Best of 2023: Investigations
Today’s Best of 2023 list honors five notable investigations we read in 2023.
今天的 2023 年最佳榜单表彰了我们在 2023 年读到的五项著名调查。
Below, our editors recommend deeply reported stories about child laborers working overnight, migrant boats lost at sea, the preservation of historical records, the criminalization of pregnant mothers, and penile enhancement surgery.
下面，我们的编辑推荐了关于童工通宵工作、移民船在海上失踪、历史记录的保存、怀孕母亲的刑事定罪以及阴茎增强手术等深度报道的故事。
## The Kids on the Night Shift
## 夜班的孩子们
Hannah Dreier | The New York Times Magazine | September 18, 2023 | 7,705 words
汉娜·德雷尔 |纽约时报杂志 | 2023 年 9 月 18 日 | 7,705 字
One mark of a great investigation is that it leads to regulatory or legislative change.
伟大调查的标志之一是它会带来监管或立法的变革。
The other is that the target of said investigation tries to erect a wall of silence.
其二是，上述调查对象试图竖起一堵沉默之墙。
The first happened earlier this year, when Hannah Dreier began her New York Times series on migrant child labor; the second happened while reporting this stirring, heartbreaking exposé.
第一个发生在今年早些时候，当时汉娜·德雷尔 (Hannah Dreier) 开始了《纽约时报》关于移民童工的系列报道。第二件事发生在报道这一激动人心、令人心碎的事件时。
“Soon slaughterhouses around the country began passing out fliers with my photograph,” Dreier writes.
“很快，全国各地的屠宰场开始散发印有我照片的传单，”德雷尔写道。
Of course they did.
他们当然做到了。
When a 14-year-old Guatemalan migrant named Marcos nearly loses an arm to an industrial accident on an overnight shift at a Perdue-run chicken processing plant, it’s hard to claim innocence.
当一名名叫马科斯 (Marcos) 的 14 岁危地马拉移民在珀杜经营的一家鸡肉加工厂值夜班时，因工业事故险些失去一只手臂，此时很难声称自己是无辜的。
When the incident report leaves out Marcus’ age, and the state investigation takes less than two weeks to attribute the tragedy to “poor training” without ever visiting the plant, it’s hard to claim innocence.
当事故报告没有提及马库斯的年龄，而州政府调查只用了不到两周的时间就将这场悲剧归咎于“培训不足”而从未去过工厂，因此很难声称自己是无辜的。
When a rural Virginia community is filled with so many night-shift kids that teachers arrive in the morning to find students sleeping in their cars, fresh from the plant, it’s hard to claim innocence.
当弗吉尼亚州的一个农村社区挤满了上夜班的孩子，老师们早上到达时，发现刚从工厂出来的学生睡在车里，很难说自己是清白的。
There’s plenty of innocence here—it’s just being stolen from those who are only trying to help their families.
这里有很多纯真——它只是从那些只想帮助家人的人那里被偷走的。
Dreier’s reporting is as human as it is probing, making clear that the children she profiles are far more than tales of adversity or damning statistics.
德雷尔的报道既人性化又具有探索性，明确表明她所描述的孩子们不仅仅是逆境故事或令人震惊的统计数据。
They’re children.
他们是孩子。
No matter what Perdue and Tyson allow themselves to think.
不管珀杜和泰森让自己怎么想。
—PR
——公关
## Adrift
## 漂流
Renata Brito and Felipe Dana | The Associated Press | April 12, 2023 | 4,351 words
雷娜塔·布里托 (Renata Brito) 和费利佩·达纳 (Felipe Dana)美联社 | 2023 年 4 月 12 日 | 4,351 字
One morning in May 2021, fishermen in Tobago spotted a strange boat offshore.
2021 年 5 月的一个早晨，多巴哥的渔民在近海发现了一艘奇怪的船。
To their horror, they discovered a dozen dead men on board.
令他们惊恐的是，他们在船上发现了十几名死者。
Among the objects left behind: Tattered clothes.
