MuckRock and Outlier Media are combining to equip newsrooms and communities with new ways to create actionable transparency. Together, we’re expanding our work not only helping others release and share information, but also better ways for the public to understand and use it.

After five years of trying to get records out of the Harvard University Police Department, I ended up spending $125 on a high-resolution photo German Chancellor Angela Merkel. This is the story of how and why.

In the Boston area? Join MuckRock’s JPat Brown, Beryl Lipton, and Michael Morisy this Thursday, April 18, as they discuss their latest book “Scientists Under Surveillance: The FBI Files” at the MIT Press bookstore as part of the Cambridge Science Festival.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, supported by a multimillion dollar donation from a hedge fund CEO and a history of expertise in artificial intelligence, wants to become a world leader in examining AI’s impact and lead its integration in all aspects of professional and social life.

Next Monday, we’ll be co-hosting a free public records workshop with Emerson College and the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism at the Democracy Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Join us for the free event, whether you’re interested in learning government transparency basics or hoping to find new tactics for freeing documents.