Of Militias and Mercedes-Benzes
It’s hard to overstate how much arms trade and aid factor into US foreign policy. Missiles, aircraft, guns, and more — we sell and give them to others as a way to exert global power…
Editor in Chief
Laicie Heeley
Editor in Chief
Laicie Heeley (@laicie) is the founding CEO of Inkstick Media, where she serves as Editor in Chief of the foreign policy magazine Inkstick and Executive Producer and Host of the PRX- and Inkstick-produced podcast, Things That Go Boom. Heeley’s reporting has appeared on public radio stations across America and the BBC, where she’s explored global security issues including domestic terrorism, disinformation, nuclear weapons, and climate change. Prior to launching Inkstick, Heeley was a Fellow with the Stimson Center’s Budgeting for Foreign Affairs and Defense program and Policy Director at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. Her publications include work on sanctions, diplomacy, and nuclear arms control and nonproliferation, along with the first full accounting of US counterterrorism spending after 9/11.
You Get a Sanction, and You, and You
At their core, sanctions are a way for countries to say, “We don’t like what you’re doing, and we’re going to make your life harder for it.” When they’re at their best,…
'Praying to Black Jesus' in Kyiv
Long lines at ATMs and gas stations. The constant blare of air raid sirens. Military jets scrambling across the sky. Eurasia expert (and for the first time, war reporter) Terrell Jermaine…
Nuclear Dangers in Europe, Again
A friend from college called me the other day. We chat from time to time about family and life, but yesterday he sounded serious: “I don’t really follow the news, and things sound…
Border-aucracy
Congress hasn’t passed a significant immigration bill in decades, but the demands on the immigration system today are very different than they were in the ’90s. So, what’s a president…
Ice Cream Diplomacy
In a recent Wall Street Journal piece on occupied Eastern Ukraine, a resident characterizes Luhansk as a place where there are “no prospects for the future.” Bombed-out buildings, art…
Why Buy the Cow?
Since the beginning of the American experiment, presidents have tussled with Congress over how to handle foreign threats. That creative conflict is supposed to be the democratic ideal. But…
Things That Go Boom: Season 6
The Framers of the Constitution made sure Congress had a voice guiding our role in the world. Congress decides how much money we spend on everything from immigration to foreign aid. It has…
“It’s in Our DNA”
When I was a senior in high school, I made a, beginner, documentary about the changing demographics of my hometown, Springdale, Arkansas. Despite the film’s technical flaws, I learned the…
Our Top 10 Stories of 2021
Okay, well, the days are short and the COVID lines are long. The end of 2021 doesn’t look exactly like we’d hoped it might. But the holidays are a time for thanks, and we here at…