Daniel Block

What will happen next in America's war with Iran? For @foreignaffairs.com, I spoke with @alivaez.bsky.social and Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar to find out: www.foreignaffairs.com/podcasts/ira...

How might the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran end? And what will happen to the regime and the region when it does? To find out, I spoke @osto.bsky.social and Sanam Vakil for this week’s episode of the @foreignaffairs.com podcast: www.foreignaffairs.com/podcasts/ira...

If Iranians respond to America’s attacks by rising up and overthrowing the Islamic Republic, it will be the first time in history that a U.S. bombing campaign incited a revolution. Me in @politico.com: www.politico.com/news/magazin...

The United States has gone to war with Iran, and Donald Trump says the goal is to overthrow the regime. Here are the many, many ways this could go terribly wrong: www.politico.com/news/magazin...

ANALYSIS: You might not like what comes next in Iran, writes Foreign Affairs editor Daniel Block. "The regime has ruthlessly snuffed out its competition, making it impossible to cleanly replace. What comes next may therefore not be better. In fact, it could be worse."

It's easy to see why many want Trump to attack Iran and topple the government. The regime is horribly violent and corrupt. But there's nothing bad that can't be worse, so I wrote for @politico.com about why you might hate what follows the Islamic Republic: www.politico.com/news/magazin...

As Iranians flood the streets to protest the Islamic Republic, Reza Pahlavi has presented himself as Iran's next leader. He's called for demonstrations. He's asked Trump to intervene. I profiled Pahlavi—and what his controversial efforts might yield—for @politico.com:

What do Venezuelans want, now that Maduro is gone? And what does their future actually hold? To find out, I spoke with Francisco Rodríguez for @foreignaffairs.com:

To see how American journalists can survive Trump's autocratic onslaught, I collected advice from people with extensive, first-hand expertise: reporters in India. My latest for @politico.com: www.politico.com/news/magazin...

What does Israel's attack mean for the Middle East? And will the United States also end up striking Iran? To find out, @foreignaffairs.com spoke with Daniel Shapiro, the former assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East: www.foreignaffairs.com/iran/dan-sha...

Canada’s Liberals are the most successful progressive party in the Western world, and possibly the whole world. Me for @theatlantic.com: www.theatlantic.com/internationa...

"In 2025, worrying about the fate of American democracy has become almost passé." -Steven Levitsky and @lucanway.bsky.social, on how the resistance has gone away when it's needed most. www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...

In a Q&A with Senior Editor Daniel Block, @abuaardvark.bsky.social considers what the Gaza cease-fire will mean for the Israelis, the Palestinians, and the Middle East.

After months of devastation and tens of thousands of deaths, Israel and Hamas have a ceasefire agreement. What does it mean, and what comes next? To find out, I spoke with Marc Lynch for @foreignaffairs.com: www.foreignaffairs.com/middle-east/...

“The Park City strike illustrates just how distorted the American ski business has become, both for workers and for visitors,” writes Daniel Block. “Central to the malaise is one trend: monopolization”:

I don't normally write about personal stuff. But in the wake of the Park City strike, I had to. Here's what it's like to work at a large ski mountain, and how corporations have made the sport worse. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

here’s a utopian idea for the future: North America Schengen Zone

The "winners" of the 2024 Lown Institute's Shrkeli Awards for health care profiteering include UnitedHealthcare; an air ambulance company that charged $97,599; and a University of North Texas facility that allegedly sold body parts without notifying next of kin. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

“Ten New Ideas for the Democratic Party to Help the Working Class, and Itself.” From @glastris.bsky.social in the new issue of the @washingtonmonthly.bsky.social washingtonmonthly.com/2025/01/05/t...

A great story on economist soul-searching from @bencasselman.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/01/10/b...

seems like a pretty ripe time for someone to introduce a new photo and/or social video app

"Mom just told me that her friend sent her some new photographs: My childhood home, which she and my Dad built together in Topanga Canyon, may be gone." Such a moving essay by @nancywalecki.bsky.social www.theatlantic.com/science/arch...

