Lucas Waldron

Graphics Editor

Photo of Lucas Waldron

Lucas Waldron is a graphics editor. Previously, he was a visual investigations producer on ProPublica’s video team.

Waldron’s work includes creating data visualizations, animations and motion graphics for ProPublica stories. He has also co-reported stories on issues related to transgender and nonbinary communities.

Waldron is a graduate of UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. Previously, he worked at KQED and The New York Times.

How Many of Your State’s Lawmakers Are Women? If You Live in the Southeast, It Could Be Just 1 in 5.

A record number of women were elected to statehouses last year. But in the Southeast, where some legislatures are more than 80% male, representation is lagging as lawmakers pass bills that most impact women, like near-total abortion bans.

“Uprooted” Explores How University Expansion and Eminent Domain Led to Black Land Loss

The short documentary “Uprooted” examines a Black community’s decadeslong battle to hold onto their land as city officials wielded eminent domain to establish and expand Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia.

“Someone Tell Me What to Do”

Across the country, states require more training to prepare students and teachers for mass shootings than for those expected to protect them. The differences were clear in Uvalde, where children and officers waited on opposite sides of the door.

A Top Mutual Fund Executive Made Millions for Himself Trading the Same Stocks His Giant Fund Was Trading

Confidential IRS data reveals that David Hoeft, chief investment officer of mutual fund giant Dodge & Cox, was one of many investment managers who bought and sold the same stocks their company was trading.

Wisconsin’s Legislative Maps Are Bizarre, but Are They Illegal?

Wisconsin’s gerrymandering case has garnered national attention. But a little-explored aspect of the suit — the pervasive presence of “Swiss cheese” districts — could have huge ramifications for the outcome.

Erasing the “Black Spot”: How a Virginia College Expanded by Uprooting a Black Neighborhood

Sixty-plus years ago, the white leaders of Newport News, Virginia, seized the core of a thriving Black community to build a college. The school has been gobbling up the remaining houses ever since.

How School Board Meetings Became Flashpoints for Anger and Chaos Across the Country

In the first wide-ranging analysis of school board unrest, ProPublica found nearly 60 incidents that led to arrests or criminal charges. Almost all were in suburban districts, and nearly every participant was white.

The Colorado River Flooded Chemehuevi Land. Decades Later, the Tribe Still Struggles to Take Its Share of Water.

The Chemehuevi’s reservation fronts about 30 miles of the Colorado River, yet 97% of the tribe’s water stays in the river, much of it used by Southern California cities. The tribe isn’t paid for it.

Have You Faced Barriers to Getting Gender-Affirming Care? Help Us Investigate.

Gender-affirming care is medically necessary but can be hard to access. ProPublica is investigating the ways transgender people are blocked from getting quality health care related to gender transitions.

This Georgia County Spent $1 Million to Avoid Paying for One Employee’s Gender-Affirming Care

Officials in Houston County, Georgia, said gender-affirming surgery for sheriff’s deputy Anna Lange was too costly. They spent more than $1 million on private lawyers in a fight to keep transition-related care from being covered by their health plan.

Wildfires in Colorado Are Growing More Unpredictable. Officials Have Ignored the Warnings.

A year after the deadly Marshall Fire drove thousands of Coloradans from their homes, the state’s densest communities aren’t preparing for the next climate-driven wildfire.

She Wanted an Abortion. A Judge Said She Wasn’t Mature Enough to Decide.

As abortion access dwindles, America’s “parental-involvement” laws place further restrictions on teenagers — who may need to ask judges for permission to end their pregnancies.

The Hidden Fees Making Your Bananas, and Everything Else, Cost More

A cadre of ocean carriers are charging exorbitant, potentially illegal, fees on shipping containers stuck because of congestion at ports. Sellers of furniture, coconut water, even kids’ potties say the fees are inflating costs.

Hell at Abbey Gate: Chaos, Confusion and Death in the Final Days of the War in Afghanistan

In firsthand accounts, Afghan civilians and U.S. Marines describe the desperate struggle to flee through the Kabul airport’s last open entrance. U.S. officials knew an attack was coming. Then a suicide bomber killed and injured hundreds.

Planta de esterilización de equipo médico contamina con sustancias cancerígenas a decenas de miles de alumnos

Nadie le dijo a la familia de Yaneli Ortiz que la fábrica cerca de la que vivían emitía óxido de etileno. No les dijeron cuando en la EPA se descubrió que causa cáncer. Tampoco cuando le diagnosticaron leucemia.

A Plant That Sterilizes Medical Equipment Spews Cancer-Causing Pollution on Tens of Thousands of Schoolchildren

Nobody told Yaneli Ortiz’s family that the factory they lived near emitted ethylene oxide. Not when the EPA found it causes cancer. Not when she was diagnosed with leukemia. And not when Texas moved to allow polluters to emit more of the chemical.

Still Can’t Breathe

How NYPD officers continue to use chokeholds — which can be deadly and are explicitly prohibited by the department — on civilians, while officers with substantiated claims of abuse go without any meaningful punishment.

“Where They Countin’ the Votes?!”: New Video Details Tense Moments as Capitol Mob Sought Out Lawmakers

New video, found in an archive of data uploaded to Parler, includes a fresh look at the mob’s confrontation with Eugene Goodman, the officer credited for luring rioters away from senators during the early moments of the Capitol riot.

The NYPD Said the Killing of Kawaski Trawick “Appears to Be Justified.” Video Shows Officers Escalated the Situation.

Footage shows the killing of the 32-year-old Black man in his home by a white officer — over the objections of his Black, more-experienced partner. Both officers are still on duty.

Climate Change Will Make Parts of the U.S. Uninhabitable. Americans Are Still Moving There.

Instead of moving away from areas in climate crisis, Americans are flocking to them. As land in places like Phoenix, Houston and Miami becomes less habitable, the country’s migration patterns will be forced to change.

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