David E. Hoffman
@davidehoffman.bsky.social
davidehoffman.com — The Oligarchs, The Dead Hand, The Billion Dollar Spy, and Give Me Liberty. Washington Post 2023 editorial series “Annals of Autocracy”: https://wapo.st/3K8LVNd
NetFreedom Pioneers reached millions of Iranians with satellite filecasting technology. Now they’ve stopped, because of Trump holdups in funding. Worrisome pullback. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
U.S. funding break leaves Iran internet freedom projects in peril
The State Department has not signed off on new funding for programs that help Iranian citizens evade internet censorship, potentially crippling a policy with bipartisan support.
www.washingtonpost.com
August 26, 2025 at 12:00 AM
NetFreedom Pioneers reached millions of Iranians with satellite filecasting technology. Now they’ve stopped, because of Trump holdups in funding. Worrisome pullback. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Reposted by David E. Hoffman
Pandemic preparedness in the US has been leveled a crippling blow with the cancellation of multiple #BARDA contracts to help develop mRNA vaccines. No other vaccine platform produces vaccine so quickly; without mRNA, Americans will have a long wait for pandemic vax. www.statnews.com/2025/08/05/m...
Health secretary RFK Jr. shuts door on U.S. investment in mRNA vaccine research
Vaccine experts and people steeped in pandemic preparedness expressed horror at the news that RFK Jr. has shut the door in U.S. investment in mRNA vaccine research.
www.statnews.com
August 5, 2025 at 10:59 PM
Pandemic preparedness in the US has been leveled a crippling blow with the cancellation of multiple #BARDA contracts to help develop mRNA vaccines. No other vaccine platform produces vaccine so quickly; without mRNA, Americans will have a long wait for pandemic vax. www.statnews.com/2025/08/05/m...
Nora Gamez Tórres has another major scoop on Cuba—while its people suffer, the military has a massive, secret cash hoard. www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-...
Where is Cuba’s money? Secret records show the military has massive cash hoard
In the midst of the misery plaguing the island, the Cuban military has dollar reserves larger than the international reserves of nations like Costa Rica, Uruguay and Panama.
www.miamiherald.com
August 6, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Nora Gamez Tórres has another major scoop on Cuba—while its people suffer, the military has a massive, secret cash hoard. www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-...
If you are wondering what is this fabled “Dead Hand” that Dmitry Medvedev is threatening with, I’ve got you covered. www.davidehoffman.com/the-dead-han...
August 1, 2025 at 7:22 PM
If you are wondering what is this fabled “Dead Hand” that Dmitry Medvedev is threatening with, I’ve got you covered. www.davidehoffman.com/the-dead-han...
Another journalist life and legacy worth our time today wapo.st/4lP9onV
Morton Mintz, Post reporter with a muckraker spirit, dies at 103
A pioneer in consumer affairs journalism, he helped expose the deformity-causing hazards posed by thalidomide, a once-popular drug for morning sickness.
wapo.st
July 29, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Another journalist life and legacy worth our time today wapo.st/4lP9onV
In an inspiring and moving tribute, the National Endowment for Democracy today awarded the Democracy Service Medal posthumously to the Cuban democracy fighter Oswaldo Payá on the 13th anniversary of his murder by the Castro regime. From L: Reinaldo, Rosa María, Ofelia and Oswaldito accept the award
July 23, 2025 at 1:32 AM
In an inspiring and moving tribute, the National Endowment for Democracy today awarded the Democracy Service Medal posthumously to the Cuban democracy fighter Oswaldo Payá on the 13th anniversary of his murder by the Castro regime. From L: Reinaldo, Rosa María, Ofelia and Oswaldito accept the award
The author of Gorky Park had only spent two weeks in Russia before writing the huge bestseller. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/16/b...
Martin Cruz Smith, Best-Selling Author of ‘Gorky Park,’ Dies at 82
www.nytimes.com
July 17, 2025 at 1:14 PM
The author of Gorky Park had only spent two weeks in Russia before writing the huge bestseller. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/16/b...
Sometimes the most important news is not on the front page: a culprit has been identified in the great (terrible) honeybee die-off. And this is very worrisome: mites that are resistant. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘Could become a death spiral’: scientists discover what’s driving record die-offs of US honeybees
Experts scrambling to understand losses in hives across the country are finally identifying the culprits. And the damage to farmed bees is a sign of trouble for wild bees too
www.theguardian.com
July 17, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Sometimes the most important news is not on the front page: a culprit has been identified in the great (terrible) honeybee die-off. And this is very worrisome: mites that are resistant. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
The Washington Post opinions has published a five-part series, The Next Nuclear Age, which concludes today with a look at how suddenly a nuclear war could begin. wapo.st/4npIWCp
Opinion | How a nuclear attack on the U.S. might unfold, step by step
A scenario of America’s response to an incoming nuclear attack.
wapo.st
July 2, 2025 at 12:27 PM
The Washington Post opinions has published a five-part series, The Next Nuclear Age, which concludes today with a look at how suddenly a nuclear war could begin. wapo.st/4npIWCp
Join us TODAY to talk about Russia’s century of deep cover spies. carnegieendowment.org/events/2025/...
