Mollie Simon
I identify documents, sources and specialized datasets to advance investigations.
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What I Cover
I’ve investigated topics spanning education, housing, mental health, consumer finance and the environment. I often dig into archives to understand how history is shaped by, and repeated in, the present.
My Background
My work at ProPublica began in 2020, originally through a fellowship with the Scripps Howard Foundation. Before that, I worked as a researcher at LegiStorm and as a reporter for the Anderson Independent-Mail and Greenville News. In that role, I covered Clemson, South Carolina, as well as broader education stories.
The Rising Cost of the Oil Industry’s Slow Death
Unplugged oil and gas wells accelerate climate change, threaten public health and risk hitting taxpayers’ pocketbooks. ProPublica and Capital & Main found that the money set aside to fix the problem falls woefully short of the impending cost.
How Georgia’s Small Power Companies Endanger Their Most Vulnerable Customers
The state’s small electricity providers aren’t required to delay disconnecting seriously ill customers who depend on medical devices, putting lives at risk.
“We Buy Ugly Houses” Company Overhauls Policies in the Wake of ProPublica Investigation
HomeVestors franchises will be required to provide prospective home sellers with a disclosure that includes a three-day window to terminate a sales contract.
Supreme Connections: Search Supreme Court Financial Disclosures
Find organizations and people that have paid the current justices, reimbursed them for travel, given them gifts and more.
When Railroad Workers Get Hurt on the Job, Some Supervisors Go to Extremes to Keep It Quiet
Railroad officials have lied, spied and bribed to keep workers’ injuries off the books. “Don’t put your job on the line for another employee.”
Jailed for Their Own Safety, 14 Mississippians Died Awaiting Mental Health Treatment
Local officials often say they have no choice but to jail people awaiting treatment for mental illness and substance abuse — even if they’re not charged with a crime. But some people have died in the system that's supposed to protect them.
Local Reporting Network
Emails Reveal How a Hospital Bowed to Political Pressure to Stop Treating Trans Teens
The Medical University of South Carolina initially said it wouldn’t be affected by a law banning use of state funds for treatment “furthering the gender transition” of children under 16. Months later, it cut off that care to all trans minors.
A Racist Harvard Scientist Commissioned Photos of Enslaved People. One Possible Descendant Wants to Reclaim Their Story.
The images are among the oldest known photographs of enslaved people in America. Tamara Lanier’s fight to gain control of them shows there is no clear system in place to repatriate remains of captive Africans or objects associated with them.
Their Families Said They Needed Treatment. Mississippi Officials Threw Them in Jail Without Charges.
In Mississippi, serious mental illness or substance abuse can land you in jail, even if you aren’t charged with a crime.
Local Reporting Network
Senators, Regulator Call for More Scrutiny of “We Buy Ugly Houses” Company
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s head said the Department of Justice and state attorneys general should be made aware of predatory house-flipping practices, following ProPublica reporting on HomeVestors of America.