Backlight

Lighthouse Reports
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  • NEWS
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

Backlight is a podcast produced by the investigations team at Lighthouse Reports. Every month we take you inside real world investigations to explain how they work, who works on them and how to get involved.

  1. SEP 23

    Highlights from seasons 2 & 3

    We've put together a highlights reel featuring some of our favorite episodes from Seasons 2 and 3 of Backlight. This special short episode was created in anticipation of the 2025 iMEdD Conference in Athens - a global gathering of journalists, media professionals, and academics. Episodes mentioned: What journalists can learn from content creators Don’t leave AI reporting to the experts How to fund your investigation Who is journalism for? Hosts: Beatriz Ramalho da Silva, Tessa Pang  Sound Design: Spoovio - Audiovisual Productions Website - Twitter - Bluesky , and you can email us at backlight@lighthousereports.com

    8 min

  2. JUL 30

    Who is journalism for?

    How can journalists make sure their stories reach the people they’re about? This month on Backlight, we talk to journalists who are rethinking how and who they report for.  Part 1: Beatriz and Tessa speak with Cynthia Gichiri, a multimedia journalist at Africa Uncensored, who took a story about the health dangers of pesticides on the road through rural Kenya to get it to the farmers most at risk. Part 2: A conversation with Mazin Sidahmed, who co-founded Documented, a newsroom that was designed from the ground up to serve immigrant communities in New York City in the languages they speak on the platforms they already use. Part 3: 5 practical things journalists at any outlet can do to make sure their reporting reaches affected communities.  Investigations mentioned: Cynthia’s ‘Poison PR’ documentaryHosts: Beatriz Ramalho da Silva, Tessa Pang Sound Design: Spoovio - Audiovisual Productions  Website - Twitter - BlueSky - and you can email us at backlight@lighthousereports.com

    31 min

  3. JUN 30

    Tracking deforestation from space

    From recording the scale of war damage in Gaza, to tracking environmental crime in Brazil, remote sensing technology has become an invaluable tool for journalists around the world. This month on Backlight we’re speaking to two journalists, Lu Min Lwin and Lucelle Bonzo, who spent months working alongside the Lighthouse team to investigate the biggest re-greening program in the Philippines. Using remote sensing analysis, they found widespread illegal deforestation across more than 100,000 sites that were supposed to be protected. They talk us through the methods behind the investigation, and share resources for journalists looking to incorporate remote sensing in their own work. Hosts: Beatriz Ramalho da Silva, Tessa Pang Sound design, mixing and editing: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spoovio - Audiovisual Productions⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ - and you can email us at backlight@lighthousereports.com

    31 min

  4. MAY 30

    What journalists can learn from content creators

    What would journalism look like if it wasn’t written for an editor, but for your best friend over dinner? In this Backlight episode, we dive into how news content creator-journalists are redefining the way stories are told and what traditional journalists can learn from them. On this episode, we hear from news content creators Johanna Rüdiger, Johnny Harris, and Adam Cole (Howtown) about how they build trust, make complex stories engaging, and connect with audiences to make the facts feel a little more fun. Hosts: Beatriz Ramalho da Silva, Tessa Pang Sound design, mixing and editing: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spoovio - Audiovisual Productions⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ - and you can email us at backlight@lighthousereports.com

    34 min

  5. APR 30

    Become a money trails expert

    This month we’re sharing tips and tools to help you become an expert in financial investigations. From digging around corporate records, to tracking down public funding, money trails reporting is key to exposing wrongdoing.  We speak with Margot Gibbs, senior reporter at Lighthouse, and Giacomo Zandonini, an independent investigative journalist, who share how following the money has strengthened their reporting, and tell us why you don’t have to be a numbers expert to do the same.  Investigations mentioned in this episode: Lighthouse Reports: Hunger Profiteers Lighthouse Reports: Big Meat Lighthouse Reports: Turkey’s EU deportation machine Hosts: Beatriz Ramalho da Silva, Tessa Pang Sound design, mixing and editing: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spoovio - Audiovisual Productions⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ - and you can email us at backlight@lighthousereports.com

    29 min

  6. MAR 26

    The cost of Europe’s structural racism

    Many European economies are in decline, struggling with job shortages in critical sectors. At the same time, these same countries are locking qualified migrants out of work.  Our 18 month long investigation sought to find out why this is the case, the cost of this discrimination and what can be done to fix it.  Beatriz and Tessa are joined by two Justin’s from the investigation – reporter Justin Yarga and data reporter Justin Casimir Braun.   Read the investigation and methodology here: https://www.lighthousereports.com/investigation/brain-waste/  Hosts:⁠⁠⁠⁠Beatriz Ramalho da Silva⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠Tessa Pang⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sound design, mixing and editing: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spoovio - Audiovisual Productions⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ - and you can email us at backlight@lighthousereports.com

    21 min

  7. FEB 11

    Don’t leave AI reporting to the experts

    This month, we discuss how journalists can investigate the ways AI is shaping the world around us and push for accountability from the companies and governments responsible for its use. We talk to AI reporter Karen Hao and Lighthouse reporter Gabriel Geiger who share insider tips on how to get started into AI reporting and how to incorporate it into your beat. Investigations mentioned in this episode: Lighthouse Reports: Suspicion MachinesThe Atlantic: Microsoft’s Hypocrisy on AI Hosts:⁠⁠⁠Beatriz Ramalho da Silva⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠Tessa Pang⁠⁠⁠ Sound design, mixing and editing: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spoovio - Audiovisual Productions⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ - and you can email us at backlight@lighthousereports.com

    25 min

  8. 12/10/2024

    Investigating border deaths in the shadow of US election

    In this episode we take you behind the scenes of our latest U.S.-Mexico border investigation, Drownings and Deterrence in the Rio Grande.  This episode is a collaboration with The Border Chronicle.  More women and children are drowning trying to reach the US as Texas and Mexico militarize the border. In collaboration with the Washington Post and El Universal, our team requested records of drowning deaths which reveal for the first time how the river separating the US and Mexico has become a graveyard for migrants. In this episode you’ll hear some of the stories of those who drowned along the river. We talked to Lighthouse editor Melissa del Bosque about how we got the data, and what the findings of the investigation say about the reality of the border post-election. Investigations mentioned in this episode: Drownings and Deterrence in the Rio Grande Desert Dumps -- Hosts: ⁠⁠Beatriz Ramalho da Silva⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Tessa Pang⁠⁠ Sound design, mixing and editing: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spoovio - Audiovisual Productions⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - ⁠Instagram⁠ - and you can email us at backlight@lighthousereports.com

    29 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Backlight is a podcast produced by the investigations team at Lighthouse Reports. Every month we take you inside real world investigations to explain how they work, who works on them and how to get involved.

Information

  • Creator
    Lighthouse Reports
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2025
  • Episodes
    25
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Lighthouse Reports
  • Show Website
    Backlight

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