The latest story from @thewesternedge.bsky.social dives into the very gray space that exists in some spiritual communities, where one man is exalted as near god like and students are encouraged to not ask questions.

I have some new followers, so I thought I'd reshare this weird story I wrote a month back for @thewesternedge.bsky.social. This would be the kind of story that would be nearly impossible to sell as a freelancer, but it's one of my favorite pieces of reporting I've gotten to do in the last year.

Women inside two Oregon Buddhist communities told The Western Edge they were concerned that their complaints of sexual abuse by gurus in those groups were swept aside by top leaders.

A new Western Edge investigation: Women inside some Northwest Buddhist centers say the faith has long struggled to stop predatory behavior by spiritual leaders, and in some cases brushed it aside. www.thewesternedge.media/p/give-your-...

For the past few years, several Northwest Buddhist institutions have reckoned with allegations of abuse. Victims feel brushed aside and leaders stay in power. My latest investigation for @thewesternedge.bsky.social. www.thewesternedge.media/p/give-your-...

This one's for the OG Bundyville fans. @leahsottile.bsky.social and @ryanjhaas.bsky.social breakdown the wild world of Matt Shea since the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge takeover.

Five police agencies, the Coast Guard, drones, underwater dive teams, ground and boat teams and an underwater remotely-operated vehicle still have not found St Helens City Administrator John Walsh, who fell into the river Saturday night. westernedgemedia.substack.com/p/longtime-s...

Longtime St. Helens City Administrator John Walsh fell into the Columbia River on Saturday night and has not been seen since. His family and friends continue to search for him.

In a continuation of @thewesternedge.bsky.social Bundyville revisit this month, @leahsottile.bsky.social and I talk about what became of once far right superstar Ammon Bundy. (Hint: He sells brakes now.)

What became of Ammon Bundy after he beat the federal government in court? Western Edge founders @leahsottile.bsky.social and @ryanjhaas.bsky.social break down the challenges of staying relevant in the MAGA movement over the long term.

The trial of the Spokane 3 for protesting ICE became national news. Few noted, however, that the charges in that case were nearly identical to those used to prosecute the Bundy family a decade earlier in Oregon. We're going back to Bundyville to see what these cases say about each other.

Never thought we'd say it: we're going back to Bundyville. This month @thewesternedge.bsky.social we revisit the Bundys, and talk about how the same conspiracy charges that were used to prosecute them were used to convict three protesters in Spokane. www.thewesternedge.media/p/a-return-t...

Phenomenal accountability journalism from Ryan Haas @thewesternedge.bsky.social on the brutal working conditions inside a massive #Amazon facility in Oregon, where the incidences of workers dying dying or falling ill is escalating. www.thewesternedge.media/p/sweaty-stu...

How do we restore trust in journalism? Listen to my conversation with Ryan Haas from @thewesternedge.bsky.social

"Over the past month, The Western Edge has conducted extensive interviews, analyzed hundreds of pages of public safety records, worker’s compensation cases, injury logs and some of Amazon’s own data" to answer a nagging question: What actually happened to Jim Wetmore?

We broke news last month of a worker dying inside an Oregon Amazon facility. Since then, dozens of employees have come forward with complaints. What records show is the facility knew about issues with heat, noise and injuries for years. And that other workers have been seriously hurt on the job.

I hope you'll spend time with this story and consider becoming a paid subscriber of @thewesternedge.bsky.social. Holding the powerful people and corporations of this country accountable for their actions is what I like to do, and I can't do it without you!

I also gathered OSHA data on injury rates at PDX9, which show the warehouse regularly exceeds the industry average by a significant margin. Amazon disputes using what is known as DART data because it also captures minor injuries. They prefer to only count serious injuries.

Last month, I broke news of a death inside an Amazon warehouse and the company’s response. My latest reporting reveals that two employees at that facility have died and a third sustained a life altering injury — all in the course of the last four years.

New piece by me reflecting on an article @leahsottile.bsky.social recently published about what it's like to be in your early 20s and to have always lived inside an era of mass shootings, climate change, unaffordable housing, and Trumpist rage. rightlandia.ghost.io/recommended-...

This week on Notes from the Edge, we are joined by Montana journalist and professor Jule Banville, who talks about the nearly-lost art of obituary writing and how it fits into the journalism craft. She pays delightful tribute in her new podcast with Jad Abumrad, The Obit Project.

We are trying to build something new in Northwest journalism with The Western Edge - an unbelievable task for two people. We believe good work can pave the way. If you read this story (or plan to) we appreciate your donations and subscriptions! There are links throughout for how to do both.

Really great work here from @thewesternedge.bsky.social. It’s wild how we just glossed over extremism for so long that we allowed it’s resurgence to permeate the lives of our children.

Very kind, but what I want most is for you all to subscribe (or donate) to @thewesternedge.bsky.social. Here's a Substack-free link: buy.stripe.com/8x2dR86cj5SC...

It's remarkable how inciteful these young people are. One of them notes that, for many, extremism is rhetorical, when in reality it is a practice with real, tangible repercussions. Another notes wanting to grapple with topics from all angles made him more susceptible to the online nazi pipeline.

