Washington Post Investigations

Washington Post Investigations Investigations Unit at the Washington Post.

Analysis by Aaron Blake: Vice President Kamala Harris had her first major interview since President Joe Biden dropped ou...
08/30/2024

Analysis by Aaron Blake: Vice President Kamala Harris had her first major interview since President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race. Harris sat for the interview with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D).

Here are some takeaways:

Harris addressed her changed positions obliquely and walked a very fine line on trying to run as a “change” candidate.

For decades, Catholic priests, brothers and sisters r***d or molested Native American children who were taken from their...
05/29/2024

For decades, Catholic priests, brothers and sisters r***d or molested Native American children who were taken from their homes by the U.S. government and forced to live at remote boarding schools, a Post investigation found.

Taken from their families and sent to remote boarding schools, Native American children often faced sexual abuse by priests, brothers or sisters who ran the facilities.

Interviews with former Smithsonian employees show they faced resistance from Natural History Museum anthropologists when...
12/15/2023

Interviews with former Smithsonian employees show they faced resistance from Natural History Museum anthropologists when seeking to repatriate human remains. Our latest via Nicole Dungca and Claire Healy

Interviews with former Smithsonian employees show they faced resistance from Natural History Museum anthropologists when seeking to repatriate human remains.

A 59-year-old Black woman died of epilepsy in October 1903 at the Washington Asylum Hospital, an institution that housed...
12/14/2023

A 59-year-old Black woman died of epilepsy in October 1903 at the Washington Asylum Hospital, an institution that housed the District’s indigent.

Almost five months later, tuberculosis killed a 21-month-old Black toddler at Children’s Hospital in D.C.

The next month, an 11-year-old White boy died of a lung condition at Children’s.

Then one of the Smithsonian Institution’s top anthropologists, Ales Hrdlicka, took their brains for his “racial brain collection.”

The Smithsonian museum’s collection of human remains contains dozens of brains from vulnerable Washington, D.C., residents, many taken without consent.

Our FOIA director, Nate Jones, helped The Post request the disciplinary record of a D.C. police officer accused of misco...
12/14/2023

Our FOIA director, Nate Jones, helped The Post request the disciplinary record of a D.C. police officer accused of misconduct. Here’s what we found out.

D.C. police declined to release the disciplinary file of retired officer Brett Parson, and The Post sued. FOIA Director Nate Jones explains what we found out.

Inconsistent laws and limited accountability make it difficult for expectant parents to evaluate a home birth midwife’s ...
11/14/2023

Inconsistent laws and limited accountability make it difficult for expectant parents to evaluate a home birth midwife’s record and make an informed decision about one of the most critical events of their lives.

Infants are twice as likely to die after planned home births compared with hospital deliveries, a Post investigation found. Inconsistent laws and limited accountability make it difficult to evaluate a home birth midwife’s record.

A question has haunted a Caribbean nation for 40 years: What happened to the body of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop? My c...
10/23/2023

A question has haunted a Caribbean nation for 40 years: What happened to the body of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop? My colleagues spent two years investigating this mystery, and found an incredible story. Listen to our new investigative podcast here:

Listeners journey back to 1983, when Grenada’s revolutionary leader was executed in a coup, and why the location of his remains is a mystery. Now, 40 years later, there’s new information about the role of the U.S. in that timeline.

Go inside our reporting with a new column from The Post’s FOIA director Nate Jones. Come for the journalism, stay for th...
10/05/2023

Go inside our reporting with a new column from The Post’s FOIA director Nate Jones. Come for the journalism, stay for the meme…

There are countless secrets hidden in government documents. As The Post's FOIA director, I help reporters figure out how to find them. Here's how I do it.

Ninety years after a physician took a young Alaska woman’s brain for a “racial brain collection” at the Smithsonian Inst...
09/08/2023

Ninety years after a physician took a young Alaska woman’s brain for a “racial brain collection” at the Smithsonian Institution, a museum official delivered her brain to her family for burial near the rest of her remains in Seattle.

The family of the woman, Mary Sara, had no idea her brain had been taken until informed by reporters.

A nonprofit group has identified 115 more Indian boarding schools than has been previously reported, offering new insigh...
08/30/2023

A nonprofit group has identified 115 more Indian boarding schools than has been previously reported, offering new insight into the role of religious institutions in the long-standing federal policy to eradicate Native Americans’ culture through their children.

A nonprofit Native American group has found details about 115 more Indian boarding schools in the United States.

The story began in a St. Louis cemetery, where at least six Filipinos are buried. They had come from the Philippines to ...
08/17/2023

The story began in a St. Louis cemetery, where at least six Filipinos are buried. They had come from the Philippines to be put on display at the 1904 World’s Fair, living in model villages for onlookers to gawk at their customs. They never returned home.

From the Philippine Exhibition at the 1904 World’s Fair to a collection of human remains at the Smithsonian, here’s how ‘The Collection’ project developed.

Maura came from the Philippines to be put on display at the 1904 World’s Fair. After her death, a Smithsonian anthropolo...
08/16/2023

Maura came from the Philippines to be put on display at the 1904 World’s Fair. After her death, a Smithsonian anthropologist likely took part of her brain. This is her story.

Maura, a Filipino woman, died after coming to the U.S. to be put on display at the 1904 World's Fair. A Smithsonian anthropologist likely took part of her brain.

The Smithsonian’s vast collection of human remains was mainly gathered by one man. Some called him “the bone doctor.”
08/15/2023

The Smithsonian’s vast collection of human remains was mainly gathered by one man. Some called him “the bone doctor.”

Ales Hrdlicka was the head curator of physical anthropology for the Smithsonian. Aided by a global network, he collected human brains to support racist beliefs

On the day Mary Sara died of tuberculosis in a Seattle sanitarium, the doctor caring for the 18-year-old offered her bra...
08/14/2023

On the day Mary Sara died of tuberculosis in a Seattle sanitarium, the doctor caring for the 18-year-old offered her brain to one of the most revered museums in the world.

The Smithsonian’s human brains collection was led by Ales Hrdlicka, a museum curator in the 1900s who believed that White people were superior.

The Smithsonian amassed a collection of human remains and brains for decades
08/14/2023

The Smithsonian amassed a collection of human remains and brains for decades

The Smithsonian’s human brains collection was led by Ales Hrdlicka, a museum curator in the 1900s who believed that White people were superior.

Here's the latest fallout from our investigation into retired military working for foreign governments:
06/20/2023

Here's the latest fallout from our investigation into retired military working for foreign governments:

The bill, which includes stiffer penalties for lawbreakers, comes in response to The Post’s investigation on the issue.

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