We filed nearly as many requests in 2015 as we did in our previous five years combined, releasing over 350,000 pages of government documents. And that’s just the beginning - here’s the stories, big and small, you helped uncover this year.

Last month, we put out a call for thanks to the agency staff that have helped make FOIA and public records work for you. Here are a few of the submissions we received.

As the Department of Defense’s Chief of FOIA Policy, Jim Hogan helps oversee the processes that manage the roughly 60,000 requests the DoD sees each year. For him, it all started 20 years ago when, as an active duty officer in the Air Force, he made the jump to processing FOIA requests.

A particularly unsettling exchange with a private prison’s legal team leads Beryl Lipton to reflect on her investigation so far, and what next year will bring.

In the 1990s, during our nuclear disarmament initiative, Congress preserved two intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) silos as historic sites. Today, the public can visit and follow a National Park Ranger loosely on scripted tour all the way down into the launch control center itself, which covers the basic history of the Cold War, provides fun facts and trivia about the silo, and asks visitors to contemplate unleashing nuclear Armageddon.

According to recently-released EPA documents, the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, dumped more than 525 million gallons of mixed sewage and rainwater into Massachusetts waterways in 2013, leading the 24 cities and towns authorized to do so in the state.

While A&E’s “Duck Dynasty” has repeatedly drawn controversy over the Robertson family patriarch’s incendiary comments on, well, everything, FCC “compliments” released under FOIA reveal a dedicated viewer base which holds it as television’s moral compass to which all other shows are judged.

After nearly four years in self-described “FOIA University,” freelancer Phil Eil’s public record education is approaching graduate level status. The evidence records of Dr. Paul Volkman - whose “pill mill” court case sparked an “epidemic” discourse around prescription drug use in America - took years to obtain from the Drug Enforcement Administration, and even then, the majority of materials were withheld. Now, with the help of the Rhode Island ACLU, Phil is immersed in a court battle for full disclosure. We first spoke with Phil last year, and we caught up with him again for this week’s Requester’s Voice.

Wondering who is supplying the biometric gear police use? Aaron Cantú looks at the companies who make thumbprint scanners, facial recognition gear, and more, and examines their funding sources, including the Department of Homeland Security and foreign governments.

The Society of Professional Journalists and MuckRock believe a journalist’s access to direct information from government employees is important. Lack of access, delayed access, and even blocked access impedes a journalist ability to do their job: to accurately, fairly and ethically inform the public.

John Lennon’s sizable FBI file begins in the midst of his 1972 deportation battle with INS. While Lennon argued in court that the motive behind the deportation was political, the Bureau worked to secure a narcotics charge that would get him out of the country before the Republican National Convention that year.

Following a public records request, Boston Police Department has released Form 2645, the Informant Working Agreement. The document, sent in both English and Spanish, stipulates 11 specific clauses that must be agreed to by an individual before they can become an official informant of the BPD.

Brandon Smith is a Chicago journalist whose work recently caught the nation’s attention after he persevered in getting police video of the Laquan McDonald shooting released, leading to one officer being charged and the chief of police being fired. In this week’s Requester’s Voice, Smith talks about how public records gives him a leg up as an independent reporter chasing big stories.

Cops and citizens have been pointing fingers and cameras at one another with increasing force over the last year. Freedom of information laws make access to the former’s footage a matter of public record. Take a look at Boston’s protests, as seen through cop camcorders, and then ask for some of your own.

Over the past few years, something unusual has quietly happened when it comes to public access: Small changes for the better. But while legislation passed by the House includes some great and much needed improvements, it fails to address - and in some case worsens - Massachusetts public records law’s problems, leaving the state dangerously behind its peers.

Cesar Estrada Chavez, Mexican American icon and prominent leader of an historic strike of California farm workers, was the subject of hundreds of pages of FBI correspondence throughout the ’60s, speculating on the nature of his humanitarian and civil rights activism - much of which seems to suggest skepticism in regard to the sincerity of Chavez’s intentions.

For the past year, Sunlight has been actively exploring the landscape of U.S. criminal justice data. Now they need your help to get critical data on how cities are using fines to fund their operations - at the expense of justice.

For almost six years, MuckRockers have been working to find more about how their government works, and the results have been incredible: 19,078 requests filed to 5,476 agencies, resulting in 748,950 pages released plus countless databases, spreadsheets, and other public record goodness. But behind every public records release is an agency staff member doing their job, and to them we say thanks.

In a special edition of the FBI file project, we take a look at some of the director’s greatest disses from over the decades.

Files on Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., star of ABC’s The FBI, give an idea of how the Bureau managed its reputation when given the opportunity to do so favorably, not to mention meticulously - the crime drama was directly overseen by the Bureau’s Crime Records Division and drew material from actual case files.

A little over two years ago, after a Supreme Court decision ruled that states could restrict public records to their own citizens, we launched a network of volunteers to help journalists, researchers, and activists continue to file requests. The work that’s resulted has been critical to informing the public — but we need your help to keep it going.

Thanks to four generous donors, we were able to fully fund this request! Check back next week, when the footage will be posted on the request page.

MuckRock’s Michael Morisy recently received the FCC complaints related to the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, hosted by Miley Cyrus. And while there was nowhere near the outpouring of outrage that resulted from her now infamous 2013 VMAs performance, Miley can rest easy knowing that there’s still plenty of people out there who think she’s destroying America.

Millions of people and billions of dollars have passed through the ‪detainee‬-deportation machine, which has been an active aspect of U.S. ‪immigration‬ policy for over a century. But while immigration reform‬ will be hotly debated in the public sphere through the next federal election year, the infrastructure serving the system is largely private.

47 years ago this week, Russell Jones - better known as Ol’ Dirty Bastard of the Wu-Tang Clan, or simply ODB - was born in New York City. FBI files released to Rich Jones (no relation), offer a glimpse into the multitude of investigations involving Mr. Jones, both as perpetrator and victim.