Case Files
Investigations into events where the accepted explanation simply no longer holds together. We trace the surviving paperwork alongside first-hand accounts to establish exactly what broke down. Our goal is to determine whether the failure was a routine administrative error, a wider institutional collapse, or something far more difficult to explain.
The Vegetarian Gap – The Creatine Intelligence Illusion
The "universal brain boost" claimed by creatine marketing vanishes in clinical trials of healthy omnivores. An investigation into the gap between the vegetarian "deficit" and the omnivore "ceiling."
How the HFEA Licenses ‘Saviour Sibling’ Cases
A small committee decides if families may try to create a ‘saviour sibling’. The law says child welfare comes first. The standards are unpublished. We open the black box and test whether a humane system can also be a transparent one.
Project Sunshine – The AEC’s Covert Global Tissue Collection
In 1953, the Atomic Energy Commission launched a covert global effort to collect human bone tissue to track radioactive fallout. Declassified documents reveal that the programme's intense secrecy was driven not by national security, but by a fear of public embarrassment and legal liability.
The Keeper’s Gamble – Systemic Failure in the Lighthouse Service
Three keepers broke their service's cardinal rule and left their lighthouse unmanned. The official report blamed a freak wave, but this investigation explores a different cause. A system in which the fear of a fine for lost equipment proved deadly.
When the System Breaks – The Yuba County Five Investigation
In 1978, five men vanished in rural California. A stalled search, split jurisdictions, and a missed tip meant one may have lived for weeks. This is how the system failed to hold the case together.
The Orphan Object – The Gold Waltham Watch of the Yuba County Five
On 4 June 1978, a gold Waltham watch was found beside Ted Weiher. Families said it was not theirs. No serial, no forensics, no chain of custody. Our inquiry shows how omissions turned a possible lead into an inert symbol.
The Compromised Witness – Re-evaluating the Yuba County Five
A single, shifting account steered the Yuba County Five narrative. This piece tests that testimony against the physical record, explains the official handling errors, and sets out what documents and tests are still needed.
The Yuba County Five – A Case Reclassified
For forty years, the disappearance of the Yuba County Five was a tragic accident. But a recently released official memo reclassifies the case as a homicide, revealing authorities now believe the men were victims of foul play.
Fermi Paradox to Proxmire – The Origins of the 1981 NASA SETI Shutdown
How did a 1950 canteen conversation lead to the 1981 defunding of NASA SETI? This investigation traces the bureaucratic breakdown and record conflicts that silenced America's search for extraterrestrial life.
From Operation Condor to Pegasus – A History of Latin American Surveillance
This investigation tracks the evolution of state surveillance in Latin America. From 1970s cryptographic hardware to modern digital spyware, we examine how systemic blindness and data siloing repeatedly bypassed legal oversight.