Recent work

Audio

Sick is a serial investigative podcast about what goes wrong in the places meant to keep us healthy. The second season, released in fall 2021, investigated prisons – places that have to keep people healthy, but are built to punish them. The first season, released in fall 2019, was an investigation into fertility medicine and an Indiana doctor who used his own sperm to secretly impregnate his patients in the 1970s and 1980s. The podcast earned a regional Edward R. Murrow award, first place in its division from the Public Media Journalists Association, and first place in the podcast category from the Indiana chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Listen to all the episodes here or wherever you get podcasts.

What happens when the prison guard who’s supposed to protect you abuses you? Side Effects Public Media, January 2022

Cynthia Long stands in front of a fence in her backyard.

Outside of prisons, sexual violence is underreported. Those crimes can be difficult to prove, and being in prison creates additional challenges for women trying to pinpoint when abuse occurred. Federal law and laws in most states make sex between incarcerated people and corrections staff illegal, regardless of consent. Many legal experts like say consent can’t exist between a guard and a person they protect. This story, co-reported with Jake Harper, comes from the second season of Sick.

A sign outside the formerly-named Jordan Hall on Indiana University's campus

Universities Rethink Building Names In The Wake Of Racial Justice Protests
NPR, October 2020

Many U.S. colleges have lecture halls named after scientists remembered for their achievements. But in some cases, those same scientists promoted racial theories or practices that are now rejected. And increasingly, their names are being stripped from campus buildings.

Indiana Doesn't Require Nursing Homes To Publicly Report COVID-19 Data
All Things Considered, June 2020

In many states, long-term care facilities account for almost half of total COVID-19 deaths. In Indiana, these facilities are not required to publicly report cases and deaths from COVID-19.

Signs in English and Spanish near a COVID-19 testing site in Goshen, Indiana.

Health Advocates Say Some COVID-19 Testing Lacks Cultural Sensitivity
Side Effects Public Media, September 2020

Health officials say testing is crucial to limiting the spread of COVID-19. But some health advocates say culturally sensitive care is just as important, and that’s been lacking in communities hit hardest by the virus.

Sage Wright, left, and Mikaela Coppedge, right, stand outside Stone Belt, a nonprofit that supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Coppedge lives and Wright works at Blackstone House, one of Stone Belt's group homes.

Group Home Residents With Disabilities Live With Precautions To Keep COVID-19 At Bay
Side Effects Public Media, July 2020

Nursing homes have received a lot of attention during the COVID-19 pandemic. But there are other places where many people live in close quarters, increasing their risk of contracting the virus. That includes group homes for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

See additional reporting from Side Effects Public Media and WFYI

Print

I spent nearly four years as a reporter and digital projects and social media manager for The Herald-Times newspaper in Bloomington, Indiana. I covered health and social services in Monroe County, reporting on the local hospital’s decision to relocate, rising hepatitis C rates and the settling of a white nationalist group in a nearby county. Most of my work from that time is behind the newspaper's paywall. Contact me for clips.

Video

Faces of the Opioid Crisis
The Herald-Times

This video featuring Hoosiers impacted by the opioid crisis was created in partnership with the South Central Indiana Opioid Summit. This project was awarded Best Video by the Indiana Associated Press Media Editors in 2017.