Stories - Reason Gone Mad

Welcome to the (Nuclear) Berkshires

In Pittsfield, Massachusetts, the rebuilding of America’s nuclear arsenal is bringing a surge of money and jobs—and little public discussion.

By Bill Shein

/ 25 Mar 2026

RGM DISPATCH: New Crosswalk Lights, ICE Spending, and “On the Radio”

In this edition: Pedestrian safety in Great Barrington (including crosswalk lights with a mind of their own), more details of what ICE is buying from Massachusetts companies, and yes, that Donna Summer song.

By Bill Shein

/ 14 Feb 2026

RGM DISPATCH: New Crosswalk Lights, ICE Spending, and “On the Radio”

The BearCat Next Door: Built in the Berkshires, Deployed by ICE

A high-profile tool used in federal immigration enforcement is manufactured in Pittsfield, Massachusetts—in the heart of deep blue Berkshire County. Few seem eager to talk about it.

By Bill Shein

/ 3 Feb 2026

The BearCat Next Door: Built in the Berkshires, Deployed by ICE

After Three Fatal Crashes, a Town Looks Back—and Ahead

A report from a crosswalk in Great Barrington.

By Bill Shein

/ 26 Jan 2026

After Three Fatal Crashes, a Town Looks Back—and Ahead

RGM DISPATCH: A Man is Critically Injured at a Great Barrington Crosswalk Long Known to be Dangerous

A seventy-year-old man is in critical condition after being struck at a Route 7 crosswalk where pedestrian risks—particularly for elderly residents living nearby—have long been known. Upgrades have been deferred for years.

By Bill Shein

/ 17 Jan 2026

RGM DISPATCH: A Man is Critically Injured at a Great Barrington Crosswalk Long Known to be Dangerous

RGM DISPATCH: Housatonic Water Woes, B.H.S. Data Breach Update, and the Meaning of "Reason Gone Mad"

In this newsletter: Updates on a western Massachusetts hospital system’s data breach; a water company whose problems have outlived generations of regulators; public-records requests aging in place; and a look back at rogue-nation-identification tips first published on Reason Gone Mad in 2006.

By Bill Shein

/ 10 Jan 2026

RGM DISPATCH: Housatonic Water Woes, B.H.S. Data Breach Update, and the Meaning of "Reason Gone Mad"

RGM DISPATCH: A New Year and New Plans

The new website is live and The RGM Dispatch is up and running.

By Bill Shein

/ 31 Dec 2025

RGM DISPATCH: A new chapter for this work

The Argus is becoming The RGM Dispatch—same mission, broader scope, new possibilities.

By Bill Shein

/ 22 Nov 2025

RGM DISPATCH: A new chapter for this work

Free Event: A Conversation with Mariah Blake

This Thursday at the American Museum of Tort Law, a conversation with investigative journalist Mariah Blake about her gripping new book, “They Poisoned the World: Life and Death in the Age of Forever Chemicals”

By Bill Shein

/ 21 Oct 2025

Free Event: A Conversation with Mariah Blake

THE ARGUS EYE: A long-overdue D.P.H. report on PCBs and cancer delivers no surprises

PCBs may play a role, the agency says, but the mix of diffuse exposures, data limitations, and many other cancer risk factors leaves no clear culprit.

By Bill Shein

/ 15 Sep 2025

THE ARGUS EYE: A long-overdue D.P.H. report on PCBs and cancer delivers no surprises

THE ARGUS EYE: Rep. Neal gets a challenger, junk fees get a spotlight, and The Argus gets on WAMC

In this edition of The Argus Eye, news of what may be an interesting race for Congress in western Massachusetts next year.

By Bill Shein

/ 2 Sep 2025

Photos of Rep. Richard Neal, at left, and challenger Jeromie Whalen, at right.

Berkshire Health Systems told regulators it can’t afford a full investigation of decade-long data breach

Even as it acknowledged a decade of improper access to patient data by a “rogue employee,” the largest employer in Berkshire County—and provider of health care to most residents—claimed a full audit would be an “undue burden.”

By Bill Shein

/ 22 Aug 2025

Berkshire Health Systems told regulators it can’t afford a full investigation of decade-long data breach