I spent a decade watching people lose their heads over high-end encryption software and encrypted messaging apps while ignoring the most basic security failures. You …
Protecting Someone Who Spoke to You
Running a Campaign With a Cold Chain
I still remember the smell of diesel and damp earth in South Sudan, sitting in the cab of a Land Cruiser that had seen better …
Measuring an Arm to Diagnose Hunger
I remember sitting in a humid warehouse outside Goma, staring at a stack of glossy brochures that detailed the complex biochemical markers of protein deficiency. …
Enforcing an Arms Embargo
I remember sitting in a dusty transit office outside Goma, staring at a stack of UN resolutions that looked more like fiction than policy. Everyone …
Sanctions Explained Without Jargon
I spent a decade watching politicians debate the nuances of diplomacy in air-conditioned rooms, while I was sitting in a dusty compound in Goma, staring …
A Field Clinic’s First Week
I remember sitting in a humid warehouse outside Goma, staring at a stack of colorful brochures promising “transformative healthcare interventions.” They were beautiful, filled with …
What a Food Security Classification Means
I once sat in a humid briefing room in Goma, watching a consultant present a forty-slide deck on the sophisticated mathematical models used for determining …
Getting Supplies Through Customs
I spent most of my nine years in East Africa listening to the sound of diesel engines struggling against mud that didn’t care about our …
Checking Whether Markets Can Respond
I remember sitting in a humid, makeshift office in Goma, staring at a glossy report that claimed “market functionality was stabilizing” based on a handful …
Raising Revenue Instead of Receiving Aid
I spent nine years watching NGOs chase the latest shiny grant from Brussels or DC, treating every new influx of foreign aid like a miracle …