The Best Journalism of 2022
In my very biased opinion.
Happy new year everyone! As a member and keen observer of the news industry, every year I like to publish a round-up of the best journalism I’ve consumed in the past 365 days. The list is broken down by medium (print, audio, video and photo) and has 10 entries for each, presented in no particular order. Enjoy.
Best in Print
“We need to take away children.”
By Caitlin Dickerson / The Atlantic
A chilling tale of what happens when bureaucracy goes awry and policy trumps humanity.
‘Dying Inside’: Chaos and Cruelty in Louisiana Juvenile Detention
By Megan Shutzer & Rachel Lauren Mueller / The New York Times
The sheer scale of abuse described in this investigation is frankly shocking: Sexual assaults. Physical abuse bordering on torture. Bribery. More than five dozen suicide attempts in two years. This is the kind of revelatory journalism I aspire to produce.
The Night Raids
By Lynzy Billing / ProPublica
Just as with the Times’ airstrike investigation last year, it’s hard to describe the findings of this story as anything but war crimes.
In Hasidic Enclaves, Failing Private Schools Flush With Public Money
By Eliza Shapiro & Brian M. Rosenthal / The New York Times
This story is community accountability journalism at its finest, exposing massive failures of Hasidic schools to educate their students.
Would You Ditch All This Chaos for a Country in the Cloud?
By Anthony Lydgate / WIRED
This story contains what are, by far, the most enjoyable, cynical and true few paragraphs I’ve read all year. You’ll know it when you read it.
COVID-19 Origins: Investigating a “Complex and Grave Situation” Inside a Wuhan Lab
By Katherine Eban & Jeff Kao / Vanity Fair & ProPublica
Two years on, the evidence for the Lab Leak hypothesis has continued to mount. Some of the most interesting contributions have come from Katherine Eban at Vanity Fair. In this latest piece, Eban pairs up with ProPublica reporter Jeff Kao to bring readers behind the scenes of the Senate’s investigation into the origins of the pandemic.
When Private Equity Takes Over a Nursing Home
By Yasmin Rafiei / The New Yorker
I was fortunate enough to Yasmin’s pitch for this story over a year ago. It blew my classmates and I away then, and when the story came out in August it was equally impressive. The story takes a deceptively simple policy question from an economics paper and explores the devastating implications for the real humans involved.
The City Where Investigations of Police Take So Long, Officers Kill Again Before Reviews Are Done
By Laurence Du Sault / ProPublica & OpenVallejo
In the past few months, I’ve become fascinated with the ways in which police officers try (and sometimes fail) to police themselves. This story is maybe the strongest example of police accountability reporting in a year filled with great stories on the topic.
He Had a Dark Secret. It Changed His Best Friend’s Life.
By Sam Dolnick / The New York Times
Like so many others, this was a story that stuck with me. It’s the tale of two men and their American dreams, sobering realities and an immortal bond. If you haven’t read it, give it some time.
When a Houseplant Obsession Becomes a Nightmare
By Brian Howey / WIRED
Who knew a story about carnivorous plants could also be about an international smuggling operation and an undercover FBI sting? My former classmate Brian, apparently.
Best in Audio
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Quorum
By Sarah Gibson & Chris Benderev et. al. / This American Life
I just love the beautiful messiness of American democracy in this story about a dispute in a tiny New Hampshire town.
Exit Strategy
By Amy Bloom, Chana Joffe-Walt, Ira Glass & Dianne Wu et. al. / This American Life
This story, excerpted from Bloom’s audiobook, haunted me for hours after listening and made me reexamine a lot of assumptions I previously held. It’s a tough listen but worth your time.
In Ukraine, the Men Who Must Stay and Fight
By Clare Toeniskoetter, Lynsea Garrison, Asthaa Chaturvedi & Alexandra Leigh Young et. al. / The New York Times The Daily
This story really stuck with me because all the men in it were basically my age. Each one was forced to make an impossible choice to pursue valor on the battlefield or a secure future for themselves. I don’t know what I would have decided.
The Audition
By Ira Glass & Elna Baker et. al. / This American Life
In some ways, this is the classic This American Life story — the riveting story of one person facing a make-or-break moment.
One Elite High School’s Struggle Over Admissions
By Jessica Cheung, Jay Caspian Kang, Asthaa Chaturvedi & Rob Szypko et. al. / The New York Times The Daily
I’ve been of Jay Caspian Kang’s work since he visited us at Berkeley earlier this year. In this story, he teams up with Daily producer Jessica Chueng to tell the story of one elite San Francisco high school and the seemingly zero-sum equity game waged inside of it.
