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Max Blau

@maxblau.bsky.social
10K followers 799 following 79 posts

Atlanta-based investigative reporter with ProPublica's South team. I write about health care, public health and the environment, among other things. Get in touch at max.blau@propublica.org.

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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
As Georgia plans for its first execution in two years, a trove of new records provides us with new information — and raises new questions — about its lethal injection process. I spoke with 11 Alive about the docs: www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVj1... Here's my story: www.propublica.org/article/geor...
youtube.com
Secrecy surrounds execution witness details
YouTube video by 11Alive
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 08/09/2026
NEW: Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Georgia has made payments of more than $1.1 million for at least one contractor to work with the Corrections Department on its lethal injection process. The state performed just one execution in that period.
propublica.org
This State Is Spending More on Lethal Injections. A Law Tries to Keep the Details Secret.
As Georgia plans for its first execution in two years, a trove of records provides us with new information — and raises new questions — about the state’s lethal injection process.
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
If you’d like to speak with me about Georgia’s lethal injection process, please reach out at max.blau@propublica.org.
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
The state’s Corrections Department and attorney general’s office declined to comment on this story. Here’s what they had to say in the past.
Screenshot of text excerpt that reads: Even after releasing the records, the Georgia Department of Corrections declined to answer my questions about the rising costs and the secrecy around lethal injections. The state attorney general’s office, which has represented the department in the lawsuit I filed for the records, also declined to comment for this story. State officials previously said that the Lethal Injection Secrecy Act allows the Corrections Department to protect contractors who would otherwise “find themselves at the center of a firestorm of hate mail and midnight callers.” They have repeatedly argued that, without the secrecy law in place, Georgia wouldn’t be able to carry out lethal injections.
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
The records show that Georgia is paying far more for lethal injection-related costs than it did in the past. The state has spent an average of over $150,000 a year on those costs over the past decade. That’s substantially more than what it agreed to pay in the years before 2017.
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Among the discoveries: Georgia has made payments of more than $1.1 million since the COVID-19 pandemic for at least one contractor to work with the Corrections Department on its lethal injection process. During that period, the state carried out just a single execution.
A check from the Georgia Department of Corrections dated Aug. 19, 2026, for $170,000. The recipient, account number and signature are redacted with black boxes.
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I ended up suing the state. A few years later, a panel of three judges sided with me, and the state released some of the documents. I’ve also been filing additional records requests with the state since then. law.justia.com/cases/georgi...
law.justia.com
MAX BLAU v. GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS (Ga. Ct. App. 2022)
MAX BLAU v. GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Secrecy laws shield the public from awareness of the growing costs of making drugs and administering the injections. Legal experts say those costs reflect the challenges that officials face in finding help with carrying out lethal injections, which can subject prisoners to torturous levels of pain.
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
So I filed requests for records that would shed light on that. But the Corrections Department wouldn’t release records I had requested, claiming that its secrecy law is needed to prevent those helping with its executions from getting harassed by opponents of the death penalty.
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
The role Musso held is so controversial that more than a dozen states have made it illegal to disclose the names of those involved with lethal injections. Georgia is among them.
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Before I joined @propublica.org in 2021, I wrote about Carlo Musso, one of the rare doctors who’d openly talked about his role in lethal injections. After he stepped away from that work, I wanted to know who replaced him. atlantamagazine.com/great-reads/...
atlantamagazine.com
For sheriffs, healthcare for inmates can be a burden. For one doctor, it has been the opportunity of a lifetime.
Many Sheriffs across the Southeast see medical care for their inmates as a burden and liability. For doctor Carlo Musso of CorrectHealth, it’s been the business opportunity of a lifetime.
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Georgia is planning for its first execution in two years this month. But how the state carries out the death penalty is largely a secret. I’ve obtained records that provide new information — and raise new questions — about its lethal injection process. 🧵 www.propublica.org/article/geor...
propublica.org
This State Is Spending More on Lethal Injections. A Law Tries to Keep the Details Secret.
