From immersive features about freediving and rubber bullets to tracking how we got to this present state of politics in the United States, Long Lead's impactful journalism is one of a kind. Explore our features today: longlead.com

Journalist Christopher Mathias' (@letsgomathias.bsky.social) work covering the far right has led him to uncover antifa's work for his new book, exploring the efforts of anti-fascist organizers to infiltrate and unmask members of white nationalist groups in America.

The term "Iron Curtain" has been used to define the separation between Russia and the West since Winston Churchill’s famous “Iron Curtain” speech in 1946. While the “curtain” itself was invisible, the impact of living in this area is evident — a reality of military trainings and ordinary life.

Social media algorithms can lead people down rabbit holes, feeding them narratives that fit what they've consumed in the past — true or not. @noupside.bsky.social saw this first hand when she joined Facebook groups in 2013, which she discusses in Webby-nominated LONG SHADOW: BREAKING THE INTERNET.

'Drug Story' creator Thomas Goetz (@thgoetz.bsky.social) "cooked up this idea to use a drug to tell these larger stories [about health]." For DEPTH PERCEPTION, he speaks with @jennaschnuer.bsky.social about why he turned to drugs when planning his podcast.

Mexico City was built on top of what used to be a large body of water. Now, the capital city of Mexico is getting close to running out of drinking water. How did this happen? 📷: Jérôme Sessini

While still Wired's executive editor, Thomas Goetz (@thgoetz.bsky.social) went back to school for a Master’s in Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley. It started him on a nontradtional path that has ultimately focused on using drugs to tell larger stories [about health].

Cathy and Carmelle Jean-François have a bond that can't be understood by "singletons." Sometimes the identical twins speak in unison and they often finish each other’s sentences. Even at family reunions, the sisters share, they cannot be apart.

'Drug Story' creator Thomas Goetz (@thgoetz.bsky.social) "cooked up this idea to use a drug to tell these larger stories [about health]." For DEPTH PERCEPTION, he speaks with @jennaschnuer.bsky.social about why he turned to drugs when planning his podcast.

Russia shares an extensive border with neighbors to its west. Since 2023, Magnum photographer Thomas Dworzak has been exploring this boundary, documenting first-hand how the world's largest country has been weaponizing history, identity, and language against its neighbors.

@thgoetz.bsky.social has worked as both a journalist and an entrepreneur, with his most recent venture being 'Drug Story,' a narrative podcast that covers the world of health one drug at a time.

Six years ago today, George Floyd's murder by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin set off protests against police brutality. Across the country, officers and protesters clashed. 📷: Ricardo B. Brazziell / Austin American-Statesman / USA TODAY

Memorial Day is meant to honor the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. So why are thousands of veterans who have fought for our country living on the streets of LA, fighting for housing at a campus donated for that sole purpose? 📷: George Rose/Getty

Today, the AR-15 is the nation’s most infamous weapon. Versions of the rifle have been used in half of the nation’s 10 deadliest mass shootings — including at Sandy Hook Elementary, the elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, Parkland High School and a 'Dark Knight' movie showing in Aurora, Colorado.

David Roberts' @volts.wtf newsletter's climate coverage is about anything but climate change. He shares, "I think the reason [Volts] is popular is that, despite everyone always calling me a climate journalist, I rarely actually do any journalism about climate change."

In the time since Russia’s invasion on Ukraine, countries along the new Iron Curtain — from Norway to Kazakhstan — have begun shoring up their borders as the question of Putin’s next invasion looms. Check out Long Lead's new feature BORDER LINE WAR to learn more. border-line-war.longlead.com

The web was a tool created to bring the world together. It opened lines of communication and allowed for new thoughts to be shared worldwide. But just as it brought people together, it allowed for a firehose of hoaxes, conspiracy theories, and lies to spread, dividing people and their viewpoints.

This Mental Health Awareness month, find out how freediver Alenka Artnik emerged from mental health struggles to push the limits of the human body, becoming the world’s greatest female freediver. Dive into THE DEPTHS SHE'LL REACH: thedepths.longlead.com

David Roberts' (@volts.wtf) newsletter Volts quickly became one of the most influential climate-focused newsletters in the U.S. after he launched it in 2020, growing to nearly 100K subscribers. Though some climate coverage may be come off as boring, Roberts writes about the hopeful part of it.

Kyoko Oda, Tule Lake Segregation Center incarceration survivor, has passed away. She shared her story, the impact of Japanese American incarceration, and her passion for educating people about it with Long Lead for our feature THE AGE OF INCARCERATION. age-of-incarceration.longlead.com

Jasper Craven's journalism covers “vets’ issues in the age of forever wars," carving out a niche that doesn't necessarily touch the combat element of the military. His new book, “God Forgives, Brothers Don’t” — out today — explores the role military education plays in stoking America’s lust for war.

Gangs have overtaken more than 70% of Port-au-Prince, Haiti since the assassination of President Jovenal Moïse in July 2021, according to AP. In Canaan, residents struggle to survive violence in a city they built brick by brick. 📷: Allison Shelley

In the time since Russia’s invasion on Ukraine, countries along the new Iron Curtain — from Norway to Kazakhstan — have begun shoring up their borders as the question of Putin’s next invasion looms. Check out BORDER LINE WAR to learn more. border-line-war.longlead.com

Elliot Williams' has had a nontraditional career path to journalism. But the CNN legal analyst maintains that both "law and journalism are all about distilling information and presenting it in a clear way."

In Long Lead's feature BORDER LINE WAR, Magnum photographer Thomas Dworzak captures the impact of the war in Ukraine on its neighboring countries: their perceptions of and relations with Russia, the influence of the U.S., and the evolution of their own national security policies after the invasion.

