Best of 2021: Investigative Reporting

Since we started the #longreads hashtag in 2009 to share great reads on Twitter, curation has been the beating heart of Longreads.

自从我们于 2009 年开始使用 #longreads 标签在 Twitter 上分享精彩读物以来，策展一直是 Longreads 的核心。

All year long, we highlight our favorite stories in the weekly Longreads Top 5.

一整年，我们都会在每周的长读小说前 5 名中突出显示我们最喜欢的故事。

At the end of the year, we love to reflect on and share the pieces that stayed with us, a tradition we’ve kept for 10 years!

到了年底，我们喜欢反思并分享那些留在我们身边的作品，这是我们保持了 10 年的传统！

Today, we’re highlighting the best investigations of 2021 — projects that went deep, sucked us in, and spoke truth to power.

今天，我们重点介绍 2021 年最好的调查——那些深入、吸引我们并向权力说出真相的项目。

## Beyond Britney: Abuse, Exploitation, and Death Inside America’s Guardianship Industry, Heidi Blake and Katie J.M.

## 《超越布兰妮：美国监护行业内的虐待、剥削和死亡》，Heidi Blake 和 Katie J.M.

Baker, BuzzFeed News, September 17, 2021

贝克，BuzzFeed 新闻，2021 年 9 月 17 日

Britney Spears is now free of the conservatorship that dictated every part of her life for 13 years.

布兰妮·斯皮尔斯 (Britney Spears) 现在已经摆脱了 13 年来支配她生活方方面面的监管。

The #FreeBritney movement, which drew international attention to her case, also raised awareness of the guardianship system at large.

#FreeBritney 运动引起了国际社会对她案件的关注，也提高了人们对整个监护制度的认识。

In this three-part investigation, Heidi Blake and Katie J.M.

在这项由三部分组成的调查中，Heidi Blake 和 Katie J.M.

Baker expose a dangerously unregulated industry — one that is estimated to control more than a million people in the United States.

贝克揭露了一个危险的、不受监管的行业——据估计，这个行业控制着美国超过一百万人。

Examining more than 200 guardianships across 30 states and an impressive number of court, mental health, and financial records, they uncovered a rigged system and a network of lawyers, judges, corporations, and professional guardians who abuse and exploit wards (the individuals who are locked into these arrangements).

他们检查了 30 个州的 200 多个监护人以及大量的法庭、心理健康和财务记录，发现了一个被操纵的系统以及一个由律师、法官、公司和职业监护人组成的网络，这些人滥用和剥削被监护人（被锁定在这些安排中的个人）。

They found evidence of financial corruption in 130 cases, and abuse or neglect in 110.

他们在 130 起案件中发现了财务腐败的证据，在 110 起案件中发现了虐待或忽视的证据。

They detailed horrific instances of wards stripped of their rights, stolen from or drained of their money, pulled away from their families, or confined against their will.

他们详细描述了受监护人被剥夺权利、被盗或耗尽金钱、与家人分离或违背其意愿被监禁的可怕事例。

In some cases, wards have gone missing, or suffered wrongful deaths.

在某些情况下，受监护人失踪或非正常死亡。

Blake and Baker’s investigation is a disturbing but important look at the inner workings of this dark and dehumanizing industry, and one that can hopefully help drive reform nationwide.

布莱克和贝克的调查是对这个黑暗和非人性行业内部运作的令人不安但重要的审视，并且有望有助于推动全国范围内的改革。

—Cheri Lucas Rowlands

——切里·卢卡斯·罗兰兹

Author Katie J.M.

作者凯蒂·J.M.

Baker on the story she wishes she’d written this year:

贝克谈到她希望今年写的故事：

One of the biggest stories in the UK, where I live, has been political “sleaze,” and the Financial Times, my favorite newspaper, has delivered scoop after scoop that goes beyond the daily tabloid headlines.

