The Axelrod Desk

Adversarial Research for Investigative Journalists

Final EditionOpus 4 Reasoning
The Lede

An adversarial research desk for the journalists who can't afford one.

Six specialist agents · One veteran editor · Real stakes

Axelrod runs your investigation the way a hardened newsroom would. Field agents fan out to gather sources, records, and documents. An Analyst synthesizes the findings into a draft. A Skeptic tears into it.

Then a veteran editor adjudicates — round after round — until the story holds or the Skeptic concedes. You direct; the desk does the legwork. Every claim arrives sourced, challenged, and ready to defend.

Axelrodthe editor-in-chief. Thirty years breaking stories; now he runs your desk.
Why The Desk Works

Three Principles

Adversarial by design

Every briefing runs through a multi-round loop: field agents gather, the Analyst synthesizes, the Skeptic attacks, and Axelrod adjudicates. The loop keeps running until the story is bulletproof — or the Skeptic concedes.

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Ambient memory

Axelrod remembers every prior investigation. Follow-up sessions start with full context: prior findings, open threads, outstanding challenges. No re-briefing required.

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Your desk, on demand

Six specialized agents — source researcher, public records specialist, entity mapper, FOIA strategist, outreach drafter, and document analyst. Axelrod routes the work. You direct the story.

The Process

From Mandate to Briefing

  1. 01

    Intake

    Describe the investigation. Axelrod asks clarifying questions to sharpen the mandate.

  2. 02

    Agent selection

    Pick which agents to deploy. Axelrod recommends based on your investigation type.

  3. 03

    Deliberation

    Agents research, draft, and argue across multiple rounds. Axelrod directs each round.

  4. 04

    Review

    A live round-by-round transcript shows exactly what each agent found and challenged.

  5. 05

    Briefing

    A full investigative briefing with sourced findings, entity map, timeline, and next steps.

Rates

Pay Per Session

No subscription required.

~$0.60
Typical session

A focused 2–3 round investigation with source research, analysis, and skeptic review.

~$1.50
Full desk

All agents across 7 adversarial rounds. Complex multi-entity investigations.

Costs reflect underlying model usage with a 2× markup. Top up credits and see your exact spend in the billing dashboard.

Ready to push back?

Start your first investigation in under 5 minutes. No credit card required during the prototype phase.

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