The Outline

Michael Waters

Michael Waters
Power Dec 03

Free tablets for the incarcerated come with a price

The prison technology company JPay donated tablets to prisons but then jacked up prices for books, games, and music.

Power Aug 10

The outrageous scam of “free” tablets for the incarcerated

The devices are little more than an exorbitant paywall for education and communication.

Power Aug 09

We’re sorry, your senator cannot be reached at this time

Extremely outdated technology and zero policy mean calling your reps is often not as effective as we’d like it to be.

Power Aug 08

The era of presidential assassination by drone has arrived

An attempt on the life of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro is the first.

Power Aug 07

Military bans fitness trackers for revealing defense secrets

Jogging is a trap.

Power Aug 06

Indoor cycling is rebranding as a media industry

Welcome to our fit new overlords.

Power Aug 06

Donald Trump’s Russian collusion: The cast of characters

Who’s involved, and what did they do?

Power Aug 02

We finally have data about the number of LGBT people in the military

Over 6 percent self-identify as LGBT.

Power Aug 02

The booming business of luxury chicken diapers

It’s Instagram’s fault.

Power Jul 31

Banning smoking in public housing is cruel and unnecessary

Eviction rates are already at epidemic levels.

Power Jul 30

So you bought a ghost town

Who is paying $12 million for an abandoned town? We found out.

Power Jul 30

RBG says she’ll remain on the court for at least five years, but why not forever?

We aren't playing around.

Power Jul 26

Liberal, Kansas is diversifying so fast, it has a new accent

Welcome to the oddball liberal outpost deep in Trump voting territory.

Power Jul 25

More inmates are reporting sexual assaults

But officials accused of sexual assault continue to avoid blame.

Power Jul 24

Tracking devices are required in this French high school

Everything is great.

Power Jul 23

How prisons are poisoning their inmates

Hundreds of U.S. prisons and ICE detention centers are built on toxic sites, and people inside are getting sick.

Power Jul 19

Uber drivers are officially employees in New York state

Hopefully benefits are coming next.

Power Jul 19

An extremely easy fix for the problem of missed court dates: text reminders

Jail time and fines for missing court already target low-income people.

Power Jul 18

Facial recognition, welcome to U.S. high schools

Just asking questions: Why don’t we try gun control first to stop school shootings?

Power Jul 17

U.S. voting machines were vulnerable to remote hacking for six years

Welcome to your election-hacking nightmare.

Power Jul 16

Ocasio-Cortez sees potential for a Freedom Caucus of the left

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is considering one.

Power Jul 12

ICE contracts bring in millions for U.S. colleges

Northeastern’s $2.7-million contract is one of several.

Power Jul 11

Asylum in America, by the numbers

In the growing battle over immigration, it’s crucial to separate fact from fiction.

Power Jul 11

Heat waves hurt communities of color the most

The number of heat-related deaths is only rising.

The Future Jul 10

The Jehovah’s Witness data-collection scandal

Have you heard the news?

Power Jul 09

Vaseline is the forgotten victim of the U.S.-China trade war

Sorry, soybeans.

Power Jul 09

The Supreme Court’s silence on criminal justice issues

And how liberal justices can fix it.

The Future Jul 03

Researchers might be overlooking people who recover from depression

A new report says there are gaps in how the condition is studied.

Power Jul 02

The Jewish activists challenging Israel’s Birthright program

Travelers walked off their trip to protest its failure to address the topic of Palestine.

Power Jun 28

A gig economy for restaurant employees is a terrible idea

Restaurant workers are dealing with enough.

Power Jun 27

States have been undercounting opioid deaths

Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh found over 70,000 previously unclassified opioid deaths.

Power Jun 26

Our immigration system is especially cruel to disabled children

They’re being separated from their families and denied proper care.

Power Jun 26

$117,000 per year is now considered low-income in San Francisco

Welcome to hell!

Power Jun 25

The Tumblr bloggers building a canon of asexual history

Academics have long ignored the history of asexuality, so online communities are stepping in.

Power Jun 25

Abuse accusations against USC doctor may number in the thousands

The case is expected to grow even bigger than Michigan State doctor Larry Nassar's.

Power Jun 21

The UN human rights council never imagined anyone would quit

The U.S. left the council, and there’s no protocol for replacing a nation that gives up on human rights.

Power Jun 21

Facebook HQ continues pricing people out of house and home

Menlo Park, CA is suffering a gentrification crisis.

The Future Jun 20

Recycling is collapsing under our anxiety about the planet

Your coffee cups are costing us.

Power Jun 19

Unsheltered homeless rate is fifteen times higher in L.A. than New York

L.A. provides little shelter to homeless people, despite that it has one of the highest homeless populations in the country.

Power Jun 18

The secretive non-profit gaming California’s health laws

The Council for Education and Research on Toxics has won million-dollar settlements using a controversial public health law.

Power Jun 14

This magazine is banned in prisons

Stopping the incarcerated from reading Prison Legal News is a First Amendment threat.

The Future Jun 13

Want to save bananas? Put them in the CRISPR

A gene-editing startup is trying to solve a global banana crisis.

Power Jun 12

Beware the primary election saboteur

A little-known Democrat got conservative support, for possibly shady reasons.

Power Jun 11

The Colorado funeral home that sold body parts for a profit

Is it your uncle’s ashes? Or is it a ploy to hide that he was chopped up and sold?

Power Jun 07

Piles of garbage could bring down Putin

Moscow's suburbs are a literal dump — and Russians are fighting back.

Power Jun 07

A $139,000 vanilla heist

The spice is now worth more than silver, and thieves are cashing in

Power Jun 06

Death to library fines

The Baltimore library system is leading a movement.

Power Jun 05

The right to bear flamethrowers

If this pro-gun organization gets its way, Elon Musk's new gadget would be protected under the Second Amendment.

Power Jun 05

There are still 1,728 Confederate symbols on display in the U.S.

110 have been removed in the last two years.

Power Jun 01

Men love being philanthropic — if they can get something in return

A new study reveals, once again, that men are all about themselves.

Power Jun 01

A beloved Bay Area restaurant is closing because staff can’t afford the Bay Area

Thanks, dystopian housing market!

Power May 31

The “Gen Z is destroying everything” takes are coming

Welcome to your dark, Croc-less future.

Power May 30

Running is the new networking sport for the start-up set

Move over, golf.

Power Apr 26

All hail the mighty balloon lobby

Welcome to one of America’s most expensive B-list political fights.