Reading news of the tech giant Meta attempting to silence a former director of global public policy at Facebook (2011-17), Sarah Wynn-Williams, a former New Zealand diplomat, has led me to remind everyone of the power and importance of whistleblowers.[1] We need to protect whistleblowing. In a book, first published in 2025, Sarah Wynn-Williams raised … Continue reading A Tribute to Whistleblowers
democracy
Remember the Cathedral
As Russia has struggled to advance on the battlefield in Ukraine, its attacks have increasingly fallen on the civilian population — on homes, hospitals, and houses of worship. Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, has borne much of this weight. When armies cannot win on the front, they sometimes turn against the people themselves. In mid-June 2026, Russian … Continue reading Remember the Cathedral
Apocalypse of the American Dream
I was fortunate to attend as a member of the audience for a panel in Oxford on protecting freedom of the press. The all-female panel of four and a moderator were brilliant, representing some of the top journalistic enterprises in the world. It was inspiring for anyone interested in a career in journalism and speaking … Continue reading Apocalypse of the American Dream
Ukraine Interrupts Putin’s Davos: The Latest of Many Advances
Russia’s St. Petersburg International Economic Forum – Putin’s Davos – from 3-6 June 2026 was diminished by long range drone strikes on the city’s oil terminal, sending plumes of smoke across the area. Other strikes on the same day hit a military-industrial plant in Western Russia’s Tambov region and an airfield in Crimea.[1] It not … Continue reading Ukraine Interrupts Putin’s Davos: The Latest of Many Advances
Democracy is Alive and Well in Britain
On 7 May 2026, voters across England went to the polls to elect more than 5,000 local councillors and six directly elected mayors. [A note for American readers: think of these as something like county and city government races, spread across a dizzying patchwork of metropolitan boroughs, unitary authorities, county councils, and district councils — … Continue reading Democracy is Alive and Well in Britain
Get Me to My Bubble
We might all know by now that in these hyper-political times of polarization and toxic communication that people often live in their own hermetically sealed thought ‘bubbles’ or ‘echo chambers’. This is a problem because if we often only hear and listen to people who share our views and fail to communicate with people outside … Continue reading Get Me to My Bubble
Reputational Crash: The Return of the Ugly Americans
As an American living in Europe, I have been surprised by the number of friends and acquaintances in the US who are angry at democratic nations across NATO, Europe, and the world for not agreeing to calls from President Trump to support his military operations against Iran. Their frustration is not simply because the US … Continue reading Reputational Crash: The Return of the Ugly Americans
Supporting Ukraine’s Science Diaspora
I had the privilege of attending a two-day event (23-24 March 2026) at the University of Liverpool entitled ‘The UK-Ukraine Research Twinning Showcase and Networking 2026’. It was organized by Dr. Igor Potapov and held at Liverpool’s School of Law and Social Justice. I was impressed by the number of initiatives between the UK and … Continue reading Supporting Ukraine’s Science Diaspora
Distrust in the US
Distrust in the US: Collapsing Foundations of the Trump Administration Trust in the United States has been sinking – collapsing. The foundations of this distrust are two interrelated aspects of the Trump administration: the decline in Presidential authority and the failure of checks and balances, broadly defined. By checks and balances I mean more than … Continue reading Distrust in the US
Trump and the Evolution of Political Communication
All conventions on the norms and practices governing political communication, particularly around presidential communications, have been shattered by US President Donald J Trump. The Israel-US War on Iran provides a recent example. In the first 48 hours of the War on Iran, the US administration gave mixed messages over its rationale and aims, justifying the … Continue reading Trump and the Evolution of Political Communication