Post Reports

It’s not just on movie sets like the infamous “Rust.” Beyond Hollywood’s glitz and glamor, and the spectacle of the upcoming 95th Academy Awards, there are hidden dangers on many of the sets for the tv shows and movies we love.Read more:Back in October 2021, two major events happened in Hollywood. First, 60,000 union members overwhelmingly voted to go on strike because of rough working conditions on television and movie sets. The strike was narrowly averted, but it left union members wanting more. Later that month, actor Alec Baldwin allegedly shot and killed a crew member on the set of his movie “Rust.” Many blamed poor set conditions, with crew members walking off-set the day of the shooting.Washington Post filmmakers Lindsey Sitz and Ross Godwin made a documentary called “Quiet on Set” about the people behind the Hollywood cameras and sets. They say 18-hour days have led to dangerous accidents, and sexism and racism can run rampant behind the scenes. But speaking out can get you blacklisted.Sitz and Godwin spoke with five union crew members about the things they’ve seen, heard, and experienced while on set. “Quiet on Set” paints a picture of exploitation, cost-cutting, and turning a blind eye, all in the name of Hollywood.

Today on Post Reports, as we near the three-year mark of the pandemic, health reporter Lena Sun digs into the science of grief and what she learned through her own loss. Her mother was one of more than 1 million Americans who died of covid.Read more:This week, we’re marking three years since the World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 was a pandemic. Since March of 2020, more than a million people have died in the United States alone and we’ve lost more than 6 million people worldwide to covid. We’ve turned to health reporter Lena Sun often over the last few years for advice on masking and social distancing, to explain how the virus spreads and how vaccines work, and for accountability reporting on the way politics and policies have interfered with science. But while she was one of the lead reporters covering the pandemic, Lena was also coping with her own loss. She lost her mother to covid in April of 2020, a famed writer on the Chinese immigrant experience, and then her sister died last year of pancreatic cancer. Today on the show, Lena shares what she’s learned about the science of grief - and how we can all process so much tragedy from the last three years.

Today, what we know about the four Americans who were kidnapped in Mexico, and what this incident can tell us about medical tourism, the security situation at the U.S. southern border, and how U.S. policy has contributed to the problems.Read more:Last week, four American friends from South Carolina were kidnapped in the Mexican border city Matamoros. By the time Mexican security forces located them on the outskirts of the city Tuesday, two of the Americans were dead and another was injured. The two survivors have been returned to the border, and one suspect is in custody with an ongoing manhunt for others. Today, The Washington Post’s Kevin Sieff explains how this affects the security relationship between the United States and Mexico, and what role the U.S. has played in making Matamoros a place where violence and kidnappings happen, often with impunity.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, enables low-income families to put basic food on the table. This month, SNAP experienced dramatic cuts that have left many families and seniors struggling to figure out how to survive on less than $6 per meal. That can mean cheaper, less-healthy options like canned and processed foods, which are high in sugar and are major drivers of obesity, reporter Laura Reiley tells “Post Reports.” “It's a hunger that looks different than it used to in this country,” Reiley says. So why the change? Amid heightened financial and food insecurity during the pandemic, a federal assistance program upped monthly SNAP benefits. That program came to a screeching halt last week, despite a continued rise in food prices. Many families and seniors are seeing their monthly food assistance drop by more than $100. State-level shifts are also reducing the level of assistance. And yet, “the food that we routinely feed our families has gotten a lot more expensive,” Reiley continues. “The math that's been used to determine how much a meal costs has not kept up with inflation or how we eat.” Read more:Millions could see cuts to food stamps as federal pandemic aid ends.A mile-long line for free food offers a warning as covid benefits end.Republicans take aim at food stamps in growing fight over federal debt.

Today on the show, the $500 million alleged Ponzi scheme that preyed on Mormons.Read more:Las Vegas investigative reporter Jeff German was killed outside his home in September; a Clark County official he had investigated is charged in his death. To continue German’s work, The Washington Post teamed up with his newspaper, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, to complete one of the stories he’d planned to pursue before he was killed. A folder on German’s desk contained court documents he’d started to gather about an alleged Ponzi scheme that preyed upon hundreds of people — many of them Mormon — over the course of five years. Post reporter Lizzie Johnson began investigating. Today on Post Reports, we look at how more than 900 people invested an estimated total of $500 million into an alleged Ponzi scheme, and why the men who allegedly ran this operation are still walking free. 