留下的物品包括：破烂的衣服。
Prayer beads.
念珠。
A water bottle labeled with Arabic writing.
一个标有阿拉伯文字的水瓶。
A phone, through which local authorities eventually pull a list of contacts.
一部电话，地方当局最终通过该电话提取联系人名单。
All of these items and more would offer evidence about this doomed journey.
所有这些物品以及更多物品都将为这次注定失败的旅程提供证据。
In this immersive feature, Renata Brito and Felipe Dana use video storytelling, photography, and interactive graphics to reconstruct what happened to these men.
在这部身临其境的影片中，雷娜塔·布里托和费利佩·达纳使用视频讲故事、摄影和交互式图形来重现这些人身上发生的事情。
Part of a group of 43 migrants that left Mauritania 135 days earlier, they intended to sail to Europe, along a treacherous Atlantic route via the Canary Islands, to start a better life.
135 天前，43 名移民离开毛里塔尼亚，他们打算沿着危险的大西洋航线，途经加那利群岛，航行到欧洲，开始更好的生活。
As is the fate of other boats like it, the pirogue lost its way and washed up in the Caribbean.
与其他类似船只的命运一样，独木舟迷失了方向并被冲入加勒比海。
For two years, Brito and Dana followed a trail of clues, piecing together a narrative that spans three continents.
两年来，布里托和达纳追踪线索，拼凑出一个跨越三大洲的故事。
Their investigation, drawn from police documents and interviews with forensic experts and disappeared migrants’ loved ones halfway across the world, led to the identification by name of more than three-quarters of the people on the boat; DNA testing also confirmed the identity of one man, bringing closure to at least one family.
他们根据警方文件、法医专家以及远在半个地球失踪的移民亲人进行调查，最终查明了船上四分之三以上人员的姓名； DNA 检测还确认了一名男子的身份，至少为一个家庭带来了结局。
“These migrants are as invisible in death as they were in life,” they write of these men—and the larger African refugee crisis.
他们在谈到这些人以及更大的非洲难民危机时写道：“这些移民在死亡时和生前一样是隐形的。”
“But even ghosts have families.” These “ghost boats” are vessels of hope for these men, but many of them vanish and are forgotten at sea; with exceptional and empathetic reporting, Brito and Dana tell a very moving human story of one.
“但即使是鬼魂也有家人。”这些“幽灵船”对这些人来说是希望之船，但其中许多消失并被遗忘在海上；布里托和达纳以出色且富有同理心的报道讲述了一个非常感人的人类故事。
—CLR
—CLR
## The Night 17 Million Precious Military Records Went Up in Smoke
## 1700 万份珍贵的军事记录化为灰烬的那一夜
Megan Greenwell | Wired | June 27, 2023 | 7,987 words
梅根·格林威尔 |有线| 2023 年 6 月 27 日 | 7,987 字
As line by line of this piece’s lede unfurled, I leaned a little bit closer, already riveted.
当这件作品的前导线逐行展开时，我靠得更近了一点，已经被吸引住了。
In 1973, a fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis destroyed 17 million Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF), service records that unlock “home, business, and educational loans; health insurance and medical treatment; life insurance; job training programs; and other perks the country has long considered part of the debt it owes its veterans.” For reporter Megan Greenwell, one personnel file was personal.
1973 年，圣路易斯国家人事记录中心发生火灾，1700 万份官方军事人事档案 (OMPF) 被毁，这些服务记录可解锁“家庭、商业和教育贷款、健康保险和医疗、人寿保险、职业培训计划以及国家长期以来认为欠退伍军人债务的一部分的其他福利”。对于记者梅根·格林威尔来说，一份人事档案是个人的。
Her grandfather, who died in 2012, had served in the Army in 1943.
她的祖父于 2012 年去世，曾于 1943 年参军。
Could his OMPF have miraculously survived the devastating fire?
