Before joining the Arkansas Times, Elizabeth L. Cline covered sustainability, labor, and global supply chains as an independent journalist for publications including The Atlantic, Vogue Business, Slate, and Forbes. Her freelance reporting for the Arkansas Times has explored subjects ranging from the Vietnamese food scene in Fort Smith and snake mating habits to Sen. Tom Cotton’s role in undermining diplomacy and paving the way for military confrontation with Iran. Cline is best known for her 2012 book Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion, an early investigation into the environmental and labor impacts of the global apparel industry that helped spark broader public conversations around fast fashion and ethical consumption. She holds a master’s degree in Global Studies and International Relations from Northeastern University. After spending two decades in New York City, Cline now lives in Little Rock, Arkansas, where she enjoys kayaking, birding, and hiking.
Beat: agriculture and environment reporter
Arkansas is known as The Natural State for good reason; natural resources drive the state's economy and shape its identity. The state is changing, with a lithium boom in the south, wind and solar farms in the north and east, and fallow fields in the Delta, where more farmers are falling into the red and calling it quits. Mysterious data centers are setting up in multiple towns, boosting our electric bills and worrying neighbors. The agriculture and environment reporter delves into these and other topics affecting the health, wealth and landscape of Arkansas.