I'm an investigative reporter for ProPublica, a news organization that exposes abuses of power and publishes hard-hitting journalism in the public interest.
In September I will publish my first book, A DEATH ON W STREET: THE MURDER OF SETH RICH AND THE AGE OF CONSPIRACY. It’s about the death of DNC staffer Seth Rich, the explosion of conspiracy theories about his life and murder, and how his family battled the most powerful media organization in the world to defend the truth and seek justice. I call it a true-crime story for the post-truth era.
Previously I was the Washington bureau chief for Rolling Stone. I’ve worked for Mother Jones, National Journal, and The California Sunday Magazine. My work has also appeared at The New Republic, Huffington Post Highline, and Men's Journal. I write features, profiles, and investigative pieces about politics, Hollywood, Wall Street, crime, and everything in between.
I’ve devoted my journalism career to writing about the nexus of politics, money, power, and democracy. I’ve investigated how the wealthy convert financial capital into political capital, and uncovered the distorting and insidious effects of dark money on policy-making and fair elections. If there is a broad theme in my work, it is how secret donors, captured politicians, and unchecked corporate power pose a threat to American democracy. My reporting has sparked federal probes, congressional investigations, and been cited in national and international news outlets, academic papers, and legal briefs.
The Society of Professional Journalists-NorCal named me its outstanding emerging journalist for 2012, and my money-in-politics reporting was cited as part of Mother Jones' 2013 Izzy Award awarded by Ithaca College. In 2011 I reported from China with the support of Middlebury College's Fellowship in Environmental Journalism program. While I was at Mother Jones, the magazine earned three National Magazine Award nominations for general excellence, winning in 2010. I also contributed to MoJo's 2009 "Climate Countdown" package, which won the James Aronson award for social justice journalism.
I grew up in Portage, Michigan, and am an insufferably proud graduate of the University of Michigan.