他的 OMPF 能否在这场毁灭性的火灾中奇迹般地幸存下来？
Greenwell completed “Standard Form 180, ‘Request Pertaining to Military Records,’” in a bid to find out.
Greenwell 填写了“标准表格 180，‘有关军事记录的请求’”，以找出答案。
This piece, dealing with the US Federal Government, could have easily been bogged down by a bureaucracy unwilling to share its secrets about the blaze.
这篇文章涉及美国联邦政府，很容易因为不愿分享火灾秘密的官僚机构而陷入困境。
But Greenwell brings us fascinating humans who lovingly apply surprising science and technology to restore and decipher records damaged by fire, water, and humidity.
但格林威尔为我们带来了迷人的人类，他们热衷于应用令人惊奇的科学技术来恢复和破译被火、水和湿气损坏的记录。
For these technicians, each record—each person—is precious, an identity revealed.
对于这些技术人员来说，每条记录（每个人）都是珍贵的，可以揭示身份。
But did Greenwell find her grandfather’s personnel file?
但格林威尔找到了她祖父的人事档案吗？
Was his among the few that survived the fire or was carefully restored?
他是在火灾中幸存下来的少数人之一还是经过精心修复的？
I couldn’t possibly spoil that for you; you’ll have to read the piece to find out.
我不可能破坏你的一切；你必须阅读这篇文章才能找到答案。
—KS
—KS
## They Followed Doctors’ Orders.
## 他们遵循医生的指示。
Then Their Children Were Taken Away.
然后他们的孩子被带走了。
Shoshana Walter | Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting | June 29, 2023 | 7,167 words
肖莎娜·沃尔特 |调查报道中心透露| 2023 年 6 月 29 日 | 7,167 字
Sometimes an investigation begins with a single word.
有时调查从一个词开始。
In 2016, as part of legislation expanding government support for the prevention and treatment of opioid addiction, Congress amended existing child-welfare policy.
2016 年，作为扩大政府对预防和治疗阿片类药物成瘾的支持的立法的一部分，国会修订了现有的儿童福利政策。
“Federal law had long required newborns vaguely identified as ‘affected by’ illegal drugs to be flagged to child protective services,” Shoshana Walter explains.
“联邦法律长期以来一直要求将被模糊认定为‘受非法药物影响’的新生儿标记为儿童保护服务机构，”肖莎娜·沃尔特解释道。
“In this new iteration, lawmakers removed the word ‘illegal.’” The change was intended to help infants exposed in utero to prescription opioids, but in practice, it created a devastating dragnet.
“在这次新的迭代中，立法者删除了‘非法’这个词。”这一改变的目的是帮助在子宫内暴露于处方阿片类药物的婴儿，但在实践中，它造成了毁灭性的天罗地网。
Drawing from meticulous research, Walter reveals instances of new mothers being reported for taking antidepressants and run-of-the-mill cold medicines, and for testing positive for the fentanyl found in epidurals (a particularly gobsmacking detail, which I have repeated aloud many times, including to my own doctor).
沃尔特根据细致的研究，揭示了一些新妈妈被报告服用抗抑郁药和普通感冒药，以及硬膜外麻醉中芬太尼检测呈阳性的例子（这是一个特别令人瞠目结舌的细节，我多次大声重复过，包括对我自己的医生）。
Others were reported for using Suboxone, a drug prescribed to help recovering addicts stay clean, and had their children taken away as a result.
据报道，还有人因使用 Suboxone（一种用于帮助戒毒者保持清洁的药物）而导致他们的孩子被带走。
“It’s like a sick game,” one mother told Walter.
“这就像一场恶心的游戏，”一位母亲告诉沃尔特。
“They don’t want you on illicit street drugs, so here, we’re going to give you this medicine.
“他们不希望你吸食非法街头毒品，所以在这里，我们会给你这种药。
But then if you take this medicine, we are going to punish you for it and ruin your family.” It would be simplistic to say that this phenomenal story, published in partnership with The New York Times Magazine, is about the unintended consequences of a government policy.