在我居住的英国，最大的新闻之一就是政治“肮脏”，而我最喜欢的报纸《金融时报》发布的独家新闻超出了每日小报的头条新闻。

The FT has received a lot of well-deserved attention for its coverage of the Greensill scandal, but one of my favorite stories of the year was FT Magazine’s investigation into the secretive donor club that backs Boris Johnson’s government.

《金融时报》因其对格林希尔丑闻的报道而受到了当之无愧的广泛关注，但今年我最喜欢的报道之一是《金融时报》杂志对支持鲍里斯·约翰逊政府的秘密捐助者俱乐部的调查。

Come for the juicy details about albino peacocks and airlifting elm tea bags to Madonna, and stay for …

快来了解有关白化孔雀和向麦当娜空运榆树茶包的有趣细节，并留下来……

the egregious cronyism!?

令人震惊的任人唯亲！？

## They Went to Bible College to Deepen Their Faith.

## 他们去圣经学院加深信仰。

Then They Were Assaulted — and Blamed for It.

然后他们遭到袭击，并因此受到指责。

Becca Andrews, Mother Jones, September 30, 2021

贝卡·安德鲁斯，《琼斯妈妈》，2021 年 9 月 30 日

## The Liberty Way, Hannah Dreyfus, ProPublica, October 24, 2021

## 《自由之路》，Hannah Dreyfus，ProPublica，2021 年 10 月 24 日

These investigations into two prominent Christian colleges’ response to sexual abuse and harassment on their campuses are, in a word, damning.

总而言之，对两所著名基督教大学对其校园性虐待和性骚扰的反应的调查是令人震惊的。

Both Liberty University and Moody Bible College routinely sidestep accountability in the name of God, and young women bear the consequences.

自由大学和穆迪圣经学院经常以上帝的名义逃避责任，而后果由年轻女性承担。

As Becca Andrews writes, for students steeped in evangelicalism, “it can be hard to recognize harassment when it is at the hands of a brother or a sister in Christ.” It can also be hard to recognize harassment — or worse — when the institution where it occurs uses “purity culture” as an excuse to blame and punish victims.

正如贝卡·安德鲁斯（Becca Andrews）所写，对于热衷于福音派的学生来说，“当骚扰来自基督里的弟兄或姐妹时，可能很难识别出来。”当发生骚扰的机构以“纯洁文化”为借口来指责和惩罚受害者时，也可能很难识别骚扰，甚至更糟。

Hannah Dreyfus describes how, when Amanda Stevens reported a rape to Liberty officials, she wasn’t informed that she could make a statement to police, but she was told to sign a notice of her own potential infractions of the school’s honor code, including having premarital sex, being alone with a man, and drinking — though she wasn’t drinking when the assault occurred.

汉娜·德雷福斯 (Hannah Dreyfus) 描述了，当阿曼达·史蒂文斯 (Amanda Stevens) 向自由学校官员举报强奸案时，她没有被告知可以向警方发表声明，但她被告知要签署一份通知，说明自己可能违反学校荣誉准则，包括婚前性行为、与男人单独相处以及饮酒——尽管袭击发生时她并没有喝酒。

That thing you’re feeling reading this blurb?

读这篇简介你有什么感觉？

It’s rage.

这是愤怒。

—Seyward Darby

——西沃德·达比

Author Becca Andrews on the story she wishes she’d written this year:

作家贝卡·安德鲁斯 (Becca Andrews) 谈到她希望今年写的故事：

Basically every time I see Sarah Jones’ byline in New York, I have that prickle of jealousy.

基本上每次我在纽约看到莎拉·琼斯的署名时，我都会感到嫉妒。

She covers labor, the religious right, and gender in a way that deeply resonates with me.

她以一种引起我深深共鸣的方式涵盖了劳工、宗教权利和性别。

This essay about being an atheist from an evangelical family and reconsidering God in the coronavirus pandemic gave me chills, because I felt such a connection to her experience.

