Foreign Correspondence, Vol 133
Lynsey Addario on the cost of bearing witness
Hello, and happy Friday!
This correspondence took an unscheduled hibernation over the past few weeks, during which I flew back to California, celebrated my first Thanksgiving on U.S. soil in nearly a decade, and soaked up some sunshine — something that now only exists in Brits’ fondest memories.
While waiting in the immigration line at LAX with my British partner (whom I no longer abandon for the much faster U.S. citizen queue for fear he might not actually make it through amid the current climate), I mentioned a clip I’d seen in which the son of former U.S. presidential candidate Nikki Hayley argued that the U.S. should outlaw dual nationality. “You’re either American or not,” he told Tucker Carlson, calling it “the stupidest idea.”
Clutching my US and UK passports, I dismissed Hayley’s assertion as, well, “the stupidest idea.” Beyond the logistical nightmare of enforcing such a ban (there’s no official record of how many Americans claim multiple passports, but they’re estimated to be in the millions), it seems legally dubious too — the Supreme Court affirmed dual nationality as a recognized status in 1967.
But Hayley Jr isn’t the only one pushing the idea. Earlier this week, a Republican senator from Ohio introduced a bill that would force dual nationals to renounce their foreign citizenship and pledge “exclusive allegiance” to the United States. If they fail to comply, the bill reads, they’ll be stripped of their U.S. nationality.
I’d love to know what the 14th amendment — or the First Family (both Melania and Barron Trump claim U.S. and Slovenian citizenship) — would say about this. But in truth, I doubt the bill will survive long enough for us to find out. Then again, maybe that’s just my undiluted American optimism talking.
What I’ve worked on
Last month, I spoke with Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Lynsey Addario about her new documentary Love+War on balancing her commitment to journalism with the demands of motherhood. We also spoke about the threats facing journalists, for whom the last three years have been the deadliest on record.
The past three years have been the deadliest for journalists since the Committee to Protect Journalists began keeping records in 1992. How do you process that reality as someone who has been kidnapped twice and survived near misses?
It just shows me how threatening truth is to people and leaders around the world, particularly (in) authoritarian regimes or in places where they don’t want journalists covering stories. I was kidnapped in Libya by Gaddafi’s forces because Gaddafi did not want the world to see that there was a popular uprising. Essentially, it’s silencing truth and it’s silencing journalists.
And we see that’s happening in Gaza. No international media is allowed in. Palestinians are covering their own story and doing an extraordinary job, but the toll has been unprecedented. More than 200 journalists have been killed, and many of them clearly targeted. It’s happening with impunity. And that is often the case, sadly.
Plus:
This Culture Current Q&A with the original publisher of Harry Potter on his next chapter as well as this one with Italy’s oldest barista, aged 101
Reuters’ latest City Memos from Washington, D.C., Beijing, and Stockholm
Reuters’ new Emotional Currency column exploring the emotional side of personal finance through real stories from Gen Z and Millennials around the world. You can read our first two installments here and here
What I’ve read
This review about Olivia Nuzzi’s American Canto (if you haven’t followed the circus surrounding its publication, it will get you up to speed):
This feels like power, but it isn’t. You can tell because the only person in this story with real power is RFK Jr., and he is—I cannot believe I am typing this sentence—maintaining a dignified silence. After a decade of Trumpism, no one is bothering to even half-heartedly suggest that he should resign his high government post. He doesn’t need to “reclaim the narrative” because he’s too busy helping kids catch measles.
This piece on the aforementioned circus, and what it reveals about the state of the modern media:
Which leads me to the uncomfortable question: What happens when an industry spends 15 years telling talented young journalists that personal brand is currency, that access is the game, that being a character in the story makes better content—and then acts shocked when someone takes that logic a few degrees too far?
Here’s what we don’t say out loud: There’s no money in journalism anymore. No fame, no glamour, no prestige. But there’s lots and lots of money in media—in being a brand, an influencer, a personality. We stopped paying journalists and started rewarding performers.
The latest installment of Masha Gessen’s fascinating new series on the state of international justice:
On the day the U.N. Security Council put its seal of approval on Trump’s plan, Israel was launching airstrikes on Gaza. The next day, Gaza health officials said 76 Palestinians had been killed. Altogether, since the U.S.-brokered deal went into effect, Gaza health officials say, more than 350 Palestinians have died, most of them at the hands of Israeli forces. Israeli authorities continue to restrict the movement of humanitarian aid, so that only a small fraction has been getting in. And yet world leaders and Western media refer to what is happening in Gaza as a cease-fire, and the activists — who are peacefully opposing the carnage — are facing sanctions. This is the upside-down state of our world.
What I’m thinking about
‘Tis the season for Spotify Wrapped, which this year introduced a new feature that calculates subscribers’ “listening ages” by comparing their music habits with other age groups.
Apparently I’m 79 years old 💀
Until next time,
Yasmeen