As Georgia plans for its first execution in two years, a trove of records provides us with new information — and raises new questions — about the state’s lethal injection process.
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ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 31/07/2026
🚨 WE HAVE A DEAL! After three years, in a major step forward for our members, we have ratified our first contract with @propublica.org’s management. We deeply appreciate everyone who supported us along the way. Here are some of our big wins👇
A graphic poster reads "We have a deal! The ProPublica Guild has reached a deal with ProPublica's management on our first contract and has voted to ratify it. Swipe for the highlights [pointing emoji].
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 26/07/2026
Consumers know virtually nothing about the farms where their blueberries come from. Until something changes, they won’t be able to make choices that could make a difference in the lives of the people who pick them. by @maxblau.bsky.social
projects.propublica.org
Do My Grocery Store Blueberries Come From Farms Where Workers Were Harmed?
Max Blau spent a year reporting on abuses of farmworkers. It left him wondering: Is the produce he buys at the grocery store part of the problem?
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
I reached out to more than 75 blueberry brands, grocery stores, fast-food chains, farmers, trade groups and labor contractors while reporting this series. Only one brand responded.
Article excerpt summarizing responses ProPublica received. Dole wrote in a statement that it requires contract farmers to comply with labor laws to protect “worker welfare.” Dole added it can trace berries back to the farms where they came from but that it has not made that information available to consumers.

ProPublica did not receive responses from over 30 of America’s largest grocery and fast-food chains about why they haven’t joined the Fair Food Program or expanded their limited participation; over two dozen trade groups also declined to talk about why so few farmers participate in the program.

Some have opposed efforts by regulators to enact protections like the ones that the program requires. They said the changes would “burden the whole industry for a few bad apples” who disregarded the rights of workers.
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Instead, you’d have to embark on a maddening quest, like I did, to find the source of your grocery store blueberries. H/T to @zisiga.bsky.social (design), Mauricio Rodríguez Pons (videos) and Shoshana Gordon (visuals): projects.propublica.org/blueberries-...
projects.propublica.org
Do My Grocery Store Blueberries Come From Farms Where Workers Were Harmed?
Max Blau spent a year reporting on abuses of farmworkers. It left him wondering: Is the produce he buys at the grocery store part of the problem?
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Right now, only a few small blueberry farms participate in the program. Until that or something else changes, consumers won’t be able to make choices that could make a difference in the lives of our farmworkers.
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Fruits and vegetables from those farms are labeled with a green sticker of a woman holding a basket of tomatoes. When I’ve found produce with these stickers in my grocery stores, they don’t cost measurably more than others without the label.
Tomatoes with “Fair Food” stickers in a wooden bowl.
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Supermarkets commit to paying a little more for produce — a cost so negligible, only a few pennies per pound, that one expert said it shouldn’t drive up prices. For those few pennies, grocers get crops from farms that offer their workers stronger protections.
A man wearing a green neck gaiter and hat holds a large bucket of green tomatoes on his right shoulder in front of tall tomato plants. Behind him, another worker tosses a bucket up to a person standing in a truck bed.
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
So if you’re not an investigative reporter, how can you know if the people picking your fruit are being mistreated? I spoke with experts who said the gold standard for preventing worker abuse is the Fair Food Program: www.propublica.org/article/h-2a...
propublica.org
Employers Have Exploited and Abused H-2A Farmworkers for Years. It Doesn’t Have to Be That Way.
The seasonal visa program has failed to protect migrant farmworkers from wage theft, forced labor, violence and death. Experts, lawyers and advocates say there are ways to reduce and even stop the har...
