I am an assistant professor at Medill, where I head up the Investigative Specialization in the graduate program and the Medill Chicago Investigative Program, which brings together graduate and undergraduate students on a two-quarter team investigation for publication with national media partners. In 13 years reporting in Chicago, previously for The Washington Post out of the midwest bureau and as a freelancer, I've felt lucky to cover a wide range of stories related to the environment, health, energy, immigration, labor and politics, among other things. Chicago provided me a crash course and an ongoing education in all these realms, giving me a home base for reporting around the US and Latin America. I've become increasingly interested in health journalism in part because it is a lens through which to examine the human impacts of our environment, working conditions and social policies. I've published three books, most recently "Revolt on Goose Island: The Chicago Factory Takeover and What it Says About the Economic Crisis." I also teach journalism at Columbia College and to youth through a non-profit program. I grew up in San Diego and came to the midwest to join the swim team (and as it turned out, get a journalism degree) at Northwestern University. My website is www.karilydersen.net.

Articles

Mental Health and the Chicago Mayoral Race

Mental health care is playing a starring role in a movement to unseat Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. After major budget cuts, members of the City Council’s Progressive Caucus are demanding to reopen shuttered clinics by adding $2.2 million to the budget the Council will vote on November 13 .

In the Shadow of San Diego: Environmental Health Hazards

In the Shadow of San Diego: Environmental Health Hazards

<p>Maria Martinez and her husband and three sons live in a colorful stucco home in a subsidized housing development near San Diego Bay. But as soon as she steps outside, Martinez and her neighbors are confronted with an onslaught of environmental health hazards.</p>

Residential neighborhood near the Corwith BNSF rail yard on Pershing Road.

High Levels of Black Carbon Found in Chicago Air

<p>When the Chicago City Council last week passed an ordinance to reduce emissions from construction equipment working on city jobs, it touched on a larger problem: harmful amounts of diesel exhaust in the city. Journalist Kari Lydersen found troubling emission levels in some neighborhoods.</p> <p

Shedding Light on Black Carbon

<p>Carbon dioxide gets most of the public attention as the main driver of climate change, a serious and increasing threat to public health worldwide. <br />But “black carbon” or “soot” emitted from diesel engines, cook stoves, brick kilns, agricultural burning and other sources in the developing and developed world poses a serious health risk for people especially in south and east Asia.</p>