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Raise a Glass to the Class of COVID-19
Maybe they will help build a post-pandemic world (or so I hope).
Lise Olsen
Lise Olsen is a Houston-based investigations editor at the Texas Observer. Lise has investigated many twisted Texas tales, including crooked judges, an unjust execution, massive environmental disasters, myriad cases of corporate and public corruption, and unsolved serial killings. Her reports in three states over 20 years contributed to the prosecutions of a former congressman and a federal judge, inspired laws and reforms, helped solve cold cases, restored names to unidentified murder victims, and freed dozens of wrongfully held prisoners. She is the author of The Scientist and the Serial Killer.
Articles by Lise Olsen
Texas Health Officials Undercount COVID-19 Cases by Excluding Some Prisoners Who Tested Positive
The Observer identified at least nine Texas counties where current prison cases make up more than 10 percent of the total COVID-19 cases in the county.
The Disappeared
Genetic genealogy is helping to crack cold cases and identify victims left nameless for decades. The process is surprisingly effective—and controversial.
Demand for Plasma Therapy for the Sickest COVID-19 Patients Far Outpaces Donations
Texas blood banks and the Red Cross are actively recruiting donors but remain thwarted by a lack of antibody tests.
Dozens of COVID-19 Cases Have Been Reported in Rural Texas Counties With No Hospitals and No Licensed Physicians
So far, more than 100 cases have been reported in counties with only one—or no—licensed physician.
Houston Is Ground Zero for a Potentially Lifesaving COVID-19 Treatment
A plasma treatment trial is now rolling out nationwide, but a lack of tests remains a roadblock.
A Day in the Harris County Eviction Court
Harris County evictions increased dramatically from 2015 to 2016, and then remained higher from 2017 to 2019. No one knows why.
Democratic Voters Surge in Texas Primary, Waiting in Punishingly Long Lines as Officials Struggle to Keep Up
Grueling wait times stretched hours past closing time at polling locations across Texas. One voter in Houston waited nearly seven hours to cast his ballot.
What You Need to Know About Voting on Super Tuesday
A record number of Texans are registered to vote. But will they? And why should you?
Researcher Jeremy Slack on the Horrors that Await Immigrants Deported from the U.S.
Slack led a massive research effort to learn what happens to those whom immigration authorities deport and dump all along the Mexican border.