“It becomes more and more taxing to believe in a livable future. When I imagine my adulthood, I don’t see anything worthwhile.” @leahsottile.bsky.social explores how young people have been affected by a lifetime of extreme politics in America. www.thewesternedge.media/p/the-age-of...

“It becomes more and more taxing to believe in a livable future. When I imagine my adulthood, I don’t see anything worthwhile.” @leahsottile.bsky.social explores how young people have been affected by a lifetime of extreme politics in America. www.thewesternedge.media/p/the-age-of...

As extreme politics have normalized, young people have grown up not knowing any other way. For months, I've spent time getting to know 10 college students who literally do not recall a time in America without Trump. My latest for @thewesternedge.bsky.social www.thewesternedge.media/p/the-age-of...

On this week’s Notes from The Edge: We talk about how on the day @ryanjhaas.bsky.social was reporting that someone died at an Amazon facility in Oregon, The New York Times was running a profile of Lauren Sanchez Bezos.

Staff at an Oregon Amazon facility have continued to come forward since our reporting last week on a death there to describe what they say are challenging and sometimes dangerous working conditions. We take you inside our reporting in this episode of Notes from the Edge.

And if you haven't kept up with The Western Edge recently, we just had our two-month anniversary. We've spent that time cutting at powerful police unions, politicians and corporations -- and highlighting the best reporters in the West. Here's to the next two months.

What happened when the White House came to deep red Idaho and asked police to essentially become ICE officers? Those police said, "Aw, hell nah." This week's "Notes from the Edge" interview is with ace Spokesman-Review reporter @alexdugganreports.bsky.social.

Amazon has sent an updated statement following @thewesternedge.bsky.social's reporting yesterday. They acknowledge work continued in parts of the building, but say that was because people were busy trying to save the man who died. (1/3)

Amazon has reached out to The Western Edge with an additional statement. The company acknowledged work continued after a 46-year-old man died at an Oregon distribution center on April 6. Amazon says staff were too focused on life-saving efforts to stop work across the building.

We've now obtained the 911 calls related to this death. They indicate the injured man possibly had a head injury of some type.

Also, if you like reporting that holds powerful people and companies accountable without fear, please consider subscribing to @thewesternedge.bsky.social. We are a team of just two, but there aren't many people more serious about journalism than us.

For more than a week, Amazon has managed to keep a death at its Troutdale, Oregon, facility out of public view. Workers I spoke to are pissed.

Last week, a worker one of Amazon's Portland area facilities died on the warehouse floor. Employees were told to look away and keep working. A new story by @ryanjhaas.bsky.social for @thewesternedge.bsky.social - reporting this news first. www.thewesternedge.media/p/everyone-i...

Workers at an Amazon fulfillment center in Troutdale, Oregon, said they were told to keep working as a colleague lay dying on the floor. “Just turn around and not look. Let’s get back to work,” Sam recalled the manager saying.

And hey, some good news, @thewesternedge.bsky.social is a finalist for The Next Challenge's Pioneer Award. Our idea is simple: use the emerging tools of the creator economy to bring solid journalism to news deserts -- all while the people writing and reporting the stories get a share in the profit

Really great listen from @thewesternedge.bsky.social yesterday talking about the state of local news in #Oregon. Horrible to hear the Roseburg paper closed yesterday, especially considering it was the first #localnewsday. www.thewesternedge.media/p/layoffs-ma... Here are a few great points:

As newspapers continue to disappear from the Northwest, it's time for fact-based journalists to take ownership of their own work. We aren't waiting for the old institutions to fix this problem.

On Local News Day, @ryanjhaas.bsky.social and @leahsottile.bsky.social discuss layoffs at the Roseburg News Review, how helicopter reporting only further decimates local news and why it's time to spread that Wordle money around. Watch the whole video: www.thewesternedge.media/p/layoffs-ma...

Big thanks to @oregonstate.edu staff Megan Ward and Justin St. Germain for hosting @thewesternedge.bsky.social last night for a conversation around the ethics of making true crime media. A large crowd that had so many smart questions. Truly a great evening!

"...one prominent western company, Axon — based in Arizona — is at the forefront of law enforcement’s 'AI era,' and is offering police departments financial incentives to get on board." Axon was once Taser International. Now, it's making body cams with integrated AI...

An April Fool's special: @leahsottile.bsky.social and @ryanjhaas.bsky.social wade into the Lindy West discourse like true fools. The full video is available for paid subscribers at www.thewesternedge.media.

While some police departments in the PNW have been skeptical of AI use, others are going all in. A recent survey by @thewesternedge.bsky.social of Northwest cities, police departments and prosecutors found wildly differing views on AI’s future in policing. www.thewesternedge.media/p/robo-cops-...

We spoke this week with @sergioolmos.bsky.social about how he and @calmatters.org, along with the teams at @evidentmedia.org and @bellingcat.com, revealed the identities of a team of Border Patrol agents that roved the country over the past year with Gregory Bovino.

Fantastic piece of storytelling is extremely our shit.

If you're a paid subscriber to @thewesternedge.bsky.social, we have a treat for you this week: A video convo with Leah and I talking about our March feature: "The Shady Cop Who Haunts Halloweentown." We reveal some unpublished details and discuss the long-term effects of cultures of grievance.