In the podcast Harvard Thinking, host Samantha Laine Perfas talks with Ed Glaeser, Jason Furman, and our former graduate research assistant Amy Tomasso about factors driving the housing crisis — and their prescriptions for fixing it. news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...

For those who say single-family-rentals increase housing opportunities, @oklahomawatch.bsky.social shows it's not always a walk in the dew. Barely livable conditions, unaccountable national landlord. oklahomawatch.org/2026/04/01/n...

#SNAP benefit cuts are taking hold and @laist.com is on top of the story. This will play out coast to coast and should be on your coverage list. We give you everything you need to know to tell this story locally — for free. www.poynter.org/shop/reporti... laist.com/news/educati...

The red flags of spin in these early days of the US-Israeli strikes on Iran. The top 4 we've seen so far. Some are more subtle than others. @poynterinstitute.bsky.social www.poynter.org/ethics-trust...

IMHO, this CBS News report with the details of the criminal charges against people arrested by ICE is a big deal. This is the first breakdown we've seen of the types of crimes. www.cbsnews.com/news/ice-arr...

For the first time, dollars are flowing to local police through ICE's task force program. Minimally $2.3 billion in the broader pipeline. Think that might affect local policing priorities? Think maybe this is worth a few questions for your friendly neighborhood LEA? www.poynter.org/reporting-ed...

In this striking piece, @kellymcb.bsky.social shows why cellphone video of the immigration crackdown is essential to chronicling history. www.poynter.org/commentary/2...

@renlaforme.bsky.social 's bullet points on what you should put into a story pitch to your editor is one of the shortest, best guides I've seen on the subject. Reporters, take note and help your career. mailchi.mp/poynter/cove...

A new detail for me in this @migrationpolicy.bsky.social report: DHS has $280 million for private investigators to track down immigrants. What personal data can they access? What are the guardrails? Local/state story options abound. www.migrationpolicy.org/article/trum...

Homelessness and Housing Program Trends by State www.urban.org/data-tools/h...

Excellent work from my friend Yanqi Xu about the unexplained death of a 17-year-old boy on a pig farm owned by Nebraska's governor. Solid, careful, methodical reporting. A great example of the New York Times' local reporting fellowship. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/u...

At this afternoon’s Liaison Committee the PM, Keir Starmer, was asked about our fact check of his claim last week that the number of teachers has increased under Labour. Read our verdict here: fullfact.org/education/pm...

This photo story follows migrant mothers raising children alone after their partners were detained or deported. It shows that family separation also happens through arrests inside the U.S., not only at the border. Read: www.hjnews.com/nation/photo...

Love this cheeky lede: The Oklahoma Department of Corrections has figured out how to spend more than $2 million on transparency without producing any. oklahomawatch.org/2025/12/12/d...

@austinkocher.com unspools the latest ICE enforcement numbers in a novel fashion. The Deportation Data Project just released its latest FOIA results and Kocher is posting and updating his posts as he crunches the numbers. And he's taking questions. austinkocher.substack.com/p/live-break...

Step inside Connecticut's sole immigration court where quiet dramas play out and the sand in the gears of our immigration system squeak and squeal for attention. Joshua Eaton has picked his details well. @poynterinstitute.bsky.social www.ctinsider.com/news/article...

I love clear writing on complicated subjects. Shelby King makes a solid story about Opportunity Zones (snooze-factor 10) clear and readable. Useful in its own right, this is a good example of public journalism. shelterforce.org/2025/11/14/o...

@austinkocher.com's latest reminds us that the digital technology to track people works as well on the rest of us as on the undocumented. austinkocher.substack.com/p/the-rise-o... #immigration #AI

I used Google's Nano Banana to pretend I was a cartoonist for @thenewyorker.bsky.social . Learned a rule of thumb to spot when you've gone too far in "borrowing" someone else's work. #AIInnovationLab @poynterinstitute.bsky.social www.poynter.org/commentary/2...

The White House and Congress undid efforts to limit greenhouse gases. Sign up for tomorrow's free training to spot and tell the story of what that means for your audience. #BeatAcademy #climatechange @poynterinstitute.bsky.social @ijnr.bsky.social www.poynter.org/shop/reporti...

@poynterinstitute.bsky.social #BeatAcademy gave reporting grants for local #immigration coverage. From @kuer.org a well crafted vignette - part personal profile and part illustration in real time of how an immigrant community puts down roots in a rural community. www.kuer.org/race-religio...

In eviction hearings, tenants without lawyers get the short end of the stick. @oklahomawatch.bsky.social shows how one simple move by a judge turned the situation around in Tulsa. oklahomawatch.org/2025/10/03/t... #timeformorehousingreporting #BeatAcademy @poynterinstitute.bsky.social

Grant funded reporting. Great to get the money, but there are ways to be smarter about it. www.poynter.org/business-wor...

In our timeline "When the pain comes in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act", #SNAP cuts are the leading edge. Now, USDA announced it is ending its annual survey on hunger. This is consistent with a pattern of cutting off the flow of data on a whole range of needs. www.poynter.org/reporting-ed...