A pretty standard bit of conventional wisdom over the past 10+ years: moving to the left on immigration policy might lose you some white voters, but it'll sure win you a lot of Latino voters. The second part turns out to maybe never have been true. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Oh, this is very cool: The Atlantic now has a feature—that red "Follow" link on the author page—allowing you to sign up for email alerts for any writer you want. Like, oh, I don't know ... www.theatlantic.com/author/gilad...

The only thing I would add to this nice little parenting essay is that the advice applies to the rest of life, too. Enjoy things while they're happening! www.theatlantic.com/family/archi...

The truth is that men aren’t thinking about the Roman Empire, or the Middle Ages, they’re thinking about @mikeduncan.bsky.social’s chronicle of a fictitious revolution on Mars.

This data-rich @foreignaffairs.com piece by Michael Beckley is the best explanation I've seen of American politics, both foreign and domestic. The sources of our strength are also, increasingly, the sources of our dysfunction.

“Money alone will not prepare communities for weather of historic extremes.” To build resilience to climate-fueled disasters, governments must think strategically about how to reduce devastation, argued Alice Hill in a 2023 essay.

Mets superfan — and Cavs star — Donovan Mitchell is PUMPED that Juan Soto is heading to Queens.

“Violinists have the Stradivarius. Sneakerheads have the Air Jordan 1. Pizza degenerates like me have the Ooni.” @saahildesai.bsky.social on his singular, pointless quest to make the best pie possible:

Congrats to the winners of @foreignaffairs.com’s best books of the year, including @himself.bsky.social @radchenko.bsky.social @mireyasolis.bsky.social @dahliasc.bsky.social Saleha Mohsin, Nathan Thrall, Adam Shatz, Joya Chatterji, Simon Shuster, and Anna Reid. www.foreignaffairs.com/lists/best-b...

On the latest episode of “The Foreign Affairs Interview,” Mara Karlin discusses how the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East are transforming the nature of warfare. Start listening here: fam.ag/4ijYGEB

“India is not nervous about a Trump administration,” writes @tanvimadan.bsky.social. “New Delhi is more prepared for the president-elect than it was in 2016. It has accumulated experience in dealing with Trump and his team.”

In this list, explore the very best of the hundreds of books on international politics, economics, and history that were featured in the magazine this year, selected by Foreign Affairs’ editors and book reviewers:

i think people are going to have a really hard time accepting that higher turnout wouldn't have helped Kamala Harris. Motivating/mobilizing as many voters as possible has just been core to Democratic strategy for my whole adult life www.nytimes.com/2024/12/03/b...

India won't get stronger by pointlessly angering its friends.

“For Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, strength is everything. At home, that means repressing minorities and co-opting the press,” writes Daniel Block. Abroad, it may mean “political assassinations on friendly soil,” despite the reputational toll on India:

Trying to hire an undercover DEA agent to kill someone on U.S. soil is not the best strategy for empowering your country. Me in @theatlantic.com, on the Indian government's seemingly pointless efforts to assassinate Sikhs separatists.

Holiday shopping season too often means holiday scams if you're poor. Here's an ad for "refund advance loans" aimed at low-income taxpayers. A *four-week* loan for $1,500 costs $110.95 in interest - not including tax prep and other fees. www.jacksonhewitt.com/refund-advan...

Very true. Have been so grateful for the thoughtful notes I’ve received from readers, even critical ones!

got to work with the amazing Today, Explained team today for their new episode on volunteering. Hear from me, Robert Putnam, my mom… podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Absolutely eye-popping result from a survey conducted by @dyudkin.bsky.social and @stephen-hawkins.bsky.social. Americans generally believe that Democrats are obsessed with LGBT issues—but it's not true. www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

“Some current and former staffers further argued the vacancies contributed to obstacles for the Trump administration, such as shortcomings that created openings for legal challenges against oil-drilling plans”