It’s fair to say, I think, that when we first began to talk with Jocelyn Zuckerman about investigating the rampantly growing palm oil industry it was by no means a slam dunk that we would move forward with the project. Yes, the topic was unquestionably a worthy one: The clearing of rainforests and burning of deep tropical peatlands in Indonesia transform one of the world’s most important carbon sinks into a massive carbon spewer, while the building of palm plantations gives poachers easy access to Helmeted Hornbills and the prized “golden ivory” casques on the upper part of their bills. And I could personally attest—as someone who had somehow remained mostly ignorant of the palm oil menace—that the story had real potential to open readers’ eyes and spur them to action. But it’s also a costly story to produce. To report it, Zuckerman would have to go to Sumatra, where locals could show her firsthand the industry’s devastating effects. We take great care here in...