STRATEGY
Project editing, management and audience strategy for The Washington Post
THE COLLECTION
An investigation into the Smithsonian's collection of at least 30,700 human remains, including more than 255 brains. The series reveals the Museum of Natural History's century-old 'racial brain collection,' making public the most extensive analysis and accounting of the collection to date, the anthropologist behind its curation and the stories of those whose brains were taken.
The Collection series is published through long-form digital and print reads, podcasts, videos, an illustrated story available in two languages including animated videos and a graphic novel, as well as behind-the-scenes reporting. The project involved nearly 100 contributors including more than 80 Washington Post journalists and staffers, eight independent contributors and four students from the American University-Washington Post practicum program.
AWARDS
2024 Pulitzer Finalist
Illustrated Reporting and Commentary
"Searching for Maura"
The Dori J. Maynard Justice Award
Poynter Journalism Prizes
ILLUSTRATIONS BY REN GALENO FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
Searching for Maura & Paghahanap kay Maura
Maura came to St. Louis from the Philippines to be put on display at the 1904 World’s Fair. She soon fell ill and died, and records suggest a world-renowned Smithsonian anthropologist took part of her brain. Few people would know what happened to her for more than a century. In The Washington Post's first illustrated investigation, "Searching for Maura" illustrates Maura's life and death as part of The Collection series.
The story was also translated, marking "Paghahanap kay Maura" The Post's first story to be published in Filipino and made available across all of its published mediums.
"Searching for Maura" and "Paghahanap kay Maura" can be read digitally, watched as an animated video and read in 48-page graphic novel available for purchase.
The human remains database
The Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History has never publicly released a full inventory of its holdings of human remains. The Post assembled a database of records designed to offer the public a starting point for learning more about specific remains. It offers the most comprehensive overview of the collection to date and reveals for the first time many of the institutions and donors who were involved in gathering body parts.
Read the stories
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The Smithsonian's 'bone doctor' scavenged thousands of body parts →
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Smithsonian targeted D.C.'s vulnerable to build brain collection →
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Smithsonian returns woman's brain to family 90 years after it was taken →
Listen to the podcasts
Watch the animated videos
Behind the scenes reporting
ILLUSTRATION BY LUCY NALAND/THE WASHINGTON POST; PETER MORRIS/FAIRFAX MEDIA/GETTY IMAGES; PETE LEABO/AP; AP; USGS; JABIN BOTSFORD/THE WASHINGTON POST; GEORGE H.W. BUSH VICE PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS; ALLEYNE/AP; THE WASHINGTON POST
THE EMPTY GRAVE OF COMRADE BISHOP
Grenada’s revolutionary leader, Maurice Bishop, was executed in a coup in 1983. Seven other people, members of his cabinet and friends, were killed alongside him. The whereabouts of their remains are unknown.
In this seven-part investigative podcast hosted by Post Reports' Martine Powers, The Washington Post discovers new information about the 40-year-old mystery, including the role the U.S. played in shaping the fate of this Caribbean nation.
All episodes are available on The Washington Post, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Youtube or wherever you listen to podcasts. LISTEN NOW →
READ THE EPISODE GUIDE: PHOTOS AND DOCUMENTS FROM THE INVESTIGATION →
AWARDS
2023 Peabody Award
Radio and Podcasts
2024 Ambie Award
Best Podcast Host or Hosts
ILLUSTRATION BY LAURA PADILLA CASTELLANOS / THE WASHINGTON POST
POWER GRAB
The artificial intelligence industry is driving a nationwide data center building boom. These sprawling warehouses of computing infrastructure are creating explosive demand for power, water and other resources. This Post investigates the impacts on America and the risks AI infrastructure creates for the environment and the energy transition.
PHOTO BY JAHI CHIKWENDIU / THE WASHINGTON POST
THE DROWNING SOUTH
A series examining sea level rise.
One of the most rapid sea level surges on Earth is besieging the American South, forcing a reckoning for coastal communities across eight U.S. states, a Washington Post analysis found. These stories explore what that means on the ground.
THE WASHINGTON POST
MASS KILLINGS TRACKER & A RECORD-BREAKING YEAR
As the nation continues to grapple with the violence of mass shootings, The Washington Post launched a database that tracks mass killings, which are defined as incidents in which four or more people are killed within a 24-hour period regardless of circumstances or where the incident occurred. The database uses data collected by the Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University that goes back to 2006.