The Illegals: A Conversation With Shaun Walker on the Untold Story of Russia’s Deep-Cover Spies
For more than a century, Soviet and Russian spymasters have poured enormous resources into the training and deployment of deep-cover spies known as “illegals.” These agents live behind enemy lines for...
carnegieendowment.org
June 26, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Join us TODAY to talk about Russia’s century of deep cover spies. carnegieendowment.org/events/2025/...
Accidents and mishaps are a fact of life with nuclear weapons. The next nuclear age is coming. To understand how it might all go wrong, look at how it almost did. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/int...
Opinion | How nuclear war could start
Nuclear accidents are a fact of life for as long as these weapons exist.
www.washingtonpost.com
June 11, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Accidents and mishaps are a fact of life with nuclear weapons. The next nuclear age is coming. To understand how it might all go wrong, look at how it almost did. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/int...
We are entering a new age of nuclear weapons--and the outlook is deeply worrisome. A new opinion series in The Washington Post explains why. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/int...
Opinion | Why we should worry about nuclear weapons again
Deadlier weapons, more nations, autocrats in charge, disinformation, and collapsing arms control — the risk of nuclear catastrophe is back.
www.washingtonpost.com
June 4, 2025 at 1:14 PM
We are entering a new age of nuclear weapons--and the outlook is deeply worrisome. A new opinion series in The Washington Post explains why. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/int...
This melancholy but powerful new book from Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan is out today and tells the heart-wrenching story of hopes born and dashed — their own — in Russia. Two great journalists open their souls.
June 4, 2025 at 2:00 AM
This melancholy but powerful new book from Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan is out today and tells the heart-wrenching story of hopes born and dashed — their own — in Russia. Two great journalists open their souls.
A good essay — rights can’t be taken away like this. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Opinion | No, Trump can’t force his agenda on U.S. entities. They have rights.
The government cannot withhold benefits because it doesn’t like how people exercise their rights.
www.washingtonpost.com
May 24, 2025 at 4:05 PM
A good essay — rights can’t be taken away like this. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Thinking today of my Wash Post colleague Jamal Khashoggi — Saudi exponent of democracy, murdered for his views by thugs sent from the Kingdom. His body never found.
May 13, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Thinking today of my Wash Post colleague Jamal Khashoggi — Saudi exponent of democracy, murdered for his views by thugs sent from the Kingdom. His body never found.
Reposted by David E. Hoffman
Pretty cool opportunity at the International Spy Museum. These don’t come around very often…
Historian & Curator
Job Opportunity: The International Spy Museum is searching for a Historian & Curator to join our Exhibitions and Collections team. Our new museum is located at L’Enfant Plaza.
www.spymuseum.org
May 8, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Pretty cool opportunity at the International Spy Museum. These don’t come around very often…
Ruth Marcus is a must-read, now in The New Yorker.
“Thank God for the Supreme Court. This is not a sentence that I have been accustomed to typing in recent years—not since President Trump, during his first term, engineered a six-Justice conservative super-majority.”
www.newyorker.com/news/the-led...
www.newyorker.com/news/the-led...
The Supreme Court Finally Takes on Trump
In an overnight ruling, the Justices defended the rule of law. Will their toughness last?
www.newyorker.com
April 22, 2025 at 11:57 AM
Ruth Marcus is a must-read, now in The New Yorker.
Martin Wolf nails it in today’s @FT — “The cult of the strongman is a perennial folly.”
April 16, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Martin Wolf nails it in today’s @FT — “The cult of the strongman is a perennial folly.”
Saddened at the passing of Mario Vargas Llosa, who was unwavering in his support for Oswaldo Payá and his Varela Project — a quest for democracy and freedom in a dictatorship. Condolences to his family. He wrote this for “Give Me Liberty”:
April 14, 2025 at 3:14 AM
Saddened at the passing of Mario Vargas Llosa, who was unwavering in his support for Oswaldo Payá and his Varela Project — a quest for democracy and freedom in a dictatorship. Condolences to his family. He wrote this for “Give Me Liberty”:
One million Americans died, just a few years ago. Have we learned nothing at all from the calamity?
April 12, 2025 at 8:26 PM
One million Americans died, just a few years ago. Have we learned nothing at all from the calamity?
This is a tragedy of the first order—a self-inflicted wound on an institution that represents the best of our democracy and civil society. Do you think there is anything like it in Moscow or Beijing?
April 8, 2025 at 4:35 AM
This is a tragedy of the first order—a self-inflicted wound on an institution that represents the best of our democracy and civil society. Do you think there is anything like it in Moscow or Beijing?