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
I also found that some existing protections for workers could be going away, as a result of the farm industry’s successful push to seek financial relief from the Trump administration. www.propublica.org/article/h-2a...
propublica.org
How the Government’s Obligation to Keep Foreign Workers Safe Collided With Its Efforts to Keep Farms Afloat
Farmers want the Trump administration to overhaul the H-2A visa program to make it more favorable to their businesses. But cutting red tape could cut labor protections, too.
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
This wasn’t the first case of the abuse of farmworkers at the hands of labor contractors. Or the last. Many of these harms might have been prevented if the workers had received the protections they were promised by the U.S. government. www.propublica.org/article/h-2a...
propublica.org
The Dramatic Rise of Farm Labor Contractors Has Led to Rampant Abuses. Here’s Why Regulators Have Failed to Stop Them.
Experts say there aren’t enough state and federal inspectors to adequately vet whether labor contractors who oversee farmworkers are following the rules. Nor is there broad political support to invest...
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Farmers struggle to find workers, so they hire contractors to bring foreign laborers to the U.S. and oversee their work. That outsourcing can shield farmers from responsibility for — or even awareness of — harm against their workers.
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
I had written about the case, which revealed that thousands of farmworkers were illegally charged fees by labor contractors to work in the U.S. Some were forced to work for little to no pay in what prosecutors described as a form of modern-day slavery. projects.propublica.org/h2a-visa-far...
projects.propublica.org
A Farmworkers Visa Promised Her a Better Life. It Was a Trap.
Sofi left behind her child in Mexico for the promise of providing him a better life. She ended up a victim of an operation that is alleged to have exploited the H-2A visa program — and the workers it ...
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
I was able to trace one brand’s berries back to an individual farm. I’m not naming the farm, because its practices are hardly unique. Sure enough, the farm had hired a labor contractor responsible for some of the abuses in one of America’s largest labor trafficking cases.
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
You might find the location where the berries are grown/distributed. But not the farm. To keep up with demand, and to help keep prices low, a brand will buy berries from a whole bunch of farms and sell them under one label. Here’s an illustration of where you’d find that info.
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Federal regulators don’t require blueberry brands to disclose on their packaging any information about the individual farms they buy from. I began by looking at labels, snapping photos, researching brands and going through government records.
Close-up of a blueberry carton with the label North Bay Produce.Close-up of a blueberry carton with the label Simple Truth Organic.Rows of blueberry cartons from the brand SunBelle.Rows of blueberry cartons from the brand Alpine Fresh.
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
So I set out to investigate where the blueberries I buy come from — and if those farms have a record of mistreating workers. projects.propublica.org/blueberries-...
projects.propublica.org
Do My Grocery Store Blueberries Come From Farms Where Workers Were Harmed?
Max Blau spent a year reporting on abuses of farmworkers. It left him wondering: Is the produce he buys at the grocery store part of the problem?
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
I eat a lot of blueberries, which happen to be the fruit grown most where I live: Georgia. Every time I reached for berries in my fridge, I struggled with the disconnect between the problems on America’s farms and the limited awareness of those problems in most households.
A group of four images. Top left: Two hands washing a strainer of blueberries under the sink. Top right - A small bowl of blueberries next to a mug filled with coffee and a plaid towel with a spoon on top of it. Bottom left - A salad in the process of mixed together, with blueberries and other produce on the side. Bottom right - A hand pouring milk into a smoothie container, with a small bowl of blueberries on the side.
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
I’ve reported at length about abuses of foreign farmworkers who come to the U.S. on H-2A visas: stolen wages, guns pointed in their faces. One woman I met was kidnapped, raped and nearly killed. I wanted to know: How do I tell if the produce I buy is part of the problem? 👇
Blueberries beginning to ripen in a field in Georgia. Credit: Zaydee Sanchez for ProPublica.A trove of passports that federal prosecutors say had been confiscated illegally from farmworkers by labor contractors. Obtained by ProPublica.
