“So Your Child’s Been Diagnosed With a Rare Genetic Disorder,” Slate, January 28, 2024
When we brought our new baby home, everything seemed fine. Then the shaking started.
“A Castro or Worse,” Air Mail, October 28, 2023
Contrary to what his critics said, Patrice Lumumba held surprisingly pro-American views.
“Open the Congo files and face up to what the CIA did,” The Washington Post, October 24, 2023
The case for making amends and declassifying files.
“How the U.S. Issued its First Ever Order to Assassinate a Foreign Leader,” Politico Magazine, October 17, 2023
An excerpt from The Lumumba Plot.
“Overlooked No More: Andrée Blouin, Voice for Independence in Africa,” The New York Times, February 14, 2020
A belated obituary for an adviser to Patrice Lumumba and other leading politicians in independent Africa.
“Did Kabila Just Bring Democracy to Congo?” Foreign Policy, August 13, 2018
Congo's president has said he'll relinquish power. First, make sure he leaves. Then, let him live happily ever after.
“Congo's Slide Into Chaos: How a State Fails,” Foreign Affairs, January/February 2018
A country the size of western Europe is collapsing in slow motion in the middle of Africa.
“Will Foreign Leaders Lose Support at Home for Working with Trump?” The Washington Post, April 28, 2017
They need to deal with him to get things done, but their voters hate him.
“To Be or Not to Be a Dictator,” The New York Times, December 13, 2016
Yahya Jammeh, the dictator of Gambia, is trying to hold on to his throne after an electoral defeat.
“Let's Go Take Back Our Country,” The Atlantic, March 2016
What happened when 11 exiles armed themselves for a violent night in the Gambia.
“The Dictators Who Love America,” The Atlantic, February 8, 2016
Authoritarian leaders like the Gambia's Yahya Jammeh seem to relish the West's wealth.
“Canada’s Best Role: The Perpetual Sidekick,” The Washington Post, November 6, 2015
An op-ed about Canadian foreign policy under Justin Trudeau.
“Canada's Contender,” The Atlantic, May 2015
A profile of Justin Trudeau, the leader of Canada's Liberal Party.
“The Uranium Sting,” Bloomberg Businessweek, September 11, 2014
Did Homeland Security catch a smuggler—or create one?
“Did Russ Feingold Just End a War?” Politico Magazine, March 11, 2014
The unlikely story of how the former Wisconsin senator made peace in Congo.
“The Education of Rand Paul,” The Washington Monthly, July/August 2013
How a first-term senator became a force in his party on foreign policy.
“The End of a Friendship and the Start of the Cold War,” The New Republic, October 30, 2012
A review of Roosevelt's Lost Alliances: How Personal Politics Helped Started the Cold War, by Frank Costigliola.
“Hope and Change? Not Here,” The New York Daily News, December 21, 2011
Why both the alarmists and dreamers are wrong about the ascent of Kim Jong Un.
“The Man from Vienna,” The New Republic, May 9, 2011
A review of The Age of Deception: Nuclear Diplomacy in Treacherous Times, by Mohamed ElBaradei.
“Davos Boy,” The New Republic, February 23, 2011
A review of How to Run the World: Charting a Course to the Next Renaissance, by Parag Khanna.
“Diplomacy and Duplicity,” Slate, January 14, 2011
A review of Why Leaders Lie: The Truth About Lying in International Politics, by John Mearsheimer.
“The Boots-Eye View,” The New Republic, June 11, 2010
A review of Kaboom: Embracing the Suck in a Savage Little War, by Matt Gallagher.
“The Sum of All Fears,” The National (Abu Dhabi), November 5, 2009
A review of Atomic Obsession: Nuclear Alarmism from Hiroshima to Al-Qaeda, by John Mueller.