We Mean Business

Capturing the reality of underinsurance: The visual work behind “Burned”

In this edition of We Mean Business: “How They Did It,” Ananya Bhargava talks to Brontë Wittpenn about her recent award-winning coverage on the systemic use of a flawed estimator tool, 360Value, that leaves homeowners drastically underinsured. “Burned” won the 2025 Gold prize in the Barlett and Steele Awards Regional/Local category. Visit the San Francisco Chronicle to read their investigation or businessjournalism.org/awards to view all the 2025 winners.

Alexa York’s debut investigation uncovers radioactive contamination in Luckey, Ohio

In this episode of How They Did It, Quỳnh Lê talks with Alexa York, winner of the 2025 Barlett & Steele Award for Outstanding Young Journalist. York shares how her investigation at The Blade revealed radioactive groundwater contamination in Luckey, Ohio, a discovery that led to state and federal action. Now a graduate student at Columbia University, she reflects on what it took to report the story and what she’s still working to uncover.

Faulty estimates, widespread losses: Inside San Francisco Chronicle reporters’ investigation of underinsurance and its impact

In this edition of We Mean Business: “How They Did It,” Ananya Bhargava interviews Megan Fan Munce and Susie Neilson about their recent award-winning investigation “Burned.” This investigation highlights the systemic use of a flawed estimator tool, 360Value, that leaves homeowners drastically underinsured. The reporters showed that 360Value relies on outdated and incomplete data that consistently understates the actual cost of rebuilding homes, often by hundreds of thousands of dollars. 
Their series won the 2025 Gold prize in the Barlett and Steele Awards Regional/Local category. Visit the San Francisco Chronicle to read their investigation or businessjournalism.org/awards to view all the 2025 winners.

Student athletes or university employees? The shifting status – and compensation – of college athletes

Since 2021, college athletes have been able to profit off their name, image and likeness (NIL) through brand deals and endorsements. However, starting July 1, 2025, due to a legal settlement with the NCAA, athletes will be able to be paid directly through their universities. This brings up a lot of new questions about the business of college sports. 
In this episode, George Headley speaks with journalist Laine Higgins about the future of college sports as she sees it. Higgins has been covering the NIL era of college sports for the Wall Street Journal for the past few years and has closely watched the myriad of changes in real time. Here is what she has to say about her experience and what other reporters can expect to see moving forward.

The nonprofits cutting through red tape to help homeless veterans

According to Veterans Affairs, there are nearly 32,882 veterans who were deemed homeless in January 2024. Nonprofits across the nation seeking to assist veterans face similar issues, especially in how they receive funding, and have developed their own unique business models to assist this population.
In this episode, George Headley speaks with two nonprofit organizations that were established to reduce veteran homelessness. Ben Hendershot, the vice president of national expansion at Veterans Community Project, discusses the organization’s latest expansion to Glendale, Arizona, and how they partner with many private entities and the local government to achieve their goals. Similarly, Colleen Corliss, chief development officer at Swords to Plowshares, discusses how the organization regularly partners with Veterans Affairs to fulfill its mission and partners with private entities to fill gaps in its funding model.

The FDA lets ‘risky drugs’ into the U.S. market, ProPublica reporter explains their investigation

The vast majority of drugs prescribed in the United States, including antidepressants, antibiotics, and sedatives, are generic drugs, many of which are manufactured in overseas factories. While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is tasked with enforcing drug safety standards and regulations, a ProPublica investigation found that many drugs still made it to the U.S. despite not meeting those standards.
 
In this episode, George Headley speaks with Northwestern professor and ProPublica reporter Debbie Cenziper, who, alongside a team of reporters including her students, published a series of stories about the FDA’s oversight of international drug companies. The team spent 14 months investigating the agency and found that it had allowed more than 150 drugs in the U.S. that should have been deemed too risky for distribution. 

Congressional stock trading is hard to identify, but reporters persevere

Congressional stock trading has been the topic of many pieces of legislation this past decade, but the U.S. is entering a new era with the Trump administration. After tariff movements that led to Democratic lawmakers proposing a ban on congressional stock trading, one journalist says it is a rare occasion where both sides are on the same page at the same time.
In this episode, George Headley speaks with Dave Levinthal, an investigative journalist and former deputy editor at Business Insider. Levinthal has examined politicians who have violated the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act and reported award-winning content throughout the years. He says covering this topic is a passion project of his and allows him to continue to produce watchdog journalism aimed at those in power.

Business journalists embrace Substack as a full-time platform

While Substack may be a departure from the traditional news formula, its platform has benefited many journalists, including Joseph Politano, the data journalist behind Apricitas Economics. In this episode of We Mean Business, George Headley interviews Politano about what drove him to start his Substack newsletter and what drives him to continue publishing it today. While the initial venture may have been to boost his portfolio for prospective employers, Politano has found satisfaction in breaking down complicated data for readers, even when creating charts can take hours of work. With over 67,000 subscribers, Politano has managed to turn a short-term project into a full-time job, which naturally comes with its own pros and cons.

Creativity, technology, and the future of artistic expression

In this episode, Ananya Bhargava interviews Lance Gharavi, an experimental artist and scholar, professor in the School of Music, Dance and Theatre, and Associate Director of ASU's Interplanetary Initiative. The discussion tackles the complexity of defining creativity in the age of AI, the metaphors we use to make sense of intelligent machines, and how artists and storytellers can respond to this technological shift.

AI’s evolving role in art, storytelling, and marketing

In this episode, Ananya Bhargava interviews Ed Finn, founding director of the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University. The discussion explores imagination in the context of technology, the potential for AI-generated marketing to connect with audiences, and the complex issues of copyright and ownership.