Alexis C. Madrigal

How Virginia Juked Its COVID-19 Data

The state is combining results from viral and antibody tests in the same statistic. This threatens to confound America’s understanding of the pandemic.

• Alexis C. Madrigal and Robinson Meyer
• May 13, 2020

How Facebook Works for Trump

Donald Trump won the presidency by using the social network’s advertising machinery in exactly the way the company wanted. He’s poised to do it again.

• Ian Bogost and Alexis C. Madrigal
• April 17, 2020

A New Statistic Reveals Why America’s COVID-19 Numbers Are Flat

Few figures tell you anything useful about how the coronavirus has spread through the U.S. Here’s one that does.

• Robinson Meyer and Alexis C. Madrigal
• April 16, 2020

Private Labs Are Fueling a New Coronavirus Testing Crisis

Backlogs at private laboratories have ballooned, making it difficult to treat suffering patients and contain the pandemic.

• Alexis C. Madrigal and Robinson Meyer
• March 31, 2020

How the Coronavirus Became an American Catastrophe

The death and economic damage sweeping the United States could have been avoided—if only we had started testing for the virus sooner.

• Alexis C. Madrigal and Robinson Meyer
• March 21, 2020

How to Understand Your State’s Coronavirus Numbers

As the outbreak spreads, state websites are still some of the best sources of information on how many people have been tested.

• Alexis C. Madrigal
• March 12, 2020

The Dangerous Delays in U.S. Coronavirus Testing Haven’t Stopped

Without adequate testing, people with coronavirus symptoms are left to agonize over the right course of action on their own.

• Robinson Meyer and Alexis C. Madrigal
• March 9, 2020

Exclusive: The Strongest Evidence Yet That America Is Botching Coronavirus Testing

“I don’t know what went wrong,” a former CDC chief told The Atlantic.

• Robinson Meyer and Alexis C. Madrigal
• March 6, 2020

The Official Coronavirus Numbers Are Wrong, and Everyone Knows It

Because the U.S. data on coronavirus infections are so deeply flawed, the quantification of the outbreak obscures more than it illuminates.

• Alexis C. Madrigal
• March 3, 2020

The Gig Economy Has Never Been Tested by a Pandemic

Companies such as Uber and Instacart have transformed the urban experience, but would they hold up if the coronavirus spread across America?

• Alexis C. Madrigal
• February 28, 2020

The Hard Drive With 68 Billion Melodies

Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-re, do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-mi … you get the picture.

• Alexis C. Madrigal
• February 26, 2020

Tech Experts Are Pessimistic About Their Industry

Silicon Valley has hit a midlife crisis.

• Alexis C. Madrigal
• February 21, 2020

The Coronavirus Is a Data Time Bomb

It will be a long time before we understand what the outbreak did to the global economy.

• Alexis C. Madrigal
• February 13, 2020

The Company That Botched the Iowa Caucus Was Formed Only Months Ago

Its app didn’t solve much, but it did reveal a lot.

• Alexis C. Madrigal
• February 4, 2020

How to Misinform Yourself About the Coronavirus

Even if you avoid the conspiracy theories, tweeting through a global emergency is messy, context-free, and disorienting.

• Alexis C. Madrigal
• January 28, 2020

What Jeff Bezos’s Reported Phone Hack Says About Billionaires

Stunning new allegations about the relationship between the Amazon CEO and the crown prince of Saudi Arabia hint at just how connected the world’s most powerful people are.

• Alexis C. Madrigal
• January 21, 2020

The Way We Write History Has Changed

A deep dive into an archive will never be the same.

• Alexis C. Madrigal
• January 21, 2020

Silicon Valley Abandons the Culture That Made It the Envy of the World

Once upon a time, in the notorious start-up cradle, small was beautiful.

• Alexis C. Madrigal
• January 15, 2020

The Overwhelming Visibility of the Iran Plane Crash

A cellphone video. An international dispute. The world is more confusing—and more exposed—than ever.

• Alexis C. Madrigal
• January 9, 2020

Facebook’s Id Is Showing

An executive’s leaked memo suggests that the company wants to return to the pre-Trump world.

• Alexis C. Madrigal
• January 8, 2020