How the Paycheck Protection Program went from good intentions to a huge free-for-all
Virtually all PPP loans were forgiven with little close scrutiny despite signs of rampant fraud.
Austin Fast
I'm a journalist based in Cincinnati with 15 years of radio, TV, print and web experience, currently focusing on data analysis and investigative work at USA Today. I use R and Python to scrape, clean and analyze large data sets and turn them into human-centered stories that sparkle in print and audio. I adapt quickly, work well solo or with a team and won’t buckle under pressure.
Nurses are waiting months for licenses as hospital staffing shortages spread
With nurses in high demand during COVID-19, my custom-built database compares which states took longest to license them.
‘Three Little Words’ podcast follows a family’s secret struggle with AIDS
My 5-part audio adaptation revisits and updates writer Roy Peter Clark's groundbreaking 1996 newspaper serial.
Millions of people are missing from CDC COVID data as states fail to report cases
Years of underinvestment in public health have created a county-by-county patchwork of outdated disease-tracking systems.
NPR analysis finds growing vaccine divide between urban and rural America
Data-driven two-way for NPR's All Things Considered features anecdotes of how some rural areas are bucking this trend.
COVID-19 is ‘a crisis within a crisis’ for homeless people
Data analysis and FOIAed emails reveal insufficient testing, inadequate tracking and local neglect from California to Florida.
Calculating homeless aid relies on flawed formula
Data analysis determines how homeless aid would have been disbursed if HUD's formula factored homelessness into the equation.
LGBTQ suicide rates remain high. But there is hope.
A rural Arizona school’s new gay-straight alliance learns how to support students’ mental health through COVID's earliest days.
Can Democrats turn Arizona's suburbs blue in 2020?
I hit the campaign trail with a schoolteacher running for Arizona state Senate as a field producer with The Wilderness podcast.
No symptoms? Consider holding off on a coronavirus test
Full episode of my weekly podcast explores delays and problems as COVID-19 testing rolls out across Tampa Bay.
You've likely never heard a big fish tale like this
Non-narrated story on how an unexpected big catch derailed salmon fisherman Allison O'Brien for hours one morning in Alaska.
Austin's move to decriminalize homelessness is 'the best thing that's happened around here'
Audio feature produced at the Transom Traveling Workshop in Austin, Texas.
The Bristol Bay Fisheries Report
Full episode of daily, half-hour show I wrote and hosted live on air, including a non-narrated feature on a local Yup'ik artist.
How 'pickers' and 'lickers' help Bristol Bay's fleet
Ambient sound takes listeners to the docks in this daily-turn audio piece digging into the science behind the fishery.
Cincinnati doctors test new drug to prevent HIV transmission, battle AIDS' stigma
Extended audio story pulls from emotionally raw interviews to explore HIV's stigma in Cincinnati's Black community.
My past roles have included reporting data-centric investigations at National Public Radio; producing podcasts at The Tampa Bay Times; reporting news from the world's largest wild salmon fishery in Dillingham, Alaska (KDLG Public Radio); covering breaking news at the ABC affiliate (WCPO-TV) in Cincinnati, Ohio; teaching English and journalism with the Peace Corps in eastern Europe (Macedonia); and a Dow Jones News Fund fellowship with the Center for Investigative Reporting in Berkeley, California.
I completed my master's degree in investigative journalism at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. I also hold bachelor's degrees in journalism and international studies from Miami University (Ohio).
Over 15 years of reporting, I’ve produced multimedia and print content with: National Public Radio | The Associated Press | USA Today | KJZZ Public Radio | KDLG Public Radio | WCPO-TV | WMUB Public Radio | Current | The Dayton Business Journal | Indian Country Today | The Center for Investigative Reporting | Crooked Media | The Arizona Republic | KosovaLive | The Miami Student | DPA20MiamiUniversity.com
Awards:
- 2023 - Finalist for best Radio or Audio Investigative Reporting from the NYC SPJ for coverage of the Paycheck Protection Program on NPR
- 2021 - Roy W. Howard Fellowship at NPR Investigations
- 2020 - Outstanding Graduate Student Award from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication
- 2021 - Association of Health Care Journalists Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism: first place for two-part series exploring Covid-19's impact on the homeless and third place for documentary examining solutions to Arizona's youth suicide crisis
- 2021 - Broadcast Education Association Festival of Media Arts second-place award for speciality program/podcast for "COVID’s impact on the homeless is largely unknown"
- 2020 - EPPY Award for “Best News Story on a College Website” for COVID's Invisible Victims
- 2019 - Paul D. Coverdell Fellowship to obtain a master's degree in investigative journalism at Arizona State University
- 2018 – Cincinnati SPJ Excellence in Journalism award for best health/medical story
- 2018 – Regional Edward R. Murrow awards for best website and excellence in social media
- 2016 & 2017 – Ohio AP Media Editors awarded Best Digital Presence to WCPO.com
- 2013 - Earned grants to report on LGBT rights in Athens, European Youth Media Days in Brussels, and Croatia's accession to the European Union in Zagreb
- 2011-2013 - Secured three grants from the European Commission and organized workshops to train eastern European youth in journalism techniques
- 2010 – Dow Jones News Fund Copyediting Internship
- 2010 - Graduated summa cum laude with bachelor's degrees in journalism and international studies from Miami University (Ohio)
- 2010 – President’s Distinguished Service Award for contributions to Miami University as editor of The Miami Student newspaper
- 2009 – Selected to cover the Online News Association's annual conference as part of its Student Newsroom and Innovation Lab
- 2009 – Reid-Heckler Scholarship to support my reporting overseas with KosovaLive360, Kosovo's premier wire service.
- 2009 – Named a John S. Knight Scholar by the Akron Press Club
- 2008 - Cincinnati Society for Professional Journalists Collegiate Hall of Fame
- 2008 – Memorial Tournament Scholarship from Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial Golf Tournament
