RECENT WORK

One millionaire landlord was behind half of Milwaukee's evictions during Covid lockdowns last June
Insider
Here's the story of how corporate landlords helped drive the evictions crisis

How the Violence Against Women Act Failed Women
The Nation
The provision of the 1994 Crime Bill sponsored by then-Senator Joe Biden has contributed to mass incarceration and state violence.

Home health aides were already overlooked and underpaid. Then they lost out on $400 billion in funding.
The Lily at The Washington Post
Biden’s original infrastructure proposal would’ve provided home-based workers with better training and pay

The FBI used my journalism to charge a January 6 insurrectionist.
Insider
When I got out of the shower one morning at the end of March, I had a voicemail from the FBI. They wanted to talk.

The Nation and the National Writers Union Reach an Agreement to protect freelancers’ rights and set rates and conditions
The Nation
The challenges freelance journalists face are no secret: payments delayed for months (sometimes failing to arrive at all), editors ghosting, and publications refusing to provide legal protection aren’t uncommon.

HIGHLIGHTS

Enforcing Eviction
The Nation
As a national housing crisis approaches, the police side with property against people.

These nurses have been striking for more than 200 days. The pandemic was a breaking point.
The Washington Post
The nurses’ strike at Saint Vincent is the longest such event in Massachusetts’s history

Sex workers rallied together when OnlyFans banned sexually explicit content. They believe their voices are finally being heard.
The Washington Post
The company abruptly backpedaled its decision to ban such content this week

Your Climate Anxiety is Another Person’s Existential Crisis
The New Republic
It’s natural for even fortunate Americans to worry about the planet’s future. But for some people, disaster has already struck.

Climate Change Could Devastate Africa. It’s Already Hurting This Kenyan Town
The Washington Post
The lake that Philip Tioko relies on for survival is a fine turquoise strip that seems to recede farther into the distance each day. His fishing village once hugged the shore, but now it is 800 feet away, and everything — food, water and employment — is drying up.

WOMEN’S HEALTH

Louisiana is ending its tax on diapers. 35 other states haven’t
The Washington Post
The burden of paying for diapers weighs heavily on many families.

Why doesn’t Biden use the word ‘abortion’ more?
The Washington Post
Biden’s statement on the Texas abortion ban did not include the word. It’s part of a larger trend, experts say.

Native women face high maternal mortality rates. Can Biden’s spending bill help?
The Washington Post
The Build Back Better Act aims to address racial disparities. Native advocates say Indigenous-led efforts are crucial.

Trump’s ‘Muslim ban’ policy had real consequences on birth outcomes, a new study shows”
The Washington Post
‘Racist and xenophobic policies have real effects on people’s health’

A whistleblower alleges mass hysterectomies at an ICE detention center. The U.S. has a brutal history of forced sterilizations.
The Washington Post
Low-income women of color have long been targeted

Opioid overdoses among women have increased dramatically. But treatment centers are still designed for men.
The Washington Post
A gnarled web of laws, stigma and sexism make it difficult for women to get the treatment they need.

African countries are trying to liberalize their abortion laws. Trump’s ‘global gag rule’ is making that difficult.
The Washington Post
Driven by the highest rates of deaths from unsafe abortion in the world African countries are trying to liberalize and implement their abortion laws. American foreign policy is stopping them, say activists across the continent.

A landmark policy reversal will now allow women to receive the Ebola vaccine
The Washington Post
The current outbreak is the second largest in history and pregnant women haven’t been protected.

The pandemic has caused as many as 1.4 million unintended pregnancies. Here’s how that impacts women’s lives.
The Washington Post
The pregnancies were a result of women not being able to access the family planning services they needed, according to UNFPA

Pregnant women in DRC finally receive Ebola vaccine
Devex
Pregnant women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo finally started receiving a life-saving Ebola vaccine, but the months-long delay has put hundreds of women at risk.

D.C. could be the first U.S. city to decriminalize sex work
The Lily at The Washington Post
Sex workers weigh in on what decriminalization would mean for their own lives

One year ago, a bill targeting online sex trafficking took effect. Sex workers say the consequences have been devastating.
The Lily at The Washington Post
Some say ‘FOSTA-SESTA’ is, at best, a major inconvenience; at worst, a death sentence

Fighting heroin addiction in conservative Zanzibar
Al Jazeera
Drug use has soared on the African island and women are the most vulnerable.

Why are American women dying in childbirth?
Al Jazeera
Maternal mortality rates are falling in every industrialised nation - except for the United States.

