Selected Articles
A full list of stories can be found here.
2022
The Data Are Pointing to One Major Driver of America’s Murder Spike | The Atlantic
(with Jeff Asher)
We found that gun sales surged in 2020 and were statistically associated with the major increase in murders during the pandemic.
2021
Deaths of Despair Have Surged Among People of Color | Intelligencer / New York Magazine
Using medical examiner data from several of the nation's largest counties, I found that suicides and drug overdose deaths increased rapidly among Black and Latino populations in 2020.
What Drove The Historically Large Murder Spike In 2020? | The Intercept
With Jeff Asher, I delved into the reasons behind the historically large increase in violence in 2020.
2020
The Man Who Helped Turn 4chan Into the Internet's Racist Engine | Motherboard
4chan is a rare combination of an enormously popular site which also hosts more hate speech than some overtly Neo-Nazi domains. A lot of theories exist to explain how it became such a bastion of far-right ideology, but in this deeply-reported piece I showed that a conservative site administrator named "RapeApe" was partially responsible.
The US Eliminated Nearly 21,000 Election Day Polling Locations for 2020 | VICE News
We built a national database of polling place locations right before the 2020 election and documented more than 20,000 polling place cuts for a mix of reasons: COVID-19, transitions to vote by mail or early voting, and a new model called "vote centers." Some instances of closures may disenfranchise voters of color. (Co-bylined with Cameron Joseph.)
How a Pharma Giant Flooded the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation With Opioids | VICE News
Exclusive data on opioid shipments showed that one company provided nearly 80% of the drugs to Indian Health Services medical facilities across the country. Native Americans on reservations received more opioids and died at a higher rate than comparable, nearby populations. (Co-bylined with Keegan Hamilton.)
Pollsters got it wrong in the 2016 election. Now they want another shot. | MIT Technology Review
The Data Are Pointing to One Major Driver of America’s Murder Spike | The Atlantic
(with Jeff Asher)
We found that gun sales surged in 2020 and were statistically associated with the major increase in murders during the pandemic.
2021
Deaths of Despair Have Surged Among People of Color | Intelligencer / New York Magazine
Using medical examiner data from several of the nation's largest counties, I found that suicides and drug overdose deaths increased rapidly among Black and Latino populations in 2020.
What Drove The Historically Large Murder Spike In 2020? | The Intercept
With Jeff Asher, I delved into the reasons behind the historically large increase in violence in 2020.
2020
The Man Who Helped Turn 4chan Into the Internet's Racist Engine | Motherboard
4chan is a rare combination of an enormously popular site which also hosts more hate speech than some overtly Neo-Nazi domains. A lot of theories exist to explain how it became such a bastion of far-right ideology, but in this deeply-reported piece I showed that a conservative site administrator named "RapeApe" was partially responsible.
The US Eliminated Nearly 21,000 Election Day Polling Locations for 2020 | VICE News
We built a national database of polling place locations right before the 2020 election and documented more than 20,000 polling place cuts for a mix of reasons: COVID-19, transitions to vote by mail or early voting, and a new model called "vote centers." Some instances of closures may disenfranchise voters of color. (Co-bylined with Cameron Joseph.)
How a Pharma Giant Flooded the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation With Opioids | VICE News
Exclusive data on opioid shipments showed that one company provided nearly 80% of the drugs to Indian Health Services medical facilities across the country. Native Americans on reservations received more opioids and died at a higher rate than comparable, nearby populations. (Co-bylined with Keegan Hamilton.)
Pollsters got it wrong in the 2016 election. Now they want another shot. | MIT Technology Review
2019
MLB Admits Lower Seam Height Caused The Home Run Surge | Baseball Prospectus
After I reported that the baseball had changed in 2019--first, resulting in less air resistance and more home runs, then suddenly in the playoffs reversing to produce lower home run rates--MLB convened a committee of scientists to investigate the ball. Their report vindicated much of my own reporting over the course of the year, including establishing definitively that the baseball was to blame for the recent fluctuations in home run rates.
We Analyzed More Than 1 Million Comments On 4chan. Hate Speech There Has Spiked By 40% Since 2015. | VICE News
Trump’s Justice Department Is Investigating 60% Fewer Civil Rights Cases Than Obama's | VICE News
This story spurred questioning of the Attorney General (William Barr) and Assistant Attorney General (Eric Dreiband) in Congressional hearings.
We Got Our Hands on 73,000 Never-Before-Seen MLB Scouting Reports. Here’s What We Learned. | The Ringer
This article (and the subsequent series) broke down insights from the first large-scale leak of professional baseball scouting reports, characterizing the accuracy of the reports, differences between scouts, and even biases in evaluating players of different races. (Co-bylined with Ben Lindbergh.)
MLB Admits Lower Seam Height Caused The Home Run Surge | Baseball Prospectus
After I reported that the baseball had changed in 2019--first, resulting in less air resistance and more home runs, then suddenly in the playoffs reversing to produce lower home run rates--MLB convened a committee of scientists to investigate the ball. Their report vindicated much of my own reporting over the course of the year, including establishing definitively that the baseball was to blame for the recent fluctuations in home run rates.
We Analyzed More Than 1 Million Comments On 4chan. Hate Speech There Has Spiked By 40% Since 2015. | VICE News
Trump’s Justice Department Is Investigating 60% Fewer Civil Rights Cases Than Obama's | VICE News
This story spurred questioning of the Attorney General (William Barr) and Assistant Attorney General (Eric Dreiband) in Congressional hearings.