Want to get $10,000 to launch a new news service for and with your local immigrant community? You've got three weeks to apply at Documented. They're picking 6 projects this round. documentedny.com/education/

The #ICE detention of pregnant women requires special care. As Austin Kocher, PhD notes, this sits above any political or policy preference. There's a new tool to prevent losing track of these women. Data is data and this resource merits our attention. austinkocher.substack.com/p/the-womens...

Gleaning new training ideas: at the LION sustainable journalism conference. Two training ideas: How to tweak your beat reporting to work in super rural towns. And smart AI tips for the occasional data reporter. With Hayden Gray and Dillon Carter (Richland /Ashland Source)

Journalists: Have you had problems getting data under the Trump administration? This is about data sets you've worked with before and that either have been removed, are no longer updated or have degraded in some definable fashion. Respond to this post or email me at [email protected]. Thanks.

David Dudley's latest gives us a peek into what happens to the stuff seized in a homelessness sweep. If you have examples to add, please share them here. www.realstoriesrealsolutions.org/post/displac...?

I love good pocketbook journalism. Too often we under appreciate how much this means to the audience. The Rates of Wrath oklahomawatch.org/2025/08/18/t...

Half of Americans say the cost of housing is a major source of stress in their lives. Housing reporters share how any newsroom can tackle this. www.poynter.org/reporting-ed...

Celebrating 300 Substack Posts: The Power of Showing Up A personal letter marking 300 posts: why longevity and consistency matter in today's crowded newsletter landscape, and gratitude for readers who value public scholarship. austinkocher.substack.com/p/celebratin...

Oklahoma Watch treads carefully here, but the clear possibility is the government needs to enforce the law on providing affordable housing under #LIHTC. Note the gutsy reporters who talk to tenants until the police get called. oklahomawatch.org/2025/08/07/o...

Hard data for a hard topic. A new web tool DetentionReports.com gives individual detention center numbers. It's designed for clarity and ease of use. I'd use it anytime you're working on an ICE detention story, or hunting for a story idea. @austinkocher.com #immigration #ICE

Editors and reporters: I was surprised recently when some generally well-read friends said they had no idea that the safety net cuts in the Big Beautiful Bill pile up after the midterms. I hope this timeline of what hits when helps you keep your audience on track. www.poynter.org/reporting-ed...

What's good for the goose is good for the gander. @austinkocher.com's latest doesn't simply dissect the spin from ICE; it also points out that CBS' Major Garrett made 3 errors of fact in a single question. austinkocher.substack.com/p/ice-is-irr...

The dismissal of cases without any finding has been leaving asylum seekers in limbo for years. Now, it merges with larger deportation ambitions.

Ted Conover's long read in the NYT about Venezuelan thugs in Aurora, CO, exemplifies the kind of thorough reporting required to cover the intersection of crime and immigration. Take your time to read it all. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/03/m...

@austinkocher.com Latest: In March, ICE arrests were 43% convicted criminals and 21% noncriminal violators. In June, it was nearly the exact opposite. 44% noncriminal violators. austinkocher.substack.com/p/ice-arrest...

Reporter's tip: Let @waybackmachine.bsky.social be your friend. @macylip.bsky.social made good use of it for her story on Utah's disappearing immigration judges. www.kuer.org/politics-gov...

@oklahomawatch.bsky.social consistently finds the sort of stories that show the best of what public journalism can be. No spin; just coverage guided by common sense fairness. All the time. oklahomawatch.org/2025/06/23/p...

Wondering how much ICE's budget has gone up? Wonder no more; @amyshermanfact.bsky.social has the deets. Only thing I'd add is the head count rises even more with 287(g) local-state MOUs, and DEA, Fed. Marshals, BATF, etc. added to the ranks. www.politifact.com/factchecks/2...

@oklahomawatch.bsky.social has a smart story on NOAA cutback plan. Making it local and national when we're all looking at storm forecasting. Trump Administration Wants to Close Down Key Weather Labs Nationwide oklahomawatch.org/2025/07/08/t...

Timing is fundamental. If your newsroom is covering the reconciliation bill, be sure to tell your audience that the tax cuts come early, the safety net cuts come later (as in, after the midterms). It's critical info.

Just posted: My conversation with @austinkocher.com about the pitfalls of reporting on immigration arrests. #immigration #ICE www.poynter.org/reporting-ed...

The reconciliation bill as written will hit the poorest Americans, but while it gets little attention, the bill includes a major expansion of the low income housing tax credit. A bipartisan provision would add hundreds of thousands of affordable units by 2035. bipartisanpolicy.org/explainer/20...

Everything is looking worse for housing. Homelessness is up. Rents are up. Homeownership is less affordable. Read 8 pages in the latest @harvard-jchs.bsky.social report. I don't know if more reporting on this would help, but we sure need to try. www.jchs.harvard.edu/state-nation...

Want to be a better news director or better writer? Gain confidence with ethical decisions? Be a more effective leader? Poynter offers more than you might think. Explore the full menu. www.poynter.org/consulting-a...

Climate training Thursday. What does the GOP reconciliation bill’s targeting of energy tax credits mean for green energy jobs in your communities – and how can you best tell your audience what’s at stake for them? coveringclimatenow.org/event/press-...

An excellent and thorough job from @thenewmexican.bsky.social on the first 287(g) ICE agreement signed by a New Mexico law enforcement agency. www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_n...