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 22/07/2026
NEW: Farmers want the Trump administration to overhaul the H-2A visa program to make it more favorable to their businesses. But cutting red tape could cut labor protections, too.
propublica.org
How the Government’s Obligation to Keep Foreign Workers Safe Collided With Its Efforts to Keep Farms Afloat
Farmers want the Trump administration to overhaul the H-2A visa program to make it more favorable to their businesses. But cutting red tape could cut labor protections, too.
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 21/07/2026
NEW: @maxblau.bsky.social spent a year reporting on abuses of farmworkers. It left him wondering: Is there any way to find out whether the produce he buys at the grocery store comes from farms with a record of mistreating workers?
projects.propublica.org
Do My Grocery Store Blueberries Come From Farms Where Workers Were Harmed?
Max Blau spent a year reporting on abuses of farmworkers. It left him wondering: Is the produce he buys at the grocery store part of the problem?
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Do you administer Medicaid or SNAP benefits? Help @propublica.org report on America’s safety net. We want to hear from you if you currently work for (or have worked for) government agencies involved with implementing changes related to work requirements: www.propublica.org/getinvolved/...
propublica.org
Do You Administer SNAP or Medicaid Benefits? Help ProPublica Report on America’s Safety Net.
We want to hear from the officials and workers who help people navigate SNAP and Medicaid, because no one knows these programs better.
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ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 22/06/2026
It’s been three years since we formed our union. We still don’t have a contract. Over the next few weeks, you’ll be hearing from us — the workers of @propublica.org — on why this contract is so important and the issues about which we care deeply.
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 19/05/2026
Mike Collins is running for Senate on a promise to make roads safer — by taking commercial driver’s licenses away from noncitizens. Our analysis shows his business has a higher rate of unsafe driving and speeding violations per mile than the majority of trucking companies with substantial mileage.
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
Here's a link to the original story: www.propublica.org/article/mike...
propublica.org
A U.S. Senate Candidate Says Foreign Truckers Are Making America’s Roads Unsafe. His Own Truckers Have Caused Harm.
Mike Collins, a congressman from Georgia, wants to take away commercial driver’s licenses from noncitizens. Over the past 25 years, truckers for his businesses have been involved in crashes that kille...
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
If you haven't had the chance to read @propublica.org's story about Congressman Mike Collins — who's running for U.S. Senate in Georgia — you can check out a video recap of our story here. www.youtube.com/shorts/koUA_...
youtube.com
Congressman’s own truckers have been involved in deadly crashes as he vows to make roads safer
YouTube video by ProPublica
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Charles Ornstein @charlesornstein.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Mike Collins, a congressman from Georgia, wants to take away commercial driver’s licenses from noncitizens. Over the past 25 years, truckers for his businesses have been involved in crashes that killed five people and injured more than 50 people. @maxblau.bsky.social @joeljacobs.bsky.social
propublica.org
A U.S. Senate Candidate Says Foreign Truckers Are Making America’s Roads Unsafe. His Own Truckers Have Caused Harm.
Mike Collins, a congressman from Georgia, wants to take away commercial driver’s licenses from noncitizens. Over the past 25 years, truckers for his businesses have been involved in crashes that kille...
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Greg Bluestein @bluestein.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Senate candidate Mike Collins wants to take away commercial driver’s licenses from noncitizens. A @propublica.org analysis reveals over the past 25 years, truckers for his businesses have been involved in crashes that killed five people and injured more than 50 people. www.ajc.com/news/2026/05...
ajc.com
Mike Collins says foreign truckers make roads unsafe. His own truckers harmed motorists.
From ProPublica: Rep. Collins, running for U.S. Senate, wants to take away commercial licenses of noncitizens. His own truckers’ record shows death, injuries over the decades.
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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution @ajc.com · 11/05/2026
From ProPublica: Rep. Collins, running for U.S. Senate, wants to take away commercial licenses of noncitizens. His own truckers’ record shows death, injuries over the decades.
ajc.com
Mike Collins says foreign truckers make roads unsafe. His own truckers harmed motorists.
