The Rust Belt is Indigenous Land
A land acknowledgement, plus ten stories from the archives on Indigenous life in the region.
Read These Stories Instead of Watching Hillbilly Elegy
Eleven pieces on identity, community, exploitation, and resilience in Appalachia.
Power to the People
In Michigan, the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission is getting ready to fix the state’s gerrymandered political map.
Suzi Quatro and the Sound of Detroit Rock
If the Detroit music scene revolutionized rock, Suzi Quatro brought it to a wider audience with polished production and an ear for catchy hooks.
Election Week Through the Lenses of Black Women
Snapshots of the 2020 election from five photographers across the Rust Belt.
Why It’s Taking So Long to Count Votes in Pennsylvania
The delay was not inevitable, but instead the product of a contentious disagreement between state politicians.
West Virginians Were Promised an Economic Revival. It Hasn’t Happened.
The coal industry continues to decline. Natural gas isn’t bringing the prosperity it promised. And now the pandemic has wrecked the state’s economy.
How Cook County Jail Became the Country’s First Jail-Based Polling Place
Many incarcerated people have the right to vote, but steep barriers can make it nearly impossible. In Cook County, Illinois, that’s starting to change.
Fighting Food Insecurity in Detroit During COVID-19
“If the pandemic does nothing else, it’s made the general community see how important food service programs in schools are, and how they sustain the city.”
“Where the Waters Reflect the Clouds”
Examining Minnesota's Indigenous history.
The Poisonous Legacy of Portsmouth’s Gaseous Diffusion Plant
The plant was erected in Pike County, Ohio during the cold war to enrich uranium. Then people started getting sick. Now, they're stuck cleaning up the mess.
Will Minneapolis’s Upper Harbor Terminal Project Be Good for Its Neighbors?
The city wants to develop public land in a majority-Black neighborhood. What would equitable development look like?