The decisions shaping your life aren't hidden.
They're made in plain sight.

Politics and power — explained plainly, for women who want to know what's actually going on.

We translate the decisions made in chambers, offices, and boardrooms into plain language — because the women most affected by policy are rarely the ones invited to the table.

Why This Exists

Something changed for you at some point.

Maybe it was a school board meeting that didn't go the way anyone expected. A bill that passed quietly while everyone was looking elsewhere. A policy that arrived in your life — in your healthcare costs, your kid's classroom, your neighborhood — and you thought: how did this happen? Who decided this?

That's why In Plain Sight exists.

Most political coverage is written for political people. It assumes you already know the players, the process, and the vocabulary. It tells you what happened but not why it matters to you. It leaves you more overwhelmed than informed.

This isn't that.

"We write it the way we'd explain it to someone we trust — without jargon, without spin, and without assuming you already know the players."

In Plain Sight is for the mom tracking down why her school board just cut the reading program. The woman who watched her healthcare costs triple and wants to know who voted for it. The person who knows something is wrong but can't find anyone explaining it in a way that doesn't require a poli-sci degree.

We cover power — who has it, how they use it, and what it costs the rest of us. We follow the money. We read the bills. We file the public records requests. We name the names. And then we write it the way we'd explain it to a friend over coffee.

What We Cover

Every story we publish lives in one of four lanes — each one a different lens on the same underlying question: who has power, and what are they doing with it?

Our Promises To You

Every piece of journalism published on this site is built on the same commitments — to you, every time.

• Plain language, always. Every technical term gets a plain-language translation in the next sentence. You should never need to Google something to stay with us.
• Named sources and documented records. Every specific claim of fact has a named source, a public record, or a document. We show our work. We link our receipts.
• Accountability without partisanship. We have a clear lens: power should be accountable. That's not a party. We apply it equally, across every aisle.
• Every piece ends with agency. We will never leave you in helplessness. Every story ends with something concrete — a meeting, a vote, a record, an action. Because knowing isn't enough. You deserve the next step too.
• No advertising influence, ever. Sponsors are disclosed. Editorial decisions are ours alone. We will never write favorable coverage of an advertiser. Our credibility is the product.

The Journalist Behind It

Chelsie Hollencamp
Founder & Editor · In Plain Sight
I started my journalism career covering a niche sport most people had never heard of — and learned that the best stories were never really about the sport. They were about institutions, power, who gets access, and who gets left out. I brought that instinct to Cheer Daily and Founding Season, where readers told me the reporting — not the scores — was what kept them coming back. In Plain Sight is what happens when I point that same lens at the things that actually govern our daily lives.

I believe in journalism that respects your intelligence and your time. That names the thing clearly instead of burying it in qualifications. That ends every piece with something you can actually do. If you've ever read something here and forwarded it to a friend saying "this is exactly what I've been trying to explain" — that's the whole reason I built this.

Support Independent Journalism

In Plain Sight is independently owned and reader-supported. No corporate backing. No hedge fund ownership. No advertiser with editorial influence. The journalism exists because readers decide it should.

If you read something here that helped you understand a thing you'd been trying to figure out — or that gave you the words for something you already knew was wrong — consider becoming a paying subscriber. That's what keeps this going.