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 11/05/2026
NEW: Mike Collins, a congressman from Georgia, wants to take away commercial driver’s licenses from noncitizens. Over the past 25 years, truckers for his businesses have been involved in crashes that killed five people and injured more than 50 people.
propublica.org
A U.S. Senate Candidate Says Foreign Truckers Are Making America’s Roads Unsafe. His Own Truckers Have Caused Harm.
Mike Collins, a congressman from Georgia, wants to take away commercial driver’s licenses from noncitizens. Over the past 25 years, truckers for his businesses have been involved in crashes that killed five people and injured more than 50 people.
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
A U.S. Senate candidate says foreign truckers are making America’s roads unsafe. His own truckers have caused harm. My latest for @propublica.org, w/ @joeljacobs.bsky.social: www.propublica.org/article/mike... #gapol
propublica.org
A U.S. Senate Candidate Says Foreign Truckers Are Making America’s Roads Unsafe. His Own Truckers Have Caused Harm.
Mike Collins, a congressman from Georgia, wants to take away commercial driver’s licenses from noncitizens. Over the past 25 years, truckers for his businesses have been involved in crashes that kille...
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Jessica Lussenhop @jlussenhop.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
👋Hi! I’m Jessica Lussenhop, and for the last 4 years, I served as ProPublica’s first Minnesota-based reporter. But now I’ve got big news: On May 14, ProPublica is launching a brand new podcast! It’s called “Paper Trail,” and I’ll be your host. Thread 🧵
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ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 08/04/2026
Our members are on the picket line today demanding a fair contract now! We want a fair disciplinary process, layoff protections & guardrails on artificial intelligence. Support us by donating to our strike fund: www.gofundme.com/f/support-pr...
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ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 08/04/2026
Our DC members are out in full force! Today we’re striking to demand a fair contract, including layoff protections, AI guardrails, fair pay and a clear disciplinary process. Join us: www.gofundme.com/f/support-pr...
Two ProPublica employees holding up blue and yellow signs that read "ProPublica workers on strike for a fair contract." One employee also holds a white and red megaphone to his mouth.ProPublica workers on strike, standing on the street and holding up signs.A line of ProPublica workers chanting and holding up blue and yellow signs that read: ProPublica workers on strike for a fair contract.Eight ProPublica workers can be seen in the background of this photo, holding up strike signs. In the foreground is a cluster of orange and yellow flowers surrounded by a black gate.
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ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 08/04/2026
“We're fighting for fair pay because people deserve to be able to afford to stay in the jobs that they love. We're fighting for protections around AI because this work is done by humans. We love this place. We believe in this work, and we are not backing down.” — Katie Campbell, video journalist
A woman wearing a "ProPublica Guild" shirt is interviewed with a microphone.
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ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 08/04/2026
“We're not asking for the moon here, despite what management keeps trying to tell us. We need a fair and transparent disciplinary system that we can trust so that we can keep speaking truth to power, whether in the Oval Office or inside our newsroom.” — Jeff Ernsthausen, senior data reporter
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
If you'd like to support us, let our management know that we deserve better, by signing this petition: actionnetwork.org/petitions/te...
actionnetwork.org
Fair Contract Now for ProPublica Guild
We, the workers of ProPublica, provide our readers with deeply researched, unbiased news that holds power to account. This work is more important now than ever, but our staff can’t properly contribute...
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Our management has said no to all these common-sense protections that we deserve. You can read more about our strike in the @nytimes.com: www.nytimes.com/2026/04/08/b...
nytimes.com
ProPublica Journalists Strike for a Day, Partly Over A.I.
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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
We are fighting for a fair contract that includes industry-standard “just cause” job security, a fair and transparent disciplinary process, union steward representation when requested and guardrails ensuring AI does not replace journalists. More at @propublicaguild.org: www.propublicaguild.org
propublicaguild.org
ProPublica Guild
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