan failing to compensate the wrongly convicted? ProPublica
11,341 rapes shelved and forgotten: This is one of them, Elle
Robert Anderson’s survivors are seeking justice from the university that ignored them for decades, Michigan Radio
He was wrongly imprisoned for 25 years. It wasn’t DNA evidence that got him out, New Republic
How a group of lifers cracked the code of prison reform, Politico Magazine
Think your house is hard to unload? Try selling a prison, Bridge
Redesigning a prison town, Next City
The struggle for accountability in Flint, Boston Review
Inmate improv, New York Times
On Journalism + Literature
The last days of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Columbia Journalism Review
A review of Liam McIlvanney’s The Quaker, Waxwing Literary Journal
Magazine censored, editor dropped for covering Henry Ford’s anti-Semitic newspaper, Columbia Journalism Review
In an era of disinvestment, how should local news push back?, Columbia Journalism Review
With teamwork and hustle, Toledo Blade dominated after Charlottesville attack, Columbia Journalism Review
Notes on reading a very long novel, Waxwing Literary Journal
In Flint, a new era for one of the oldest community outlets in the US, Columbia Journalism Review
How a unique community radio station serves listeners in Appalachia, Columbia Journalism Review
What Philip Levine’s work is, Belt
A review of Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend, Waxwing Literary Journal
Literary archeology, Guernica
Exploding the canon: On the African Writers’ Series, Los Angeles Review of Books
The Secret Garden‘s hidden depths, The Guardian
On Art, Sports + Culture
Reviving Detroit’s historic Blue Bird Inn, Belt
Preserving the legacy of black baseball in Detroit’s Hamtramck Stadium, CityLab
Detroit’s game-changing sports reporter on a half century of work, Columbia Journalism Review
4 things sports writers can learn from Eduardo Galeano, Columbia Journalism Review
Motor City exhibition ‘Dance’ shows how motion has long inspired American art, Washington Post
Krazy Komic, Guernica
The human element: Remembering the birth of instant replay, Pacific Standard
Ty Cobb as Detroit, Grantland
Essay-ish
Inmate improv, New York Times
The General Motors century, New York Times
Mary Tyler Moore’s guide to leaning In, New York Times
Room for something new, Medium