I’ve moved all of my Brian Steven Smith pieces and archives from AmberBatts.com to my Substack, The Harm Done. It’s the best place to read both old and new work, follow updates, and join the conversation.
All The Harm Done Links
Why the move
I needed to compartmentalize the BSS reporting for readers and for my own headspace.
Keeping it separate on The Harm Done gives this work one dedicated home and aligns it with my larger goal: the book I set out to write from the beginning.
We (Antonia and Michael) started covering BSS to push Alaska media to do more. The trial left more questions than answers, and no one was trying to uncover the truth. It snowballed into a project we couldn’t, and wouldn’t, walk away from.
Consolidating everything on Substack also gives people a single place to land in relation to my writings, with the upcoming Lost Women series that features this case being released. After it airs, I’ll add my personal context, follow-ups, and any needed corrections on my Substack.
This tremendous work was not done alone. Make sure you follow Antonia on TikTok.
About the book The Harm Done
The book looks at the BSS case and a broader pattern in Anchorage, other murders, and women who went missing, many cases where victims were treated as if they didn’t matter.
I write as a sex worker and activist, braiding my own story with documents and testimony, records, transcripts, and interviews. The book traces how socioeconomic status, race, and marginalization shape policing and press attention.
Who gets protected, who gets ignored, and how investigations get slow-walked or stalled.
My aim is simple, replace rumor with records, insist on names over numbers, and show what justice or injustice looks like.
Access & support
Most things I write about on Substack are free.
Some are free in part, with the rest behind a subscriber wall to help cover costs. I make most subscriber pieces free after a few weeks. If my writing is useful to you, please consider supporting it:
- $5/month or $50/year
Find me here: [The Harm Done Substack]
If you’re directly affected
If you are a friend, family member, or otherwise directly connected to anyone harmed by BSS, reach out. I will gladly grant you a lifetime free subscription. Your outreach will be kept private.
Thank you for reading, sharing, and supporting this work.
Amber
This Is How We Rise 