We Got Our Hands on 73,000 Never-Before-Seen MLB Scouting Reports. Here’s What We Learned. | The Ringer
This article (and the subsequent series) broke down insights from the first large-scale leak of professional baseball scouting reports, characterizing the accuracy of the reports, differences between scouts, and even biases in evaluating players of different races. (Co-bylined with Ben Lindbergh.)
2018
How The Gutting Of The Voting Rights Act Led To Hundreds of Closed Polls | VICE News
This story included on-location reporting and photographs I took in Manatee County, Florida. It was adapted into a TV segment on VICE News Tonight. (Co-bylined with Allison McCann.)
Bad Chicago Cops Spread Their Misconduct Like A Disease | The Intercept
130 Chicago Officers Account For 29 Percent Of Police Shootings | The Intercept
The above two stories were part of a package nominated for a Chicago Headline Club award for Best Feature Series.
A Diabolical New Ploy To Suppress Black Voter Turnout | Slate
We X-Rayed Some MLB Baseballs. Here's What We Found. | FiveThirtyEight
This story was the culmination of three years of research into a spike in home runs in MLB. Later, a commission of scientists and statisticians confirmed many findings from this and related stories I published on the home run surge, including (most importantly) that changes to the physical constitution of the major league baseball were to blame for the increase in homers. (Co-bylined with Ben Lindbergh.)
How The Gutting Of The Voting Rights Act Led To Hundreds of Closed Polls | VICE News
This story included on-location reporting and photographs I took in Manatee County, Florida. It was adapted into a TV segment on VICE News Tonight. (Co-bylined with Allison McCann.)
Bad Chicago Cops Spread Their Misconduct Like A Disease | The Intercept
130 Chicago Officers Account For 29 Percent Of Police Shootings | The Intercept
The above two stories were part of a package nominated for a Chicago Headline Club award for Best Feature Series.
A Diabolical New Ploy To Suppress Black Voter Turnout | Slate
We X-Rayed Some MLB Baseballs. Here's What We Found. | FiveThirtyEight
This story was the culmination of three years of research into a spike in home runs in MLB. Later, a commission of scientists and statisticians confirmed many findings from this and related stories I published on the home run surge, including (most importantly) that changes to the physical constitution of the major league baseball were to blame for the increase in homers. (Co-bylined with Ben Lindbergh.)
2017
Shot By Cops And Forgotten | VICE News
I worked with a team of journalists at VICE News to build the largest media database of US police shootings, including (for the first time) nonfatal incidents. We spoke with survivors of shootings, examined racial disparities, and followed-up by analyzing what police reforms worked to reduce police shooting rates in American cities. The story was adapted into a TV segment on VICE News Tonight and won a 2018 Front Page Award from the Newswomen's Club of New York. (Co-produced with a huge team of incredible VICE News journalists, including Taylor Dolven, Keegan Hamilton, Allison McCann, and Carter Sherman.)
Medicine Is Getting More Precise... For White People | FiveThirtyEight
Latinos In Three Cities Are Reporting Fewer Crimes Since Trump Took Office | FiveThirtyEight
Inside the Algorithm That Tries to Predict Gun Violence in Chicago | New York Times Upshot
In this story, Jeff Asher and I used a statistical method to reverse-engineer a predictive policing algorithm the Chicago Police Department was using to guide arrests of individual citizens. The department refused to hand over the methodology behind the algorithm until they lost a court case in 2019. Documents released in the wake of that decision largely confirmed the story's findings. (Co-bylined with Jeff Asher.)
2016 and prior
What's in Your Genes? | Slate
This piece broke down the shadowy world of companies purporting to analyze genetic data from sites like Ancestry.com, often using over-hyped or downright fraudulent methods.
Chicago Police Are Shooting Fewer People Since An Officer Killed Laquan McDonald | FiveThirtyEight (Co-bylined with Jeff Asher.)
Shot By Cops And Forgotten | VICE News
I worked with a team of journalists at VICE News to build the largest media database of US police shootings, including (for the first time) nonfatal incidents. We spoke with survivors of shootings, examined racial disparities, and followed-up by analyzing what police reforms worked to reduce police shooting rates in American cities. The story was adapted into a TV segment on VICE News Tonight and won a 2018 Front Page Award from the Newswomen's Club of New York. (Co-produced with a huge team of incredible VICE News journalists, including Taylor Dolven, Keegan Hamilton, Allison McCann, and Carter Sherman.)
Medicine Is Getting More Precise... For White People | FiveThirtyEight
Latinos In Three Cities Are Reporting Fewer Crimes Since Trump Took Office | FiveThirtyEight
Inside the Algorithm That Tries to Predict Gun Violence in Chicago | New York Times Upshot
In this story, Jeff Asher and I used a statistical method to reverse-engineer a predictive policing algorithm the Chicago Police Department was using to guide arrests of individual citizens. The department refused to hand over the methodology behind the algorithm until they lost a court case in 2019. Documents released in the wake of that decision largely confirmed the story's findings. (Co-bylined with Jeff Asher.)
2016 and prior
What's in Your Genes? | Slate
This piece broke down the shadowy world of companies purporting to analyze genetic data from sites like Ancestry.com, often using over-hyped or downright fraudulent methods.
Chicago Police Are Shooting Fewer People Since An Officer Killed Laquan McDonald | FiveThirtyEight (Co-bylined with Jeff Asher.)