Reason Gone Mad is an independent journalism project focused on long-form reporting, accountability stories, and creative work that doesn’t always fit neatly into categories. It covers stories from the Berkshires and beyond—with no paywall or advertising, instead relying exclusively, and perhaps foolishly, on reader support (hint, hint).
For many years I wrote a twice-weekly column for The Berkshire Eagle, also called Reason Gone Mad, that was a three-time winner of the National Press Club Award for Humor. (Because no one knows comedy like the National Press Club, amirite?)
This website and free newsletter—called The RGM Dispatch—carry forward my recent work at The Berkshire Argus. Subscribers and supporters can expect investigations, field notes, informed comment, and projects that favor depth over speed, nuance over clickbait, and display a stubborn habit of sticking with stories long after the news cycle has moved on.
RGM’s name comes from the phrase “Humor is reason gone mad,” long attributed (incorrectly, as it turns out) to Groucho Marx. More than two decades after I first used it as the title of my former Eagle newspaper column, it still works as a spot-on description of the present moment—one whose starting point you’re free to choose for yourself.
Examples of what you’ll find here:
I spent several months riding along with a local ambulance company to tell an immersive story about the challenges facing rural EMS.
Bill Shein
A deep dive into the history of the public-health response to PCB contamination in Pittsfield, Massachusetts and Berkshire County.
Bill Shein
A Berkshire County town helped a developer secure a million-dollar state grant—and then never told anyone about it.
Bill Shein
After local police searched a middle-school classroom for a copy of the book “Gender Queer,” I filled in the story with a number of previously unreported details.
Bill Shein
Editorial independence & transparency
Financial support does not influence story selection or editorial content. Subscribers, whether free or paid, do not assign, review, or edit coverage, and accepting financial support does not imply endorsement of any donor, product, service, or viewpoint.
Reason Gone Mad Studios LLC will publish a transparency report disclosing donors who contribute $5,000 or more per year, consistent with standards established by the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN).
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Sign in your account at reasongonemad.com with your email address. (Look for “Sign In” in the upper right corner.)
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As you click “Confirm Cancellation,” you may feel a powerful-but-non-fatal electrical shock delivered through your keyboard or phone. This is normal. Sorry about that.
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∎ How do I unsubscribe from The RGM Dispatch newsletter?
To unsubscribe, click the “Unsubscribe” link located at the bottom of every newsletter.
Or sign in to your account with your email address, click the “Account” button, and then click “Manage” under “Emails.”
(Note: Unsubscribing does not automatically cancel a recurring monthly or annual membership contribution. See instructions above for ending a recurring membership contribution.)