One of the most powerful ways to generate original journalism is to look at the systems behind stories — particularly the points where those systems fail.

For investigative work, those points are central. Surface-level scandals often stem from deeper systemic problems. So what tools do we have for recognising those patterns?

Donella Meadows’s classic book Thinking in Systems offers one: “system traps” — patterns that explain how systems get stuck, break down, or behave in ways nobody intends. They are “traps” because attempts to escape them often backfire.

In this post I’ll explain each trap, what it looks like in the wild, and how to use it as a lens for story ideas.

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