Thank you for sending us your questions! Gagan Vaseer, The Citizen’s advice columnist, answers your questions with some lighthearted advice. Question 1: Gagan, I know you’re from India. I have heard that they keep elephants as pets there. Is it true? Dear Student – You’re clearly a globally minded thought partner. It’s inquisitive questions that […]

In this episode of the Middle East Weekly podcast, we discuss the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the hands of Saudi agents in Istanbul, the formation of and challenges facing Iraq’s new government, the re-instatement of sanctions on Iran, and an election boycott in Bahrain. Khashoggi was murdered when he visited the Saudi […]

On the 27th anniversary of a little-known Los Angeles trial, Andrew Cha looks back on the context from which the LA Riots emerged and offers a way forward through policy and community action. On a Saturday spring morning in March 1991, a 15-year-old African American girl picks out a bottle of orange juice at a […]

BY NATHANIEL EISEN What are the stakes of Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. Harvard? Is affirmative action on the line, or just the jobs of a few discriminatory admissions staff? Experts disagree. The lawsuit, brought by a group representing Asian Americans who claim they were denied admission to Harvard College based on their race, […]

BY BRYAN CORTES States with booming economies have the opportunity to set up tax revenue funds with interest that will provide for future generations. This summer in North Dakota, I learned this firsthand. As a Dukakis Fellow in office of the Governor of North Dakota, I was charged with conducting a balance sheet assessment for […]

How a literature class is enriching my HKS experience One of my best friends in college was an English major. Today, he’s a public radio reporter in Phoenix. In the middle of the Kavanaugh confirmation, he posted on Facebook: “Thankful I studied poetry in college. To this day, it helps me understand the world better […]

Physical inactivity is one of the biggest challenges stemming from our modern, sedentary lifestyles. Jerald Lim describes why and how Singapore should double-down on supporting bike-sharing with pro-biking policies, and discusses the public health and environmental benefits it can reap as a society.

BY EVELYN NAM When Dr. Ford was asked what she remembers to be the worst about her experience of sexual assault, she responded: “the laughter – the boys laughing at me at my expense.” A few days later, the President of the United States made a punchline of Dr. Ford at a rally, and thousands […]

Mohammad bin Salman (MBS) is a member of Saudi Arabia’s swelling youth population. Even as MBS courts favor with his young subjects, his efforts may not meet high expectations for reform.

This is the third episode of our audio interview series. In this episode, Kai speaks to former UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon.  Mr. Ban speaks on his take on climate adaptation, Paris Agreement, the plight of Myanmar, and the human right abuses in North Korea as well as his personal experience working as a civil servant during […]

HKS has become home to most of us, but let us not forget our actual families In early October, I received a text from my mom in Thailand: “Ong won’t be with us much longer.” Ong was my cousin. She was in her early-40s, a breast-cancer survivor. The cancer was back and had spread through […]

Mexico’s Andres Manuel López Obrador was a populist candidate. Will he become a populist president?