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Robert Benincasa Robert Benincasa is a computer-assisted reporting producer in NPR's Investigations Unit.
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Robert Benincasa

Robert Benincasa

Producer, Investigations Unit

Robert Benincasa is a computer-assisted reporting producer in NPR's Investigations Unit.

Since joining NPR in 2008, Benincasa has been reporting on NPR Investigations stories, analyzing data for investigations, and developing data visualizations and interactive applications for NPR.org. He has worked on numerous groundbreaking stories, including data-driven investigations of the inequities of federal disaster aid and coal miners' exposures to deadly silica dust.

Prior to NPR, Benincasa served as the database editor for the Gannett News Service Washington Bureau for a decade.

Benincasa's work at NPR has been recognized by many of journalism's top honors. In 2014, he was part of a team that won an Investigative Reporters & Editors Award, and he shared Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards with Investigations Unit colleagues in 2016 and 2011.

Also in 2011, he received numerous accolades for his contributions to several investigative stories, including an Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma, an Investigative Reporters & Editors Radio Award, the White House News Photographers Association's Eyes of History Award for multimedia innovation, and George Polk and George Foster Peabody awards.

Benincasa served on the faculty of Georgetown University's Master of Professional Studies program in journalism from 2008 to 2016.

Story Archive

Friday

Coal miners say new limits on rock dust 'could save some lives'

Retired West Virginia coal miner Terry Lilly, who has black lung, speaks during a public hearing hosted by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration about its draft rule to limit worker exposure on Thursday. Leah Willingham/AP hide caption

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Leah Willingham/AP

Health

Coal miners say new limits on rock dust 'could save some lives'

Miners and their advocates testify in favor of new silica regulations aimed at preventing black lung disease

Coal miners say new limits on rock dust 'could save some lives'

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Investigations

Coal miners speak out in support of strengthened silica dust exposure standards

At a hearing miners asked regulators to crack down on silica dust which causes lung cancer. They want rules to require more air monitoring and contain specifics about citations and fines.

Coal miners speak out in support of strengthened silica dust exposure standards

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Tuesday

Tuesday

Many people living in the 'Diabetes Belt' are plagued with medical debt

Delores Lowery was diagnosed with diabetes in 2016. Her home in Marlboro County, S.C., is at the heart of what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls the Diabetes Belt. Nick McMillan/NPR hide caption

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Nick McMillan/NPR

Diagnosis: Debt

Many people living in the 'Diabetes Belt' are plagued with medical debt

More than half of the counties in the nation's so-called Diabetes Belt also have high rates of medical debt among their residents, an NPR analysis found.

Many people living in the 'Diabetes Belt' are plagued with medical debt

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Wednesday

Funeral homes could soon have to post prices online

FTC Chairperson Lina Khan, speaking at a Senate Committee hearing in 2021. Last week, the FTC moved closer to modernizing a rule that requires funeral businesses to provide prices to consumers when they visit or call. SAUL LOEB/AP hide caption

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SAUL LOEB/AP

Investigations

Funeral homes could soon have to post prices online

A 2017 NPR investigation found that many funeral businesses failed to disclose prices to consumers. The FTC may modernize the existing rule to make such information more transparent.

Sunday

From floods to slime: Mobile home residents say landlords make millions, neglect them

Mike Noel at the Heritage Plantation community, June 8, 2022. Noel retired and bought a home in the mobile home park and looked forward to fishing in the ocean 20 minutes away. "I thought I was moving to paradise," he says. Eva Marie Uzcategui for NPR hide caption

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Eva Marie Uzcategui for NPR

Investigations

From floods to slime: Mobile home residents say landlords make millions, neglect them

Elderly homeowners in Florida are suing the billion dollar company that owns their mobile home park. Big companies are buying up parks around the country, but critics say residents pay the price.

From floods to slime: Mobile home residents say landlords make millions, neglect them

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Thursday

There's a massive housing shortage across the U.S. Here's how bad it is where you live

Contractors work on the roof of a house under construction in Louisville, Ky. A new study shows the U.S. is 3.8 million homes short of meeting housing needs. Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Economy

There's a massive housing shortage across the U.S. Here's how bad it is where you live

Hundreds of cities and towns are seriously short of housing, both homes to buy and rentals, according to a new study. It's the main reason that home prices and rents are so high.

There's a massive housing shortage across the U.S. Here's how bad it is where you live

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Wednesday

Researchers say they've linked silica dust directly to severe black lung disease

A new study provides the first evidence of its kind that silica dust is responsible for the rising tide of severe black lung disease, including among coal miners in Appalachia. Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Investigations

Researchers say they've linked silica dust directly to severe black lung disease

A new study links the epidemic of severe lung disease among coal miners to toxic silica dust. The findings echo a 2018 investigation by NPR and the PBS show Frontline.

