I spent a decade watching delegates in air-conditioned conference halls in Bonn and Nairobi argue over decimal points in carbon credits, while I was on …
What Poorer Countries Ask for at Cop
May 2026
The Three Things the Hdi Combines
I spent a decade watching UN trucks kick up red dust in South Sudan, waiting for shipments that were always “on schedule” according to some …
The Fee on Money Sent Home
I remember sitting in a humid, dust-choked office in Goma, staring at a spreadsheet that claimed we were “optimizing liquidity flows.” It was all high-level …
Inequality in One Number
I once spent three weeks in a humid warehouse outside Goma, staring at a stack of medical manifests that didn’t match the regional economic reports. …
Reporting a Trial Accurately
I spent most of my thirties in humid, overcrowded courtrooms in South Sudan, waiting for signatures that rarely came. Most people think learning how to …
Comparing Incomes Across Countries
I remember sitting in a humid warehouse in Goma, staring at a spreadsheet that claimed our budget had doubled due to a favorable currency shift. …
Remittances Are Larger Than Aid
I remember sitting in a humid warehouse outside Goma, staring at a stack of empty crates and a spreadsheet that claimed we had “deployed” three …
Attributing an Effect to Sanctions
I spent nine years watching NGOs lose their minds over compliance spreadsheets while the actual supplies sat rotting in a customs warehouse because nobody knew …
What Gdp Misses
I remember sitting in a humid, corrugated-metal office in Juba, staring at a spreadsheet that claimed the regional economy was “trending upward” due to increased …
Covering an Election With Contested Results
Stop looking at the pundits in London or DC debating the “geopolitical implications” of the upcoming vote. If you want to understand how to cover …