Cancer town:
Our year-long series of investigative reports from Reserve, Louisiana, where the cancer risk is 50 times the national average and a chemical plant emits “likely carcinogens” that exceed safe levels. Since we launched the series, the state of Louisiana has said it will file the first-ever lawsuit against the plant’s owner and the Louisiana governor announced an investigation into the cancer cluster. Elizabeth Warren cited Reserve in her environmental justice plan, and national TV networks have covered the story.
Automating poverty:
The Guardian spent three months investigating the radical reshaping of welfare benefits by artificial intelligence. Our reporters in the US, Britain, India and Australia explored the birth of the digital poorhouse – revealing how unemployment benefits, child support, housing and food subsidies are being scrambled online, replacing the judgment of human caseworkers with the cold, bloodless decision-making of machines. But machines glitch – and the result, we discovered, can be fatal.
Covering climate now:
We view the escalating climate crisis as the defining issue of our time; this year we helped launch Covering Climate Now, a fast-growing coalition of nearly 400 news organizations that have committed to increasing their coverage. Ahead of the UN Climate Summit in September – and the week of the first major US climate strike, led by Greta Thunberg – the Guardian invited newsrooms in the network to republish our in-depth climate coverage for free. The Portland Press Herald described Covering Climate Now as “one of the most ambitious efforts ever to organize the world’s media around a single coverage topic”.
Investigative political reporting:
The Guardian’s political scoops have had an impact at the highest levels of US politics. Our revelations about acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker's business interests were cited by the House judiciary committee. Our reporting on the dark money financing of Wisconsin governor Scott Walker’s re-election campaign was cited by the House oversight committee. And during a House Oversight hearing, Michael Cohen cited the Guardian’s reporting when explaining how Donald Trump artificially inflates his fortune.
United States of Plastic:
In this new series, running through the end of the year, we reveal the consequences of our dependence on a miracle material: only 9% of plastic has ever been recycled, and the recycling system is breaking down. Plastic waste and microplastics are found everywhere from whales’ stomachs to aquifers deep underground. America is a nation in a plastic-coated crisis.
Shades of Black:
This provocative series looked at the problem of colorism: discrimination against people with darker skin, even within their own communities of color. We explored this under-reported and often taboo topic through the eyes of 27 black women – writers, photographers, activists, artists, and mothers – in a conversation-sparking project read by over 1.2 million people.