Featured Work
‘It’s not really worth it’: The price of police pursuits
‘You’re supposed to care’: The unregulated landscape of sober living homes in Wisconsin
Saluting Our Heroes: Stories from the Badger Honor Flight
After 2 homicides, Madison apartment residents say city, management are failing them
‘We don’t know who to trust’: Christopher Miller’s family’s ongoing search for answers
In Rock County, a student accused another of rape. In court, her school picked a side.
News 3 Now – September 8, 2022
It wasn’t until Hannah Engel was laying in a hospital bed after attempting to take her own life at 14 that her parents and doctors learned what had set the high school freshman on a path of spiraling depression.
She told doctors that two months earlier in March 2018, another student at Parkview High School had raped her twice. The two students had been in his basement watching TV, she said; he had wanted to do more.
News 3 Now – July 13, 2022
A positive pregnancy test comes with strong emotions: excitement, fear, confusion. For 24-year-old Nicole in June, it was shock.
“I couldn’t believe it. I probably took like three tests and then I also went to the doctor and got a blood test.”
Nicole–whose real name is being concealed out of safety and privacy concerns–is starting grad school in the fall, and motherhood hadn’t been in the plan. When she got the positive result, she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. She made an appointment with Planned Parenthood–just in case.
‘That jail is like a setup’: One man’s experience in the oldest part of the Dane County Jail
News 3 Now – August 4, 2022
In March, Garrett Olson had just moved into his own apartment after being homeless for the last four years when he was arrested after a fight. He was booked into the oldest part of the Dane County Jail, where he would spend the next four months.
Just weeks after his release, Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett announced that he would be closing that part of the jail due to what he has repeatedly called “unsafe, inhumane and borderline unconstitutional” conditions.
In wake of Uvalde shooting, Dane Co. parent raises concerns about daughter’s school safety plan
News 3 Now – June 20, 2022
In the wake of the deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas last month, Cottage Grove parent Mike Sokolowski checked in with his middle schooler about what her school was doing to prepare students for a similar event. After his daughter told him that she hadn’t done a school violence drill this year, Sokolowski reached out to school officials and the local police department to get some answers. While he says the school didn’t offer much information, an officer told him the school hadn’t conducted an active threat drill since 2018.
An Interview with HBOMax’s ‘Station Eleven’ Creator, Patrick Somerville
Somerville Talks Pandemic Life, New Show
The Badger Herald – February 1, 2022
When production on HBOMax’s latest miniseries, “Station Eleven”, started, no one could have foreseen just how eerily relevant it would become. The series, created by University of Wisconsin alumni Patrick Somerville, is based on Emily St. Mandel’s 2014 novel of the same name and follows a young girl named Kirsten as she navigates the world after a devastating flu pandemic that wipes out most of the world’s population.
$2.5 Million Grant Supports a Different Approach to Youth Homelessness in Dane County
Federal Program Lets Young People Without Stable Housing Take the Lead
Madison Commons – January 27, 2022
In Dane County, an estimated 300 young people experience homelessness on a daily basis, according to Briarpatch, a non-profit organization dedicated to serving homeless youth in Dane County. Resources for youth experiencing homelessness are lacking and often overlooked in policy conversations, but a new effort in Dane County seeks to change that.
What Spider-Man: No Way Home Got Right About Fan Service
The Badger Herald – January 2, 2022
In an era of incessant reboots and endless nostalgic content, I was wary of the latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’ Spiderverse. Having been disappointed one too many times, it is clear to me a film cannot succeed based on nostalgia alone. An attempt to prop up a franchise solely on “remember this?” leads only to disgruntled fans and flops. From Star Wars’ pathetic disheveled attempt at a third trilogy to “Ghostbusters: Afterlife”, the unique genre of films filled with flimsy callbacks and unjustified cameos has not impressed. But, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” stands out as the blueprint for how to do fan service the right way.
Diamond (Alternatives) Are a Girl’s Best Friend
The Ethical Dilemma of Diamonds and Your New Alternatives
Moda Magazine – December 2021
Contrary to James Bond’s catchy phrase, diamonds might not be forever. Although diamond sales have increased in the past year, diamond skepticism and hesitancy have been on the rise over the past two decades. More and more young people are turning to diamond alternatives for various reasons.
Why Representation of Love With a Disability Matters
Moda Magazine – December 4, 2021
Romantic love is an important part of life for most people, and people with disabilities are no exception. While romantic relationships usually look a little different for people with disabilities, they are valid and beautiful, and they deserve representation.
New Homeless Campsite Opening Soon on Dairy Drive
New Encampment Hopes to House People Currently Living in Reindahl Park, But Campers Aren’t Convinced
Madison Commons – November 6, 2021
A southeast Madison site that will provide shelter to 30 homeless people currently camping in Reindahl Park is nearly complete. The City Council approved the new site on Dairy Drive in August. It will include small, modular houses with heat and electricity, as well as bathroom and shower facilities for residents. City officials expect that the first moves to the new site will take place the week of Nov. 15.
How the Slow Food Movement is Putting an Accessible Spin on Fast Food
Moda Magazine – November 2021
In 1948, two brothers opened a small burger joint in San Bernardino, California. Their vision was to create a restaurant that could serve a lot of food very quickly at low prices. They limited their menu to a few tried and true items, implemented self-service counters to eliminate the need for servers and made their burgers ahead of time so they’d be ready right when customers ordered them. Though they didn’t know it at the time, the brothers had created what would become the most iconic fast-food franchise in history: McDonald’s. Thus, fast food was born, becoming a $650 billion industry by 2019.
Class Project – April 2021
State Street in Madison, Wisconsin has changed pretty drastically in the past 12 months. Empty storefronts and boarded up windows reflect the year that was 2020.