If you’re gearing up to clean out your closet this spring, you might be wondering: Where can I donate all these clothes? And: What actually happens to these clothes when I do donate? The Washington Post’s climate solutions team has some answers.Read more: From Goodwill to disaster-relief efforts to those big metal donation boxes on street corners, there are a lot of options for where to give those clothes you just don’t wear anymore. But whether those old t-shirts ever find new, good homes is a more complicated story. Allyson Chiu, a climate solutions reporter for The Post, breaks down where donated clothes end up and offers some advice about what to watch out for as you consolidate your closet. 

Why did the College Board, which oversees Advanced Placement classes, change certain parts of the AP African American studies course framework? Post Reports digs into the latest controversy about the new AP course, still in its pilot stages.Read more:After Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis came out against the new AP African American studies course, it sparked a controversy. The state said it wouldn’t allow students to take the class because it lacked educational value.Then the College Board changed the course framework just in time for its debut on the first day of Black History Month. Many questioned whether conservative leaders prompted changes to the program. Where the word “systemic” was mentioned in the previous plan for the class, it was completely removed from the new one. The same with other topics, such as Black Lives Matter and reparations, which went from 15 mentions in April 2022 to one in February 2023. Education reporter Nick Anderson breaks down what happened to AP African American studies and why these changes occurred in the first place.

Violence has been mounting in the Israeli-occupied West Bank for months, but the situation is already reaching a new level of escalation in 2023. “Everything is falling apart,” The Post’s Miriam Berger explains to guest host Libby Casey, referring to the fragile dynamics between Palestinians and Israelis in the region.  At least 60 Palestinians and a dozen Israelis have been killed in recent weeks in the occupied territories, a level that is on track to be the bloodiest in two decades. That’s despite rare talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Jordan last weekend. On Monday, a Palestinian man shot and killed two Israeli brothers in the West Bank town of Huwara. Later that day, dozens of Israeli settlers torched cars and homes in Palestinian communities, killing one man in revenge.  “You have this growing insecurity amongst Palestinians and also the cycle of revenge attacks happening,” says Berger. The clashes come amidst massive protests in Israel itself, and a major shift to the right in the country’s new government. The empowerment of extremist leaders has further fueled more violent acts, as Palestinian house demolitions and raids are on the rise. Read More: Emboldened by Israel’s far right, Jewish settlers fan the flames of chaosIsraeli settlers rampage through Palestinian towns in revenge for shootingAt least 11 Palestinians killed, 100 wounded in Israeli raid in the West BankJerusalem demolitions gain pace under Netanyahu, enraging PalestiniansWhy Israel’s planned overhaul of the judiciary is tearing the country apartItamar Ben Gvir: How an extremist settler became a powerful Israeli ministerAt least 7 killed in East Jerusalem synagogue shootingAfter deadly Israeli raid in Jenin, fears of escalation in West Bank

In the wake of the 2020 election, Fox News aired false claims about election fraud promoted by Trump allies. A lawsuit, however, reveals that top executives and hosts privately doubted the legitimacy of those claims. Reporter Jeremy Barr joins us to explain. Read more:In recently revealed texts and emails, Fox News hosts privately disparaged election theories being aired on their shows. Rupert Murdoch, chair of Fox News’s parent company, acknowledged in a lawsuit that he wishes the network had done more to push back on false election claims. 

Today on Post Reports, we look at how the boundaries between work and life are potentially changing, from the feasibility of a four-day workweek to protections for workers when they're off the clock.Read more:The five-day workweek is the standard in the United States, and in many other countries across the world. But advocacy groups, and employees themselves, have been dreaming about the possibility of a four-day workweek. Recently, dozens of companies in the United Kingdom finished a four-day workweek pilot program; in the U.S., there is also state and federal legislation proposing employees work one day less for the same pay. Corporate culture reporter Taylor Telford explains how the pandemic has shifted our ideas about work, and how feasible a four-day workweek could really be. Plus, we explore “the right to disconnect,” a movement that advocates for employees to be allowed to disengage from work after working hours. The Post’s Niha Masih explains how certain countries are protecting people from work encroaching on their personal time.