这篇关于来自福音派家庭的无神论者以及在冠状病毒大流行中重新思考上帝的文章让我感到不寒而栗，因为我觉得与她的经历有如此密切的联系。

## Highway to Hell: A Trip Down Afghanistan’s Deadliest Road, Jason Motlagh, Rolling Stone, January 22, 2021

## 通往地狱的高速公路：阿富汗最致命的道路之旅，Jason Motlagh，滚石杂志，2021 年 1 月 22 日

This gripping story starts out with a local mayor commuting 30 miles to work in an armored vehicle, driven by a man with an AK-47 on National Highway 1 in Afghanistan — a road that reporter Jason Motlagh describes as “a glaring symbol of America’s failures, scarred with bomb-blast craters that snarl traffic and under constant attack from a resurgent Taliban.” Motlagh reports on life in a war zone, a place where everyone has suffered loss.

这个扣人心弦的故事始于一位当地市长乘坐一辆装甲车，由一名携带 AK-47 的男子驾驶 30 英里在阿富汗 1 号国道上上班。记者杰森·莫特拉 (Jason Motlagh) 将这条路描述为“美国失败的明显象征，布满炸弹爆炸的弹坑，交通混乱，并受到死灰复燃的塔利班的持续攻击。”莫特拉报道了战区的生活，那里的每个人都遭受了损失。

The United States withdrew troops at the end of August, nearly 20 years after invading a country where violent conflict continues.

美国在8月底撤军，距入侵这个暴力冲突持续不断的国家已近20年。

The U.S. and its NATO allies thought a paved road system would “lay the ground work for a functioning state,” one where people and goods could move freely.

美国及其北约盟国认为，铺好的道路系统将“为一个正常运转的国家奠定基础”，使人员和货物可以自由流动。

According to Motlagh, they could not have been more wrong: “Over the course of hundreds of miles — and in meetings with the Taliban, government forces, and civilians caught in the crossfire — a grim truth emerged: The backbone of the U.S.-led nation-building campaign is hopelessly broken, a life-or-death gauntlet where people drive in fear, commerce is stymied, and state forces are targeted with impunity.

莫特拉格认为，他们大错特错了：“在数百英里的路程中，在与塔利班、政府军和陷入交火的平民会面时，一个严峻的事实浮出水面：美国领导的国家建设运动的支柱已无可救药地被打破，这是一场生死攸关的挑战，人们在恐惧中驾驶，商业受到阻碍，国家军队成为不受惩罚的目标。

What was intended to ease the lives of Afghans and cement the U.S. legacy in Afghanistan is, instead, a story of colossal waste and squandered opportunity.” —Krista Stevens

本来是为了改善阿富汗人的生活并巩固美国在阿富汗的遗产，结果却是一个巨大的浪费和浪费机会的故事。” —克里斯塔·史蒂文斯

## The Spine Collector, Reeves Wiedeman with Lila Shapiro, New York, August 17, 2021

## 《脊柱收藏家》，Reeves Wiedeman 和 Lila Shapiro，纽约，2021 年 8 月 17 日

This is a smartly written piece about a thief who has turned the cozy world of books upside down.

这是一篇写得很巧妙的文章，讲述了一个小偷颠覆了舒适的书籍世界的故事。

Hiding behind a computer, their game is to impersonate people in the literary scene via email, in an attempt to obtain unpublished manuscripts.

他们躲在电脑后面，通过电子邮件冒充文学界的人，试图获取未发表的手稿。

The thief’s portrayals are very convincing: An assistant at WME only “realized her boss was being impersonated because she would never say ‘please’ or ‘thank you’,” and people in the publishing industry have become so twitchy that they are putting NDAs on a “70-page Dutch Novella.” Reeves Wiedeman decided reporting on the thief would be “a fun challenge,” and during lockdown, he attempted to identify the motivation for the crimes, as well as the shadowy figure behind them.

