What it’s like to be doxxed, systemic problems with American courts and why journalism is like an immune system. This is BigIfTrue.org’s last episode of Hard Reset. Thank you for listening, and keep up with our reporting by subscribing to our newsletter at BigIfTrue.org/hardreset.

Hard Reset

Being doxxed, courts and clicks

On this week’s show, we spoke with Will Bedwell, housing attorney for the Mississippi Center for Justice. Since last year, the nonprofit law firm has seen a surge of evictions in Mississippi, which has some of the least tenant-friendly laws in the country. Also: What steps should you take if you get an eviction notice?

What to do if you’re evicted

During the pandemic, many criminal courts moved at a glacial pace. Now some courts are facing backlogs that public defenders worry will further delay trials for their clients. We spoke with Jana Hayes, who wrote about this issue recently for Big If True. Also: Deepfakes and how Trump could return to social media

How criminal court backlogs are impacting trials

During the covid vaccine rollout, Americans have relied on state and federal websites to get vital information and sign up for the vaccine. But Kaiser Health News reported recently that millions of people with visual impairments have had trouble accessing the sites and getting vaccine appointments. We spoke with Lauren Weber, a Midwest correspondent for Kaiser Health News and one of the reporters behind the story. Also on the show: Millions of families are behind on their rent, placing a high demand on legal aid programs that provide free legal services to low-income Americans.

Why blind Americans have faced barriers while seeking the covid vaccine

On this week's episode, Justin talks about what it was like on the ground in Houston during a brutal winter storm that left many Texans without electricity and water. Also: What makes Texas' grid different from those in other states and the optics of Sen. Ted Cruz leaving the state during the emergency.

Why a winter storm left many Texans without power

Billions of dollars in federal aid were reserved to help hospitals financially survive the pandemic, but in some cases, funds went to the wrong owner or were never spent. We spoke with reporter Brianna Bailey of The Frontier, who recently reported on some of the issues that came up when this aid was rolled out in Oklahoma. Also: How Congress has responded to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s previous support for extremist views and conspiracy theories.

Why some struggling hospitals missed out on federal covid aid

On this week’s show, we discuss some of President Joe Biden’s first executive orders and his administration’s plan for distributing the covid vaccine. Also: We spoke with reporter Emma Castleberry about how the pandemic has worsened workforce shortages in the health care industry.

Respect for lower-wage health workers is up, but their pay isn’t

On this week’s show, we talked about last week’s assault on the US Capitol, the police response to the riot and Twitter banning President Donald Trump. Also, we spoke with Jeremy Martin, who recently wrote about how certain evictions will be blocked through the end of January.

How police responded to the assault on the Capitol

This semester, schools have relied on virtual learning as the pandemic disrupted traditional classes. We spoke with freelance reporter and former teacher Ben Luschen about why distance learning is here to stay and how students and teachers have adapted. Also on the show: In October, when 21-year-old Kevin Peterson Jr. was killed by Clark County deputies in Vancouver, Washington, he was carrying a gun. We discuss recent reports that the firearm was originally owned by the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office in Portland. Plus: The New York Times’ “Caliphate” podcast has been discredited. So why haven’t they removed the episodes that have proven to be false?

Why teachers worry they’re losing students

Mollie and Justin talk about podcasts, why our listening habits have changed this year and how what’s in the news plays out in our lives. Donate here to help us reach our goal to raise $1,500 to cover Big If True's reporting costs.

A minute with the podcast tastemaker

During the pandemic, women have been more likely than men to lose work, cut their hours, and take on more parenting and household responsibilities. On today’s show, we spoke with reporter Emma Castleberry about how women have juggled financial challenges, parenting and getting covid. Also: The coronavirus vaccine and Trump’s sustained false narrative on the election results.

Without a break, women juggle work, parenting and getting covid

For writer and comedian Jennie Egerdie, 2020 has been a year of personal and global upheaval. We talked about how the pandemic has impacted her work, her creative process and how humor can be rooted in kindness. (You can read one of her pieces that imagines the lives of the characters Frog and Toad during the pandemic here.) Also on the show, JC and Mollie talked about how they’ll celebrate Thanksgiving during a time when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have advised Americans not to travel.

Frog and Toad celebrate Thanksgiving in quarantine

False claims surrounded the election, but it seems immune to efforts to delegitimize the results. We recap some of those efforts and offer predictions for what a Biden presidency could mean for how the government works, climate change policy and local media.

Misinformation and the election

About 20 states have released inmates early from prisons that have been hot spots for covid-19. But a post-pandemic world has made it harder for formerly incarcerated people to get essential things like identification, homes and jobs. We spoke with Emma Castleberry, who recently wrote about the new challenges to reentry after prison. Plus: How tech companies responded to an “October surprise” story based on potentially hacked materials.

How the pandemic has complicated life after prison

A month after it went into effect, many tenants still don’t know about a federal eviction ban that covers 96% of renters. We spoke with reporters Sarah Fowler and Ben Luschen about why advocates worry that a moratorium without rental assistance could leave tenants with thousands of dollars in debt and a remaining specter of eviction when the ban expires at the end of the year. Editor Mollie Bryant also shared how Big If True identified three top evictors in Oklahoma that received at least $1.5 million in federal loans meant to offset financial losses during the pandemic.

The eviction ban that most renters don’t know about

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