Fistula surgery transforms lives in Kenya
Al Jazeera
One Kenyan doctor offers free operations for women suffering from the condition, which often makes them outcasts

HOUSING AND EVICTIONS

An ‘eviction apocalypse’ is coming, experts warn. Black women will bear the brunt.”
The Washington Post
‘I lose sleep at night I’m so worried,’ says one woman living in D.C.

Inauguration Day Hits Washington D.C.’s huge homeless population hard
Insider
Our nation’s capital has the densest homeless population in the country. Inauguration shut down many services they rely on.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Jeff Bezos offers a vision of flying through space colonies with our own wings. But is that the best way to save the human race?
Insider
Is the billionaire Amazon founder the best person to be lecturing about overconsumption in a world of finite resources?

Reclaiming the Land
Stanford Social Innovation Review
The Nashulai Maasai Conservancy is taking back Kenya’s land for Indigenous people.

Marriage of survival: Will climate change mean more child brides?
Al Jazeera
Evidence suggests that environmental disasters could lead to earlier marriages in the communities gravely affected.

Gunfight at the K.C. Corral
Foreign Policy
How electioneering, climate change, and colonialism conspires to create central Kenya’s descent into lawlessness

FOREIGN AID

Can the Harambe Entrepreneur Alliance Eradicate Poverty in Africa?
Stanford Social Innovation Review
The Harambe Entrepreneur Alliance, a network of 304 entrepreneurs from 34 African countries, believes that business, rather than aid, is the key to eradicating poverty on the continent.

Journalism Initiative Crowdsources Feedback on Failed Foreign Aid Projects
Stanford Social Innovation Review
The citizen journalism effort What Went Wrong? examines international development projects with the help of reports from people the project was supposed to benefit.

How the “white-savior industrial complex” failed Liberia’s girls
Vox
Katie Meyler, More Than Me Academy, and the problem of valorizing inexperienced Americans who want to change the world.

How Should Nick Kristof Report On “The World’s Most Wretched Country?”
BRIGHT Magazine
The New York Times columnist is blunt about his strategic decisions to make Americans care about a place like Central African Republic. But at what cost?

Is Poverty Porn A Necessary Evil?
BRIGHT Magazine
Guild-Inducing images of black and brown people help charitable aid organizations rack in money. But only in the short run.

Inside The Self-Serving World Of Wealthy Do-Gooders
BRIGHT Magazine
In “Winners Take All,” Anand Giridharadas expertly skewers the liberal philanthropists who pat themselves on the back while not actually changing the world–and in fact, making it worse.

Integrative Philanthropy
Stanford Social Innovation Review
The Eastern Congo Initiative is transforming foreign aid by advocating for, investing in, and partnering with community organizations.

GLOBAL HEALTH

In South King County, an extraordinary effort to bring better health
The Seattle Times Sunday Magazine
Seattle is a global health powerhouse––can that help save its own residents from dying?

Heart disease used to be an ailment of the rich. But it’s now striking the world’s poor.
Vox
Heart disease is responsible for a third of all global deaths, and most of them are in the developing world.

The World Bank and tech companies want to use AI to predict famine
Vox
A new tool using data and AI is hoping to better predict famine and help millions experiencing food insecurity.

The deadliest infectious disease is becoming drug-resistant
Vox
The UN General Assembly held its first high-level meeting on tuberculosis.

Tanzania: Fighting social stigma to prevent HIV spread
Al Jazeera
Staggering AIDS death toll has forced conservative Tanzania to help gay people long rejected by its health system.

Fistula surgery transforms lives in Kenya
Al Jazeera
One Kenyan doctor offers free operations for women suffering from the condition, which often makes them outcasts

This Is Congo's Ninth Ebola Outbreak. They Got This.
BRIGHT Magazine
An outbreak of the deadly virus in Congo could be an epidemiological nightmare–but experts are cautiously optimistic. Why?

REFUGEES AND MIGRATION

“My Apartment Building is Full of Women Worrying About What Is Next”
BRIGHT Magazine
Mulki Mohamed Omar fled Somalia’s civil war for Kenya, with the hope of resettling in the United States. This is her story.

Why Uganda Is An Unexpected Haven for Refugees
BRIGHT Magazine
As growing isolationism fuels hostility toward refugees globally, Uganda is maintaining of the most liberal refugee policies in the world while shouldering one of the fastest-growing refugee crises.

