WE THE POISONED | A Busboys and Poets Books Presentation

From crooked Wall Street financial schemes to political payoffs, destruction of evidence, witness tampering, falsified water data, threatened whistle blowers, and panicked phone calls, WE THE POISONED: EXPOSING THE FLINT WATER CRISIS COVER UP AND THE POISONING OF 100,000 AMERICANS reveals, for the first time, the real story behind how the government poisoned a major American city—and how they are still getting away with it. As the cover-up continues a decade later, innocent residents have been arrested, surveilled, threatened, and gaslit to feel like they are crazy. With more and more sick residents slowly dying every year, Flint’s lead levels again on the rise, and cancer rates surging across the city, it is time for the true, sinister story of the Flint water cover-up to be told. 

Based on eight years of reporting, thousands of confidential documents from the criminal investigation, and the former governor of Michigan’s own words under oath, Jordan Chariton takes readers on the road to crisis before the Flint River switch—when government officials blew through all stop signs and orchestrated a financial scheme that allowed a nearly bankrupt Flint to borrow $100 million for a controversial new water system. As brown, smelly water flowed through Flint homes and residents grew sick, politicians intentionally and knowingly allowed Americans to drink poison as they prioritized their own political ambitions and survival. Just when you think the levels of callousness and disregard for the people can’t drop any lower, Chariton digs even deeper to expose one of the biggest government cover-ups of the twenty-first century. 

WE THE POISONED is a cautionary tale about “run-government-like-a-business” leaders who champion privatization and economic development at the expense of the environment, public health, and vulnerable citizens. Perhaps even more important, with water and environmental contamination surging across the US, Chariton’s revelations provide a road map for how to fight back and prevent similar tragedies from happening to other communities.

Jordan Chariton is joining us on the Busboys stage alongside Krystal Ball, co-host of Breaking Points, to break down what Americans think they know about what caused the water crisis and why this crisis is ongoing after 100,000 Americans have been poisoned over the course of 10+ years. Copies of the book will be available for purchase during and after the event, and Chariton will be signing following the program.

This event is free and open to all. Our program begins at 6:00 pm, and will be followed by an audience Q&A. Copies of WE THE POISONED will be available for purchase before and after the event. Please note that this event is in person and will not be livestreamed. 

We ask that guests RSVP in order to receive direct updates about the event from Busboys and Poets Books

Jordan Chariton is an independent investigative reporter known for reporting on-the-ground across America on significant stories that often fall through the cracks of mainstream media. Chariton has made twenty reporting trips to Flint since 2016 investigating the water crisis and cover-up. He also covered the indigenous-led protests at Standing Rock in North Dakota against the Dakota Access Pipeline, the United Auto Workers strike across the Midwest, and the 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, and he has reported across the US on union drives, worker exploitation, poverty, homelessness, and protest movements. He is the CEO and lead reporter for Status Coup News, an independent news outlet on YouTube. His work has been featured in The Guardian, VICE News, The Intercept, CNBC, The Hill, and more. He lives with his wife and daughter in the New York area.

Host or Publisher Busboys and Poets