Did The Pandemic Make Us Better People?
Over the past year, at considerable cost, we’ve learned to live with the virus. With the arrival of vaccines and their competent distribution, the US finally appears to be bending the…
Editor in Chief
Laicie Heeley
Editor in Chief
Laicie Heeley (@laicie) is the founder and editor of Inkstick and the host and executive producer of the PRX- and Inkstick-produced podcast, Things That Go Boom. She is also a Partner with the Truman National Security Project. Laicie's work has appeared in well-known newspapers, journals, and periodicals including Foreign Policy, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and Associated Press, and she has appeared as an expert on CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News.
Don’t Confuse 'Making It Work' with 'Working'
Cast in one light, the past year has been a triumph of technology and human ingenuity. We have collectively proven society can still function — money can be made, national security can be…
Some Advice for My Younger Self
The plane begins its descent into the forested landscape surrounding Stockholm, Sweden. The late evening flight from Bonn, Germany is a short one. It feels like I’ve only just gotten…
A Year of Working Intentionally
As we pass this hard-to-fathom milestone of one year out of the office due to COVID-19, we will no doubt read many pieces on Zoom fatigue and pandemic fatigue and desires for return to a…
Where Bad Workplace Habits Go to Die
What will the national security workplace look like after the pandemic is over? With vaccination levels on the rise and restrictions on our daily lives beginning to lift, the question of how…
What’s in an Oath?
As each day passes, we are learning more about the men and women who participated in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. Many were believers in former President Trump’s conspiracy theories…
The Properties of Perpetual Light
Chamorro human rights lawyer and activist Julian Aguon has a message for young people: “Get quiet,” so you can hear your own inner ocean above the din of others. In Aguon’s newly…
Sex, Death, Dragon Ladies, and Nuclear Weapons
ADVERTISEMENT: Hot, sexy Asians in your area! Are you looking for a petite, docile China Doll™ to welcome into your life? One who is exotic like a lotus blossom and energizing like a…
Showing up When the Government Doesn't
It’s been one year. One year since we last saw our friends and family without masks, without fear, without COVID. And almost one year since my family struggled to save my father from the…
The Trans Ban Is Gone but More Needs To Be Done
President Biden’s decision to rescind the ban on transgender service members in the armed forces within a week of taking office is a welcome development for a diverse, inclusive and…