Individual storytelling is incredibly powerful. We as journalists know intuitively what scientists of the brain are discovering through brain scans, which is that emotional stories tend to open the portals, and that once there's a connection made, people are more open to rational arguments.
Nicholas D. KristofWe, as Americans, have won the lottery of life and the distinction between us and people living in Kalighat is not that we are smarter, not that we're harder working, not that we're more virtuous - it's that we're luckier.
Nicholas D. KristofYou don't need to invade a place or install a new government to help bring about a positive change.
Nicholas D. KristofIt really is quite remarkable that Darfur has become a household name. I am gratified that's the case.
Nicholas D. KristofThe equivalent of five jumbo jets' worth of women die in labor each day, but the issue is almost never covered.
Nicholas D. KristofAmerican airstrikes...create risks, especially if our intelligence there is rusty. The crucial step, and the one we should apply diplomatic pressure to try to achieve, is for Maliki to step back and share power with Sunnis while accepting decentralization of government. If Maliki does all that, it may still be possible to save Iraq. Without that, airstrikes would be a further waste in a land in which we've already squandered far, far too much.
Nicholas D. Kristof