These days, a conspiracy theory can burn through a population like a pathogen. And while these theories are built on top of untruths, the ripples they send out in the world can be very real. Jessica … Read more
“It’s scary.” Jessica Ravitz, a freelance reporter and storyteller, reported on the prevalence of suicide in rural America for CNN Digital in August 2018. According to a 2015 CDC report, Montana led the nation’s suicide rate at … Read more
EDITOR’S NOTE: Narrative editor Jan Winburn created a class focused on trauma reporting last semester at the University of Montana, where she was the T. Anthony Pollner Distinguished Professor. For the next four Thursdays, we’ll post interviews her students did … Read more
Untold stories remain one of journalism’s and society’s starkest gaps. The plight of the mentally ill and homeless, the Sisyphean struggles of the working poor, ingrained prejudice against minorities in the workplace, child poverty and hunger — those subjects … Read more
Another year, another trove of excellent journalism — so much that I’ve given up on keeping up. I take some comfort in that as our profession continues to struggle with issues of trust and solvency. The Storyboard mission is … Read more
Ask Andrea Elliott a question and it’s not surprising that she has a tough time being succinct in her answers. “Of course I do…I’m a long-form journalist.” By anyone’s definition, that description is an understatement. Her … Read more
In 1994, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun reversed his long-held, if ambivalent, support of the constitutionality of capital punishment. In an emotional dissent, the 85-year-old justice famously called the workings of “the machinery of death.” … Read more
With Thanksgiving upon us, families across America will gather around tables laden with roast turkey and pumpkin pie. Or not. During the Trump era, squabbles over politics disrupted a holiday that is more about togetherness than religion or gifts. Read more
Science journalist Ed Yong of The Atlantic has earned the reputation as one of, if not the, top chroniclers of the COVID-19 pandemic. He won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting with a series of in-depth pieces … Read more
Before she penned a nearly 9,000-word feature about the choices that parents navigate when leaving Orthodox Judaism behind, Larissa MacFarquhar hadn’t covered this particular community. A self-described generalist, The New Yorker writer has chased her curiosity across varied subject … Read more