Persona: The French Deception
By Evan Ratliff et. al. / Wondery & Pineapple Street Studios
It seems like 2022 was the year of the con artist in popular culture. From SBF to Elizabeth Holmes to Anna Delvey, people just couldn’t get enough of stories about scammers. This podcast is about one of history’s great swindlers, who stole hundreds of thousands of dollars with just his voice.
The Lives They Lived
By Asthaa Chaturvedi & Stella Tan et. al. / The New York Times The Daily
A poignant tribute to a few young lives ended too soon.
Voter...Reformed
By Johnny Kauffman & David Kestenbaum et. al. / This American Life
The story of the Sisyphean hurdles one man jumps through to get his foundational constitutional right back.
Truthers: Tiffany Dover is Dead*
By Brandy Zadrozny et. al. / NBC News
Speaking of sisyphean; In this five-part audio quest, NBC News reporter Brandy Zadrozny attempts to prove to a group of conspiracy theorists one deceptively simple fact — that a southern nurse did not, in fact, die after getting a COVID vaccine. Spoiler alert — It’s harder than it sounds.
The Trojan Horse Affair
By Brian Reed & Hamza Syed et. al. / The New York Times & Serial Productions
The rivetting tale of the letter that started a nationwide Islamic panic in the UK. Greatest student journalism project ever?
Best in Video
Would you use an artificial womb? (I would)
By Cleo Abram et. al. / Huge If True
One of the most inspiring trends of this year has been the rise of successful independent journalists exploring topics in ways the mainstream hasn’t. Cleo Abram has a refreshing take on the technology industry which is a great counterbalance to overwhelming negative coverage. This piece weaves internet culture, a personal narrative and a vision for a brighter future into one compelling 20-minute package.
Above The Law (pt. 1, pt. 2)
By Roberto Ferdman, Nicole Bozorgmir, Juanita Ceballos, Belle Cushing et. al. / Vice News
A two-part series from Vice on how Louisville officers sexual assault and steal from vulnerable people they were supposed to protect. Its investigative video storytelling at its finest.
Exposing the Russian Military Unit Behind a Massacre in Bucha
By Yousur Al-Hlou, Mascha Froliak, Christopher Koettel, Haley Willis et. al. / The News York Times Visual Investigations
In this painstakingly-detailed inquiry, the Times’ Visual Investigations team documents a Russian war crime frame by frame — and identifies its perpetrators.
The Real Threat to American Democracy
By Johnny Harris et. al / The New York Times
I’ve been a fan of Harris since his Borders days at Vox. His gift is breaking down complex topics into understandable pieces. In this collaboration with the Times, he does just that, explaining a grassroots right-wing attempt to undermine elections at the lowest levels.
In Chile, Even Water Is Privatized. The New Constitution Would Change That.
By Ben Derico & Jocelyn Tabancay et. al. / The Intercept
In their thesis film, later published by The Intercept, my former classmates Jocelyn and Ben explore the questionable corporations that control Chile’s water and the people trying to take it back.
They Won’t Call It Murder
By Ingrid Raphaël & Melissa Gira Grant / Field of Vision
This documentary tells the story of five women connected by the tragedy of a police killing. Their stories are worth hearing.
The Danger of Ignoring Julian Assange
By Johnny Harris, Parjanya C Holtz & Cami Buckman et. al.
The trial of Julian Assange has gone ignored for far too long by many in the establishment. His prosecution and the implications for press freedom are documented clearly and vividly by Harris and his team. Those who support the First Amendment or broader free speech rights should give it some time.
Inside the investigation of an officer who killed a teen threatening suicide
By Sarah Cahlan & Joy Sharon Yi et. al. / The Washington Post
As I discuss in my latest investigation, the problem of police responses to mentally ill people is still very much unresolved. Studies show these folks are 16 times more likely to be killed by authorities. This Washington Post video shows how police handled (and likely mishandled) one tragic case involving a young man.
Police on Trial
By Mike Shum & Marcia Robiou et. al. / PBS Frontline & (Minneapolis) Star Tribune
This documentary from Frontline and the Star Tribune shows how Minneapolis Police Department could produce an officer capable of such brutality and the fallout after the horrific video.
Silenced: Inside the Alleged Sexual Assault Cover Up in Charlotte Schools
By Carter Sherman et. al. / Vice News
I was shocked when I saw such a horrific story happening seemingly right underneath my nose. At UNC, I knew several people who went to Myers Park and several other Charlotte-area high schools. Watching this made me wonder — what are other school districts getting away with?
