Published Work
A collection of investigative reports, feature stories, and essays published in major national and regional publications.
Long-Form Investigations
The Settlement Machine
Texas Monthly, December 2016 | The American Prospect, March 2017
A three-year investigation documenting how a Dallas law firm systematically manufactured abuse allegations for profit. The series revealed patterns of intake manipulation, therapist recruitment, and institutional targeting that contributed to legislative reforms in Texas and Nebraska.
Awards: 2017 George Polk Award for Legal Reporting | 2018 Sigma Delta Chi Award for Investigative Reporting | 2018 National Magazine Award for Reporting (Finalist)
False Fronts: The Private School Litigation Ecosystem
The Atlantic, 2019
A three-part series examining how the “Settlement Machine” model was replicated by other firms targeting elite preparatory schools across the country.
Awards: 2019 Worth Bingham Prize for Investigative Journalism
Memory for Sale: The Therapists Who Enabled the Machine
The New Yorker, 2020
A collaboration with my wife, Dr. Eleanor Vance-Bovee, examining the role of licensed therapists who provided expert testimony and “recovered memory” documentation for contingent-fee litigation.
Awards: 2020 Heywood Broun Award
The Tax Increment Financing Scandal
Omaha World-Herald & ProPublica, 2021-2023
A landmark investigation documenting systematic misuse of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. The series found that 68% of TIF districts created between 2010-2020 failed to generate projected property value increases, with $340 million in diverted property taxes.
Impact: Contributed to the resignation of Lincoln City Council President Richard “Rich” Conrad (2022), federal tax fraud charges against Markham Properties LLC, and passage of LB 727, Nebraska’s most significant TIF reform legislation in two decades.
Awards: 2023 Gerald Loeb Award | 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting (Finalist)
The Aquifer War
High Country News & The Texas Observer, 2023-Present
An ongoing investigation examining interstate water rights conflicts between Nebraska’s Republican River Compact obligations and Texas’s Edwards Aquifer management, revealing how agricultural conglomerates exploit regulatory gaps.
Nebraska Government Reporting
The Ghost Lobbyists
Flatwater Free Press, 2019
Documentation of 47 individuals registered as “volunteer” legislative aides who simultaneously worked as paid lobbyists, exploiting a loophole in Nebraska’s disclosure laws.
Awards: Contributed to 2021 Pulitzer Prize finalist citation
The Beef State’s Beef with Competition
Flatwater Free Press, 2020
Investigation into the Nebraska Cattlemen’s Association’s successful efforts to block meatpacking plant worker safety legislation, revealing $2.3 million in undisclosed contributions from major packers.
Selected Features and Essays
- “Why I Became an Investigative Reporter” — Nebraska Life (2024)
- “The Unicameral: Reform and Resistance” — Nebraska Public Media (2018-2020)
- “FOIA Tips for New Journalists” — IRE Journal (2022)
- “The Ethics of Source Protection” — Society of Professional Journalists (2021)
Audio and Video
- Interview on All Things Considered, NPR (December 2016)
- Keynote address, Nebraska Press Association Annual Convention (2022)
- Panelist, Investigative Reporters & Editors Conference (2020, 2021, 2022)
Books
In Progress: A book-length examination of the Harrington & Vale case and its aftermath, under contract with Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
For syndication rights, speaking engagements, or document tips, please visit my Contact page.