Saturday

How the government helps investors buy mobile home parks, raise rent and evict people

"I could be out next week without a place to live," Mary Hunt worried when an NPR reporter visited. Hunt doesn't own the piece of land, making Havenpark Communities free to tell her to get out. Elaine Cromie for NPR hide caption

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Elaine Cromie for NPR

Investigations

How the government helps investors buy mobile home parks, raise rent and evict people

Investors and companies are swooping in to buy mobile home parks. They raise fees and rents, and evict people who can't pay — using billions of dollars' worth of low interest, government-backed loans.

How the government helps investors buy mobile home parks, raise rent and evict people

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Tuesday

Heat is killing workers in the U.S. — and there are no federal rules to protect them

Cruz Urias Beltran collapsed because of heat-related illness while working in a cornfield near Grand Island, Neb., in 2018. He is one of at least 384 workers who died from environmental heat exposure in the U.S. in the last decade, according to an investigation by Columbia Journalism Investigations and NPR. Walker Pickering for NPR hide caption

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Walker Pickering for NPR

Hot Days: Heat's Mounting Death Toll On Workers In The U.S.

Heat is killing workers in the U.S. — and there are no federal rules to protect them

Heat has killed hundreds of workers in the U.S., many in construction or agriculture, an investigation by NPR and Columbia Journalism Investigations found. Federal standards might have prevented them.

Heat is killing workers in the U.S. — and there are no federal rules to protect them

Listen · 6:53
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Tuesday

Your Trash Is Emitting Methane In The Landfill. Here's Why It Matters For The Climate

Landfills produce a lot of methane, a heat-trapping gas that contributes to global warming. With scientists calling for cuts in methane emissions, there are challenges to curbing these emissions from landfills, starting with even quantifying them. Pictured here is Waste Management landfill in Livermore, Calif. Michael Macor/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images hide caption

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Michael Macor/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

All Things Considered

Your Trash Is Emitting Methane In The Landfill. Here's Why It Matters For The Climate

InsideClimate News Service

Landfills are among the nation's largest sources of methane, a greenhouse gas far more potent than carbon dioxide. But accurately measuring methane is a major challenge to reducing it.

Your Trash Is Emitting Methane In The Landfill. Here's Why It Matters For The Climate

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Tuesday

Wednesday

Political Divisions Drive Police Brutality Lawsuit Settlements

Police hold a perimeter near the White House as demonstrators gather to protest police brutality in the morning hours of May 31 in Washington, D.C. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption

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Alex Wong/Getty Images

America Reckons With Racial Injustice

Political Divisions Drive Police Brutality Lawsuit Settlements

Most of the largest civil settlements for police killings were in liberal areas in the year after the Ferguson unrest. Now, lawyers say current protests are hardening political divisions on policing.

Wednesday

Congress Is Investigating Contracts Tied To Mask And PPE Shortages

Rep. James E. Clyburn, D-S.C., has asked Trump administration officials to account for how and why they selected particular companies to provide personal protective equipment. Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The Coronavirus Crisis

Congress Is Investigating Contracts Tied To Mask And PPE Shortages

Seven multi-million-dollar contracts are at the center of a House subcommittee probe. Investigators say the companies lacked experience and some had political connections to the Trump administration.

Wednesday

Data Raises Questions About Who Benefited From PPP Loans

Gov. Jim Justice, W.Va., waves to the crowd at his annual State of the State speech on Jan. 9, 2019, in Charleston, W.Va. Tyler Evert/AP hide caption

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Tyler Evert/AP

Business

Data Raises Questions About Who Benefited From PPP Loans

The government's Paycheck Protection Program was intended to help small businesses during the pandemic keep workers on staff. But a lot of the recipients weren't exactly small businesses.

Data Raises Questions About Who Benefited From PPP Loans

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Monday

As Americans Avoided Restaurants And Doctors' Offices, Those Businesses Got Loans

Jovita Carranza, Administrator of the Small Business Administration, testifies during a Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship hearing June 10, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Kevin Dietsch/AP hide caption

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Kevin Dietsch/AP

The Coronavirus Crisis

As Americans Avoided Restaurants And Doctors' Offices, Those Businesses Got Loans

The small business sectors that received the largest share of federal loans from the coronavirus relief package known as PPP include restaurants, doctors' offices, car dealerships and law firms.