小偷的描述非常令人信服：WME 的一名助理只是“意识到她的老板被冒充了，因为她永远不会说‘请’或‘谢谢’”，出版业的人们变得如此焦躁不安，以至于他们将保密协议放在“70 页的荷兰中篇小说”上。里夫斯·维德曼认为报道小偷将是“一个有趣的挑战”，在封锁期间，他试图找出犯罪动机以及背后的神秘人物。

It became a thing of obsession, with Wiedeman creating what he calls a “Homeland wall” over the course of a year — and having his very own interactions with the thief.

这成为了一件令人着迷的事情，维德曼在一年的时间里建造了他所谓的“国土墙”，并与小偷进行了自己的互动。

This is both an investigation and a story about how an investigation can consume you.

这既是一项调查，也是一个关于调查如何消耗你的故事。

—Carolyn Wells

——卡罗琳·威尔斯

Author Reeves Wiedeman on the story he wishes he’d written this year:

作家里夫斯·维德曼 (Reeves Wiedeman) 谈到他希望今年写的故事：

I’ve written about companies in various states of duress, and it’s extremely rare to get the people in charge to have honest conversations with you about what went wrong.

我写过关于处于各种胁迫状态的公司的文章，并且让负责人与你就问题所在进行诚实的对话是极其罕见的。

Courtney Rubin managed that with the founders of Ample Hills, Brooklyn’s once-hottest ice cream empire, in her piece for Marker.

考特尼·鲁宾 (Courtney Rubin) 在为 Marker 撰写的文章中，与布鲁克林曾经最热门的冰淇淋帝国 Ample Hills 的创始人一起实现了这一目标。

Come for the lessons in running a small business, and I promise you it will be worth it once you get to the “squints.”

来学习经营小企业的课程，我向你保证，一旦你学会了“眯眼”，一切都是值得的。

## Homegrown and Homeless in Oakland, Kevin Fagan, Sarah Ravani, Lauren Hepler, and J.K.

## 奥克兰本土和无家可归者，Kevin Fagan、Sarah Ravani、Lauren Hepler 和 J.K.

Dineen, San Francisco Chronicle, November 3, 2021

迪宁，《旧金山纪事报》，2021 年 11 月 3 日

After five years of covering the epidemic of the unhoused in San Francisco, the Chronicle sent a team of reporters across the Bay Bridge to examine homelessness in Oakland.

在报道了旧金山无家可归者的流行情况五年后，《纪事报》派出一组记者跨过海湾大桥，调查奥克兰的无家可归者情况。

What they found, unsurprisingly but no less sadly, was that there’s no such thing as a simple cause, let alone a clear solution.

他们发现，并不令人惊讶但同样令人悲伤的是，不存在简单的原因，更不用说明确的解决方案了。

The four people profiled in the piece all grew up in Oakland, and had all owned their own home at one time; now they count themselves among the fastest-growing unhoused community in the Bay Area.

这篇文章中描绘的四个人都在奥克兰长大，并且都曾经拥有过自己的房子。现在，他们认为自己是湾区发展最快的无住房社区之一。

The time and care invested is on stark display throughout the piece, the deep reporting paired with rich photography and data visualization.

投入的时间和精力在整篇文章中得到了鲜明的体现，深度报道与丰富的摄影和数据可视化相结合。

“As they long for a place of their own in a city with too many in need and too few resources,” the team writes of the article’s subjects, “they are the city’s reflection staring back at it.” Even if you’ve never set foot in the Golden State, you’ll come away with a grasp of the problem’s scope and scale — and hopefully a new understanding of the humanity that’s crushed when a city loses a battle against loss itself.

“由于他们渴望在一个需求太多而资源太少的城市中拥有自己的一席之地，”该团队在谈到这篇文章的主题时写道，“他们是这座城市的倒影，凝视着它。”即使你从未踏足金州，你也会对问题的范围和规模有所了解，并希望对当一座城市在与损失本身的战斗中失败时所遭受的人性有新的认识。

—Peter Rubin

——彼得·鲁宾