Imagine you’re a pot reporter. Pot as in weed, marijuana, bud. What could possibly go wrong when you cover a drug that is legally contentious but widely tolerated? CIR reporter Michael Montgomery finds out the hard way.

Arthur Jones
Illustrator/Animator
Arthur Jones is an illustrator, graphic designer, writer and animator. In addition to the Center for Investigative Reporting, he has done design work for NPR’s “This American Life,” animations for “Yo Gabba Gabba!” and graphic design at The New York Times. His book, “Post-it Note Diaries: 20 Stories of Youthful Abandon, Embarrassing Mishaps, and Everyday Adventure,” was published in October 2011. Arthur is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, and his work can be seen at byarthurjones.com.
Who Owns the Fish?
Any commercial fisherman used to be able to fish in U.S. seas. Not anymore. Today, the right to fish belongs to a number of private individuals who have traded, bought and sold these rights in unregulated markets. This system, called “catch shares,” favors large fishing fleets and has cut out thousands of smaller-scale fishermen. How […]
The hidden costs of hamburgers
Americans love hamburgers – we each eat an average of three a week. But what are the hidden costs? It turns out that livestock create about as much greenhouse gas pollution as cars, planes and other forms of transport. They also take a heavy environmental toll on land and water worldwide. How can we reduce our impact? […]
Animation: Suspect America
After 9/11, the government began encouraging local police, private security and everyday Americans to report so-called “suspicious activity” that may indicate a security threat. More than 15,000 reports are already compiled in one database that can be searched nationwide by law enforcement authorities. Taking photos of landmarks, walking “nervously” and writing in a notebook are […]
The Price of Gas
What’s the price of gasoline? In the U.S. it’s about $4 a gallon. But some experts say the true price of gas is much higher. What about the costs of pollution, and the global and local problems caused by it? Who pays for those? This animated feature from the Center for Investigative Reporting calculates the […]