BURUNDI ON THE BRINK

Burundi coup: shutdown of radio airwaves stokes fear
Christian Science Monitor
By gagging independent radio stations, the government is promoting fear and undermining long-gained press freedoms. On Wednesday, a Burundian army general declared he was dismissing President Nkurunziza.

Burundi's capital at a standstill as battle for control rages
Christian Science Monitor
A day after thousands celebrated the launch of a coup, rival armed factions traded gunfire at strategic sites in the capital. President Nkurunziza condemned the attempted coup on state radio from an unknown location on Thursday.

Burundi coup figure admits defeat after day of fighting in capital
The Guardian
Capital exploded into violence after former intelligence chief rallied elements of the military in attempt to oust absent Pierre Nkurunziza

In Burundi, youth find their voice as president clings to power
The Christian Science Monitor
Youth-led protests have turned violent over President Nkurunziza’s decision to run for a third term. Critics say the move is unconstitutional and could reverse the democratic progress made since a civil war ended in 2005.

Burundi: Can a credible election take place amid political crackdown?
The Christian Science Monitor
East African leaders have urged President Nkurunziza to delay the Burundi presidential election by a month. But Burundians say that no matter the date, there is little chance that any election will be free or fair.

AL SHABAB AND TERRORISM IN KENYA

Kenyans Blame Corrupt Government for Escalating al-Shabab Violence
Time Magazine
Since 2011, it is estimated that more than 300 people have been killed by terrorist attacks in Kenya.

Kenya faces the grim aftermath of school massacre
The Washington Post
Survivors of a bloody college campus assault prepared to spend a second night in tents at a makeshift camp on the city’s airstrip waiting to be bused home, as rescuers removed bodies from dormitories.

Kenyan official’s son identified as one of the gunmen in last week’s massacre
The Washington Post
Authorities have identified one of the al-Shabab gunmen responsible for the massacre last week at a Kenyan university that killed 148 students as the son of a Kenyan official.

Militant group threatens additional attacks on Kenya
The Washington Post
Two days after al-Shabab militants slaughtered 148 people in a devastating attack on a university in northeastern Kenya, the Islamic extremists issued a chilling threat that its terrorizing of Kenya was far from over.

At Kenya mall, a brother’s anguish turned to joy
The Seattle Times
Robert Mburu spent hours outside the besieged Westgate Mall in Nairobi, agonizing about whether his sister, Dorcas Mwangi, would escape. It was an experience shared by countless other Kenyans.

Can two men once charged with war crimes tame ethnic violence in Kenya?
The Washington Post
President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto have been accused of fomenting the same kind of ethnic violence they now say they are fighting against.

AFRICAN YOUTH ACTIVISM

Among Kenyan students, preventing 'another Garissa' remains top of mind
The Christian Science Monitor
Dissatisfied with campus security measures to stop terror attacks, university students have taken safety into their own hands after Al Shabaab militants killed 148 students at Garissa University College in April.

For youth protesters in Congo, a battle to avoid the 'third-term curse'
The Christian Science Monitor
Demonstrators in the Democratic Republic of Congo are hoping to foil President Kabila's attempts to run and win an unconstitutional third term – a fate that protesters in neighboring countries like Burundi have failed to stop.

In Kenya, a pushback against corruption fills courts' dockets
The Christian Science Monitor
Activists say a sharp rise in graft cases this year is a turning point in Kenya's long battle with corruption. Most Africans think that corruption has increased over the last year.

He Had One Week To Make A Movie For The Slum Film Festival
NPR
It was the closing ceremony of the Fifth Annual Slum Film Festival and Maxwell Odhiambo's film, the centerpiece of the night, wasn't there yet.

HISTORICAL

Men who joined in violently storming the US Capitol describe a carnival atmosphere inside
Insider
A mob of President Donald Trump's supporters smashed their way into the US Capitol on Wednesday.

American Women Fought for Suffrage for 70 Years. It Took WW1 to Finally Achieve It.
The History Channel

Meet Elizabeth Freeman, the First Enslaved Woman to Sue for Her Freedom––and Win
The History Channel
Nearly 80 years before the Dred Scott decision, a midwife used the Massachusetts constitution to fight for her liberty.

Red Summer of 1919: How Black WW1 Vets Fought Back Against Racist Mobs
The History Channel

40 Years a Slave: The Extraordinary Tale of an African Prince Stolen from His Kingdom
The History Channel
Abdulrahman Ibrahim Ibn Sori was West African royalty before he was enslaved on a Mississippi plantation.