Plus, two firsts for Reveal: A Spanish-language podcast series and an award from the Overseas Press Club of America.

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Saturday, March 26, 2022

In this issue of The Weekly Reveal:
* Bitcoin is hot – and it’s heating up the planet, too. This week on Reveal ([link removed]) , how bitcoin’s enormous use of power is setting back efforts to address climate change.
* Episodes 1 and 2 of Después de Ayotzinapa ([link removed]) , an extended Spanish-language version of our After Ayotzinapa podcast series, are now out.
* We won our first Overseas Press Club of America Award ([link removed]) for an investigation into the exploitative labor practices of a major sugar producer.

If you enjoy this week’s newsletter, forward it to a friend ([link removed]) . Feeling chatty? Drop us a line (mailto:[email protected]) with feedback or ideas!


** New: Can Our Climate Survive Bitcoin?
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Credit: Illustration by Jess Suttner for Reveal

Bitcoin has changed the face of currency across the globe. The cryptocurrency’s also had such a devastating impact on climate change that it’s essentially erased all the climate benefits of electric cars, according to one study.

That’s because of what’s known as bitcoin mining. Bitcoin is decentralized; it’s not run by any government. Instead, every time there’s a bitcoin transaction, computers across the world run complex mathematical formulas to authenticate it.

Mining is now a lucrative business, and companies operate entire large warehouses full of stacks and stacks of these computers. All of that requires a ton of energy. So much so that China banned bitcoin mining altogether.

Yet, as we investigate this week on Reveal ([link removed]) , cities and towns across the United States are doing the opposite, scrambling to attract bitcoin operations by selling them power at a deep discount. In some places, that means firing up old coal-fueled power plants, undoing the big steps communities have taken toward weaning themselves off coal to combat climate change.

We’ll also explore whether there can be such a thing as clean cryptocurrency. Our guest host Shereen Marisol Meraji, who you might recognize from NPR’s Code Switch, talks with Ludwig Siegele, technology editor at The Economist, who gives his assessment of the challenges of making cryptocurrency environmentally friendly.

🌎 Listen online ([link removed]) or on Apple Podcasts ([link removed]) , Spotify ([link removed]) or wherever you get your podcasts.


** Now Out: Episodes 1 and 2 of Después de Ayotzinapa
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Credit: Illustration by Dante Aguilera for Reveal

We’re partnering with Adonde Media ([link removed]) for an expanded Spanish-language version of After Ayotzinapa ([link removed]) , our investigation into the 2014 kidnapping of 43 students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers’ College in Mexico.

Episodes 1 and 2 of Después de Ayotzinapa ([link removed]) are now out. New episodes will be released every Tuesday and Thursday through April 7.

“Telling this story for a U.S. audience in English is very different from telling it for a Mexican audience in Spanish. From the beginning, we knew that it was important and vital for this investigation and series to reach people directly affected in Mexico,” said Anayansi Diaz-Cortes, lead reporter for the series. “For Reveal and Adonde, Después de Ayotzinapa is an opportunity to bring this caliber of journalism in a serialized, cutting-edge format to new audiences across Latin America to present this story in a way nobody else has done before.”

This is Reveal’s first Spanish-language collaboration for a podcast series. After Ayotzinapa is co-produced by PRX, and both productions are a collaboration with the National Security Archive.

🎧 Listen online ([link removed]) or on Apple Podcasts ([link removed]) , Spotify ([link removed]) or Google Podcasts ([link removed]) .

The truth won’t reveal itself. Help us deliver the stories that make a difference. Donate today.
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** ‘The Bitter Work Behind Sugar’ Wins Overseas Press Club of America Award
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Workers in the Dominican Republic cut sugarcane on a plantation run by the Central Romana Corp. Credit: Pedro Farias-Nardi for Mother Jones

Our show The Bitter Work Behind Sugar ([link removed]) , which unearthed the exploitative labor practices of sugar producer Central Romana Corp. in the Dominican Republic, has won the Morton Frank Award ([link removed]) from the Overseas Press Club of America. The award is given for the best international business news reporting in TV, video, radio, audio or podcast.

The investigation team included Sandy Tolan, Euclides Cordero Nuel and Reveal’s Michael Montgomery. We co-produced it with PRX, in partnership with Mother Jones and with support from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

From the judges: “The reporting, which has prompted scrutiny from Congress and the Department of Labor, documented workers enduring $4 a day wages, staggering debt, substandard housing and woeful medical care while enhancing Central Romana Corp.’s profitability.”

This is Reveal’s first award from the Overseas Press Club of America ([link removed]) .

➡️ Read the full press release ([link removed]) . Missed the show’s airing? Tune in here ([link removed]) .
This newsletter is written by Kassie Navarro. Drop her a line (mailto:[email protected]?subject=Weekly%20Reveal%20feedback) with feedback and ideas!

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