Tuesday

Feds Spend Billions On COVID-19 Contracts, Often Without Fully Competitive Bidding

NPR reviewed a database of thousands of contracting actions connected to the COVID-19 public health crisis and identified more than 250 companies that got federal contracts worth more than $1 million without going through a fully competitive bidding process. diane555/Getty Images hide caption

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diane555/Getty Images

Investigations

Feds Spend Billions On COVID-19 Contracts, Often Without Fully Competitive Bidding

In the government's hurried pandemic response, more than 250 companies, some with little or no medical supply experience, got contracts worth more than $1 million without fully competitive bidding.

Feds Spend Billions On COVID-19 Contracts, Often Without Fully Competitive Bidding

Listen · 4:52
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Tuesday

Traffic Is Way Down Because Of Lockdown, But Air Pollution? Not So Much
Daniel Wood/NPR

Shots - Health News

Traffic Is Way Down Because Of Lockdown, But Air Pollution? Not So Much

Car traffic took a big dip beginning in late March, and headlines celebrated clean air around the U.S. But an NPR analysis of EPA data tells a more troubling story.

Traffic Is Way Down Because Of Lockdown, But Air Pollution? Not So Much

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Friday

As Hospitals Lose Revenue, More Than A Million Health Care Workers Lose Jobs

As part of a demonstration across from the White House on May 7, National Nurses United set out empty shoes for nurses who have died from COVID-19. The union is asking employers and the government to provide safe workplaces, including adequate staffing. Hospitals have been laying off and furloughing nurses due to lost revenue. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The Coronavirus Crisis

As Hospitals Lose Revenue, More Than A Million Health Care Workers Lose Jobs

Faced with lost revenue from canceled elective procedures, hospitals laid off 1.4 million health care workers in April, including nearly 135,000 from hospitals.

As Hospitals Lose Revenue, More Than A Million Health Care Workers Lose Jobs

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Wednesday

In New York Nursing Homes, Death Comes To Facilities With More People Of Color

Emergency medical workers transport a patient at the Cobble Hill Health Center on April 18, 2020, in Brooklyn, New York. The nursing home has had at least 55 COVID-19 reported deaths. Justin Heiman/Getty Images hide caption

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Justin Heiman/Getty Images

The Coronavirus Crisis

In New York Nursing Homes, Death Comes To Facilities With More People Of Color

In an analysis of 78 nursing homes in New York where six or more residents have died from COVID-19, NPR found nursing homes with more people of color were more likely to have more deaths.

In New York Nursing Homes, Death Comes To Facilities With More People Of Color

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Monday

Company With Ties To Trump Receives Millions From Small Business Loan Program

Jovita Carranza, head of the Small Business Administration, addresses the press earlier this month at the White House, as Vice President Pence and President Trump listen. Alex Brandon/AP hide caption

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Alex Brandon/AP

Investigations

Company With Ties To Trump Receives Millions From Small Business Loan Program

Many businesses have struggled to get any money from the Paycheck Protection Program. But a company owned by a prominent Chicago family received a $5.5 million loan.

Monday

A Month After Emergency Declaration, Trump's Promises Largely Unfulfilled

President Trump speaks during a news conference about the coronavirus pandemic in the Rose Garden of the White House on March 13. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The Coronavirus Crisis

A Month After Emergency Declaration, Trump's Promises Largely Unfulfilled

On March 13, President Trump promised to mobilize private and public resources to respond to the coronavirus. NPR followed up on each promise and found little action had been taken.

A Month After Emergency Declaration, Trump's Promises Largely Unfulfilled

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Friday

Companies Tied To W.Va. Governor To Pay $5 Million In Mining Violations

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice delivers his annual State of the State address at the state Capitol in Charleston, W.Va., in January. Justice and his family own coal mining companies that have agreed to pay the government more than $5 million in delinquent mine safety fines, the Justice Department says. Chris Jackson/AP hide caption

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Chris Jackson/AP

Investigations

Companies Tied To W.Va. Governor To Pay $5 Million In Mining Violations

Coal mining companies linked to billionaire Gov. Jim Justice and his family have agreed to pay the government more than $5 million in delinquent mine safety fines.

Wednesday

ICU Bed Capacity Varies Widely Nationwide

ICU capabilities vary not only from hospital to hospital, but also from region to region. Some parts of the country have far more critical care beds by population than others. Ryan McVay/Getty Images hide caption

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Ryan McVay/Getty Images

The Coronavirus Crisis

ICU Bed Capacity Varies Widely Nationwide

An NPR analysis of the nation's 100,000 ICU beds finds some communities can accommodate far more critically ill patients than others, signaling potential disparities in care in the COVID-19 pandemic.

ICU Bed Capacity Varies Widely Nationwide

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