May is AANHPI Heritage Month, where we recognize and celebrate stories about Asian and Pacific American — important narratives that shape the U.S. In THE AGE OF INCARCERATION, nine of the last survivors of Japanese American internment camps of WWII share their stories of injustice and resilience.

Though traditional journalism continues to face major headwinds, independent journalism is currently growing. Long Lead’s DEPTH PERCEPTION takes you inside independent journalism's top news every week, letting you hear from the journalists breaking stories. Subscribe: depthperception.longlead.com

When interviewing Bernhard Goetz — the man who shot four Black teenagers on a New York City subway in 1984 — for his new book about the shootings, @elliotwilliams.bsky.social expected at least some self-reflection. Instead, decades later, Goetz still said he believed the men needed to be shot.

The term "Iron Curtain" has been used to define the separation between Russia and the West since Winston Churchill’s famous “Iron Curtain” speech in 1946. While the “curtain” itself was invisible, the impact of living in this area is evident — a reality of military trainings and ordinary life.

"Is this the last summer before the war?" is the question that hangs over every photo in BORDER LINE WAR — Long Lead's latest feature published in collaboration with Magnum Photos — and it's the question photographer Thomas Dworzak started asking himself while shooting the photo essay.

@sollenbergerrc.bsky.social went independent two years ago, breaking big political scoops on the Epstein files and Cory Mills — even self publishing the Epstein story on his Substack. But despite his success, he admits that it's increasingly hard to place stories as a freelancer.

BORDER LINE WAR editor @siobhanogrady.bsky.social shares how it was "an interesting exercise for me to read the text and think about Russia’s threat as hypothetical" while living in Ukraine, which is currently experiencing Russia's advances. newsletter.longlead.com/p/border-lin...

The New York Times' Public Editor role was in charge of fielding hundreds of emails per week from readers, elevating complaints and criticisms to the paper itself. Margaret Sullivan (@sulliview.bsky.social), who was the fifth public editor, doesn't buy why the paper ended up killing the role.

Today is Victory Day in Russia, which marks the 81st anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. It's a day filled with parades and has been used by the Kremlin to showcase its military might.

@davidsirota.com has covered the plots for power in the United States for MASTER PLAN, seeing the same decisions made over and over in the U.S. The investigative journalist shares with DEPTH PERCEPTION, "I'm 50 years old. I feel like I've lived through the definition of insanity."

@sollenbergerrc.bsky.social's journey to journalism happened by accident, but he's put in the work reporting on politics to make it stick. The independent journalist has been able to break significant stories, building out a network of sources and a village of "smart people" to push the story

Long Lead is an award-winning journalism studio focused on finding, financing, producing, and publishing original, in-depth reporting. We create journalism without compromise. Follow us across social media to keep up to date with our features.

Two people who were shot by law enforcement with less-lethal munitions last year during Los Angeles' No Kings Protests — resulting in one losing hearing in one ear and one losing sight in one eye — are seeking justice. www.latimes.com/california/s...

As Russia continues its assault on Ukraine, what is everyday life like in the other countries that neighbor Russia? Long Lead's new feature BORDER LINE WAR — produced in collaboration with Magnum Photos — covers more than 4,000 miles of borderlands in an extensive profile of the new Iron Curtain.

Long Lead is producing world class journalism — without compromise. Follow us to see our immersive features created by independent journalists. longlead.com

56 years ago, four Kent State students were shot and killed by National Guardsmen during antiwar protests. The next day papers from the La Crosse Tribune (shown) to the NYTimes, ran a photo taken by photojournalism student John Filo, of Mary Ann Vecchio by the body of Jeffrey Miller.

As Russia tries to weaponize history and expand its control in the region, basing its claims to the land by past Soviet control, the countries that border it are holding a tenuous line. Read BORDER LINE WAR, produced in collaboration with Magnum Photos: border-line-war.longlead.com

The MASTER PLAN podcast looks at a problem or a social political dynamic and what caused it, taking listeners into the room where it happens. @davidsirota.com, investigative journalist and founder of The Lever — which produces the podcast — says reporting the podcast has been an eye-opening process

This Mental Health Awareness month, find out how freediver Alenka Artnik emerged from mental health struggles to push the limits of the human body, becoming the world’s greatest female freediver. Dive into THE DEPTHS SHE'LL REACH: thedepths.longlead.com thedepths.longlead.com

May is AANHPI Heritage Month, where we recognize and celebrate stories about Asian and Pacific American. In THE AGE OF INCARCERATION, nine of the last survivors of Japanese American internment camps of World War II share their stories of injustice and resilience. age-of-incarceration.longlead.com

Mia Yamamoto was born in World War II incarceration camp Poston, AZ, one of several camps where Japanese Americans were wrongly incarcerated following the attack on Pearl Harbor. Yamamoto's life has been shaped by the fight for justice for underrepresented communities. Hear from her on Law Day.

Don’t call @davidsirota.com a liberal journalist. Ever. Though the journalist and founder of investigative news outlet @LeverNews.com covers people who would label themselves conservative, Sirota is driven by one of journalism’s overarching ideas: to hold the powerful accountable.

Years of reporting across thousands of miles. A global power imposing itself on other countries without restraint. A map that refuses to be redrawn. Read BORDER LINE WAR, a Long Lead and Magnum Photos collaboration, today. border-line-war.longlead.com

Long Lead made history last week by winning “Best Individual Editorial Feature” at the Webby Awards for four consecutive years — something no other media company has ever done. newsletter.longlead.com/p/webby-awar...

Investigative journalist and founder of @thelever.bsky.social @davidsirota.com's work is about holding power accountable. For his podcast MASTER PLAN, he details the often labyrinthian and secretive routes that turn out some of the most powerful players in U.S. politics and business.