Here are the four things I wrote in 2014 that I liked the best. Many thanks to the editors and fact-checkers who worked with me this year.

4. How a Squad of Ex-Cops Fights Police Abuses, Mother Jones

A few years ago I came across a short article in a Florida newspaper about a guy named Al Smith, who had won an award for “Public Defense Investigator of the Year.” I wasn’t even aware that “public defense investigator” was a job that someone could have, so I called Al Smith, and he told me his sto...