但如果你吃了这个药，我们就会惩罚你，毁了你的家庭。”如果说这个与《纽约时报杂志》合作发表的非凡故事是关于政府政策的意外后果，那就太简单了。
On a deeper level, it is about the American impulse to marginalize and punish women who don’t fit into culturally ordained boxes.
从更深层次来说，这是关于美国边缘化和惩罚那些不符合文化规定的女性的冲动。
—SD
—SD
## Inside the Secretive World of Penile Enlargement
## 阴茎增大的秘密世界
Ava Kofman | ProPublica, co-published with The New Yorker | June 26, 2023 | 8,601 words
艾娃·科夫曼 | ProPublica，与《纽约客》联合出版 | 2023 年 6 月 26 日 | 8,601 字
Once upon a time, I produced a documentary on cosmetic surgery.
曾几何时，我制作了一部关于整容手术的纪录片。
Having stood in a few operating rooms while silicon got wedged into various crannies, I have retained a morbid curiosity about this field.
当我站在几间手术室里，看着硅被塞进各种缝隙中时，我对这个领域仍然保持着一种病态的好奇心。
However, I was still not quite sure what to expect when I decided to join Ava Kofman “inside the secretive world of penile enlargement.” Certainly not something quite so dark—or graphic.
然而，当我决定加入艾娃·科夫曼“进入阴茎增大的秘密世界”时，我仍然不太确定会发生什么。当然不是那么黑暗或图形化的东西。
Kofman does not shy away from describing what is involved in inserting urologist James Elist’s invention, the Penuma (a silicone implant, “shaped like a hotdog bun”) under the skin of the penis to increase its girth and flaccid length.
科夫曼毫不避讳地描述了将泌尿科医生詹姆斯·埃利斯特的发明 Penuma（一种硅胶植入物，“形状像热狗面包”）插入阴茎皮肤下以增加其周长和松弛长度所涉及的过程。
Having also made it into the operating room, she is fully equipped to assault the senses by describing the sights and smells involved with surgery on an inverted penis.
进入手术室后，她已经完全具备了通过描述倒置阴茎手术所涉及的景象和气味来攻击感官的能力。
She has done her homework in other ways too, talking to 49 enlargement patients—a high tally for an area notoriously wrapped in shame and secrecy.
她还以其他方式做足了功课，与 49 名增大患者进行了交谈——对于一个臭名昭著的羞耻和保密领域来说，这个数字很高。
Her meticulous investigation pays off when she discovers the post-procedure horrors some men have endured: implants becoming infected or detached, buckling at the corners, or even breaking through the skin.
当她发现一些男性经历的术后恐惧时，她细致的调查得到了回报：植入物被感染或脱落，角落弯曲，甚至刺穿皮肤。
The trust she gains from her case studies is impressive, as is the access given to her by Elist himself, who allows her into his inner sanctum to witness his godlike complex firsthand.
她从案例研究中获得的信任令人印象深刻，埃利斯特本人给予她的访问权也令人印象深刻，埃利斯特允许她进入他的内心密室，亲眼目睹他神圣的情结。
Kofman is fair in pointing out that all pioneering surgeries involve some trial and error at the start, but what I found shocking was that most men “had been of at least average size before going under the knife.” (Not much education on body dysmorphia seems to make it into the rushed intake process.) This enlightening piece may not be for the faint of heart, but it’s a great piece of journalism.
科夫曼公平地指出，所有开创性的手术在开始时都会经历一些尝试和错误，但令我震惊的是，大多数男性“在接受手术之前至少具有平均身材”。 （关于身体畸形的教育似乎并不多，以至于无法进入仓促的接收过程。）这篇启发性的文章可能不适合胆小的人，但它是一篇很棒的新闻报道。
—CW
—CW
You can also browse all of our year-end collections since 2011 in one place.
您还可以在一处浏览我们自 2011 年以来的所有年终系列。