All the countries the U.S. has bombed since WWII. The list represents the nations of approximately 1/3 of the humans on earth. The next largest military spender, China, spends 1/10 what we spend and has bombed no other nations since WWII. A preface: When I was a high schooler, the History Channel flew myself, our … Continue reading How I think about the U.S. military

I think families aren’t coming, or happening once people of child-bearing age are here, because of this: https://livingwage.mit.edu/counties/50027 An actual living wage to have one child here is $38.08/hour with two parents and one working, or $41.73 with one parent in the household. That’s annual salaries of $79,206 and $86,798 respectively. The Census’ American Community Survey … Continue reading Kids and families in Hartford

Hi, all! I won the election! It’s a small town I live in, but big by Vermont standards, and I’m so proud to live here. I’ll keep posting my thoughts here. Perhaps I’ll also copy them to the Listserv. What a wonderful tool, the Listserv. (If you’re not on it, sign up at the website … Continue reading A new chapter on the Hartford Selectboard

If you live in Hartford like I do, perhaps you'd like to know specifics about what I'd try to do with a seat on the town board. I've prepared this bullet-point document for those extra-curious folks. Please reach out with any comments or questions, to hey -at- brandonsmith -dot- com. HOUSING The price of housing … Continue reading My platform for Hartford Selectboard

  Hi! I’m Brandon Smith. You may have found yourself here because you heard I'm running for a seat on the Selectboard for Hartford, Vermont, where I've lived since the height of the pandemic. (Presumably you also know Hartford includes its villages: White River Junction, Wilder, Quechee, and West Hartford.) A few paragraphs down details … Continue reading Running for Hartford Selectboard

Image from my 2015 cover story in In These Times magazine about working with whistleblowers. This spring, I was commissioned by Northwestern's Medill journalism school to prepare curriculum for, and come in person to present, a workshop on source security. The resulting workshop's outline was audited by Micah Lee, security researcher and journalist at The Intercept, … Continue reading I teach source security at Northwestern’s Medill journalism school. Here’s my course outline

In case you’re writing a news story and would like to speak with me about these matters, please reach me via phone—I have the encrypted app "Signal"—at 740-505-0038 or via email at hey@brandonsmith.com. Here is the press release my attorneys and I have dropped. In case you don’t know me, I’m the journalist who sued … Continue reading Why I’m asking for a mayoral candidate (and 12 others) to be held in contempt of court

I fought Chicago city government in court in 2015 to release the video of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald being killed by a police officer. After a judge ordered the video released in my case, 405 days after the killing, prosecutors charged the officer, Jason Van Dyke, with murder. A jury convicted Van Dyke October 5. It’s … Continue reading Chicagoans put their police on notice by convicting officer of murder for on-duty actions

William Calloway meets with Lorenzo Davis to talk about police discipline--and lack thereof--in late January 2016. Photo by Brandon Smith. - Editor's note: the following is a lightly-edited press release given to me by William Calloway, who worked with me on the FOIA that resulted in the Laquan McDonald video. Calloway and others are advocating … Continue reading Calloway calls for fired IPRA whistleblower to lead that agency

From a Times article featuring The Guardian's editor testifying before a British Parliament committee: Since the revelations, newspapers, particularly those that have dealt with Mr. Snowden’s material, have also had to adjust to a harsh new reporting environment, security experts and journalists said, as governments and others seek secret material held by reporters. “The old … Continue reading Newsroom security beefing up…

For years, I've sensed a weakness in how I remember my age. I have no memory "device" to help; I haven't bothered to figure out the math to calculate it, on-the-fly, from my birth date depending on today's date; and most importantly, it changes every year. The age I memorized last year is now wrong. … Continue reading I don’t fear 30

"What do you do outside of work, Brandon?" "Oh, I'm a journalist." "But you're not a journalist anymore, right?" "Well, I write for the Tribune." "Oh shit, I guess you are a journalist."

A true story, with fairly accurate quotes. Setting: an anonymous Chicago restaurant (not mine) on a slow Sunday evening. Server to line cook: "Hey man, that big bowl o' dicks isn't gonna make itself." Line cook: "I'll get right on that big bowl o' dicks." [Manager overhears conversation from office, telephones the kitchen line] Manager … Continue reading Heard! – A kitchen conversation

Had some friends over tonight. Whipped up a picture-worthy end to the meal. Check it out: avocado ice cream, fresh coconut "sashimi," malort whipped cream, Kix (TM), and freshly ground Sichuan pepper, served with a shooter of coconut water I had drained minutes before.

Going Down, a free-form paean to investigative journalism (and how so-called social media can spread it but not replace it) they say poets can say anything a filched purse's energy for instance comes across or the traffic lights at night downtown that keep blinking when no one's around but the they who do the saying … Continue reading A little poetry from the northwest side

In honor of Julia Child's 100th birthday this week, I read her 2004 New York Times obituary. From it, a lesson carried on today by a lot of good journalists and, in this field, America's Test Kitchen: Mrs. Child was always a star, never a spokeswoman. She prided herself on not granting endorsements because she … Continue reading Julia Child

An elder at a Presbyterian church shows off the sign he had printed — with the logo of the denomination his church just joined. The denomination they left had founded the church more than a century before. Photo by Barbara Perenic, used courtesy of the Springfield News-Sun. This is at least the second time my … Continue reading Four churches leave denomination