There were 39 mass killings with a gun in 2023, the highest number of mass killings in any year since 2006, breaking the previous record of 36 set in 2022.
SEE THE WASHINGTON POST'S MASS KILLINGS TRACKER →
READ THE TRACKER METHODOLOGY →
PHOTO BY JULIA NIKHINSON / FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
THE DIVIDED STATES
OF FOOTBALL
A series examining the decline of tackle football.
In American culture, the game stands virtually alone in the way its appeal cuts across demographic lines. But when it comes to actually playing tackle football - and risking physical toll of a sport linked to brain damage - there are wide divisions marked by politics, economics and race, an examination by The Washington Post found. And as the sport grapples with the steep overall decline in participation among young people, some of those divisions appear to be getting wider, The Post found, with football's risks continuing to be borne by boys in places that tend to be poorer and more conservative - a revelation with disturbing implications for the future of the sport.
STORY KILLERS
A global consortium into disinformation mercenaries, the reputation management industry and online abuse of women journalists around the world.
The investigation was inspired by the work of Gauri Lankesh, an editor who was fatally shot in 2017 following her reporting on disinformation in India.
The collaborative project was led by Forbidden Stories, a Paris-based nonprofit news organization that pursues the work of assassinated journalists, in partnership with 30 news organizations including The Washington Post, The Guardian, Der Spiegel, Le Monde, Haaretz and El País.
Read The Washington Post's coverage
AWARDS
2023 Online Journalism Award
Excellence in Collaboration and Partnerships
ILLUSTRATION BY LUISA JUNG FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
THE COVID MONEY TRAIL
An investigation into the pandemic spending money. It was the largest burst of emergency spending in U.S. history: two years, six laws and more than
$5 trillion intended to break the deadly grip of the coronavirus pandemic. The money spared the U.S. economy from ruin and put vaccines into millions of arms, but it also invited unprecedented levels of fraud, abuse and opportunism.
In this year-long series, The Covid Money Trail asks and investigates: Where did the money go?
ILLUSTRATION BY COURTNEY BEESCH FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
IMPERFECT UNION
A series examining the ways Americans feel unrepresented by a political system struggling with a collision of forces both old and new. In more routine ways, the political system feeds frustration and discontent with its incapacity to respond to the public's needs. And there is little on the horizon to suggest solutions.
This project dives into the cracks within the American government structure and the deepening polarization of the political system.
ILLUSTRATIONS BY TIM MCDONAGH FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
BUILT & BROKEN
An investigation into the world of American bodybuilding. Reporting focused on two main areas: abuses within the industry and the health dangers surrounding the sport.
Over the course of a year, The Washington Post published stories on the exploitation of female bodybuilders, the family running the largest federations in the United States, what bodybuilders do to their brains and bodies, and competitors risking lives and dying as coaches and judges encourage extreme measures. The series released a total of six main stories and two follow-ups, a mini documentary and a podcast episode.
The investigation was sparked by a tip received by Post reporter Desmond Butler, the son of director George Butler who directed "Pumping Iron," the 1977 documentary film that helped put bodybuilding on the world stage.
WATCH THE MINI DOCUMENTARY: "Exploited for decades, female bodybuilders speak out" →
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST: "Investigating the sport my dad made famous" →
ILLUSTRATION BY MICHELLE ROHN FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
DEPARTMENT OF DATA
A weekly column led by Post reporter Andrew Van Dam dedicated to exploring the weird and wondrous power of the data that defines our world. Each Friday, the Department of Data digs into overlooked and underappreciated data sets in search of hard truths and keen insights that will help make you smarter, better-looking and more fun at parties.
Readers can also submit questions for research. Those that result in a column receive an exclusive Department of Data secret agent card and pin.
The project aims to provide fun, yet insightful counterprogramming for The Washington Post. Afterall, fun facts are serious business.
PHOTO BY CAROLYN VAN HOUTEN / THE WASHINGTON POST
SPERM DONOR SHORTAGE
Women of color turning to sperm banks for motherhood are struggling to find choice options. Black women in particular who wish to use Black sperm donors for shared culture are encountering a severe shortage of Black sperm donations.
Black men account for fewer than 2 percent of donors at cryobanks. When available, their vials are gone in minutes. These women face a potentially years-long wait or, in extreme cases, turn to buying sperm from unregulated apps and online groups.
But sperm banks have an uphill battle as they struggle to encourage men of color to donate and confront strict, outdated FDA criteria.