Aaron W. Gordon


aaron at agordon dot me

I’m a data reporter at Bloomberg News with a focus on covering transportation, infrastructure, and the environment. One of the most common questions I get is “What is a data reporter?” The short answer is we use data to find and tell stories, but how we do that for any given story will be different. Sometimes it is uncovering and analyzing data that is difficult to find. Other times it is collecting our own data, or filing public records requests and calling a lot of people. In other words, it’s reporting!

Before Bloomberg, I was a senior staff writer at Motherboard, VICE News’s tech and science website. Prior to that, I was a senior investigative reporter at Jalopnik, transportation reporter for the Village Voice, founder of the NYC subway newsletter Signal Problems, and staff writer at VICE Sports. I also freelanced for various local and national news outlets.

I also have a newsletter with non-fiction book recommendations called Book Time.

Freight Rail Labor and Safety Issues (2021-2023)


These stories were published prior to the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio:

‘It’s Going to End Up Like Boeing’: How Freight Rail Is Courting Catastrophe

‘The Worst and Most Egregious Attendance Policy’ Is Pushing Railroad Workers to the Brink 

‘What Choice Do I Have?’ Freight Train Conductors Are Forced to Work Tired, Sick, and Stressed

28 Freight Rail Workers Tell Us What They Want You to Know About Their Lives

The Freight Rail Labor Dispute Was Never About ‘Sick Days’

These were published following the East Palestine derailment:

‘32 Nasty:’ Rail Workers Say They Knew the Train That Derailed in East Palestine Was Dangerous

‘We Had All the Issues That Town Has:’ East Palestine Is Not the First or Last Derailment Disaster

More Than 2,000 Freight Rail Workers Have Filed Whistleblower Complaints for Safety Concerns in Last 10 Years, Documents Show

Transportation, Cities, Housing and Climate (2017-Present)


Why the US Sucks at Building Public Transit

How Uber Turned A Promising Bikeshare Company Into Literal Garbage

New York’s E-Bikes Keep Catching Fire, and It’s Getting Worse

Paradise Burned to the Ground. Now It’s Another Hot Housing Market

Why Doesn’t America Build Things?

Thank You For Your Feedback

‘The Trains Are Slower Because They Slowed the Trains Down’

Uber and Lyft Take A Lot More From Drivers Than They Say



USPS, Election Security, and Mail (2020)


The Mail: A Special Project on the USPS

Post Office Delivery Trucks Keep Catching on Fire

The Post Office Is Deactivating Mail Sorting Machines Ahead of the Election

USPS Headquarters Tells Managers Not to Reconnect Mail Sorting Machines, Emails Show

Who Killed the Electric Mail Truck?

Sports (2014-2017)


The Five-buck Bump of Cocaine That Destroyed an Olympic Dream

Rio Didn't Need an Olympic Golf Course, But They Built One Anyway


How Mamadou Sakho Fell Victim To Drug Testing’s Gray Areas