Inside Voice

I used to think nothing ever changed in the Middle East. For years, I studied and worked on the region, and every time I drifted away, I’d come back to find that I could pick up almost exactly where I had left off. The last two years have thoroughly proven me wrong. At this point it’s easier to list what hasn’t changed in the region or in U.S. policy than what has. And a lot of people are deeply u...

What a year, huh? It’s been a heavy period for the country, for many people’s personal lives, and for those of us working in policy and politics. Every year on December 23rd, I reread Thomas Paine’s The American Crisis . I consistently return to it because it reminds me that uncertainty, fear, and exhaustion are not new, and that people have always had to decide whether to stay engaged when the pa...

For fourteen years, I’ve lived and worked in policy and politics in Washington—across government, think tanks, campaigns, and more. I’ve observed some of its most influential people up close, interrogated their journeys, sought their advice, and worked alongside them. I’ve had hundreds of mentorship coffees, read dozens of biographies, and sat as a fly on the wall in countless high-powered meeting...