In this conversation, we discuss Kalven’s landmark public records win in Kalven v. City of Chicago (2014), how AI can be used to analyze data received through FOIA and hopes for the future of the transparency landscape.

Science writer Kris Newby shares her personal journey that took her from the beaches of Martha’s Vineyard into the depths of the U.S. government’s Cold War biological weapons program.

The president of SPJ Oregon talks about how the state’s restrictions on public health data make it more difficult to understand COVID, offers tips to new filers, and tells us about her favorite Magic-related records request.

The nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council published on Monday a review of information on factory farms - released despite industry objections - that calls attention to shortcomings in the EPA’s regulation of potential pollutants.

Steven Rich, the database editor for the investigations team at The Washington Post, recently gained access to a database that traced every pain pill distributed across the US between 2006 and 2012. The database provides a look at where opioids have been distributed by which pharmaceutical companies, and shows that the federal government has long been aware of the scope of the opioid crisis. Rich spoke to MuckRock about taking advantage of a lawsuit to gain access to the Drug Enforcement Administration pain pill database and how to use public records to report on private companies.

David Cuillier is an associate professor in the School of Journalism at The University of Arizona. He specializes in public records reporting and co-wrote the book, The Art of Access: Strategies for Acquiring Public Records, the second edition of which is being released this month. The book teaches journalists and involved citizens how to gain access to public records, which he says is an art that requires understanding of the system and human behavior. For this week’s Requester’s Voice, Cuillier spoke to MuckRock about his book and the study he worked on this past year.

The Virginia-based advocacy group Richmond Transparency and Accountability Project talks to Tom Nash about how they use public records to push for police oversight.

Prison administrators are not known for their transparency and developing strong sources in and outside the system rarely comes easy. But since 2016 the Houston Chronicle’s Keri Blakinger has used Texas’ (relatively) strong public records laws to get scoop after scoop on her beat, even though most of the institutions she covers are over an hour away.

On the 48th anniversary of the break-in at the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Media, Pennsylvania field office, reporter Betty Medsger reflects on the role of whistleblowers in the pursuit of truth and government transparency.

For our Requester’s Voice series, The Young Turks’ senior investigative reporter Ken Klippenstein spoke with us about his love for FOIA, public records reporting during a government shutdown, the perks of going viral, and the “symbiotic relationship” between journalism and activism.