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
Five years ago today, Cubans took to the streets in protest. They showed that the future of Cuba must be decided by its people—the central idea that Oswaldo Payá held in creating the Varela Project. You can find the whole story in “Give Me Liberty.” davidehoffman.com
Give Me Liberty – The True Story of Oswaldo Payá and His Daring Quest for a Free Cuba
davidehoffman.com
An amazing archival discovery in London. Happy 4th! news.enews.nationalarchives.gov.uk/B4FCD4734139...
Special Announcement - major new discovery at The National Archives
news.enews.nationalarchives.gov.uk
@FT says of Cuba‘s regime, “Seven decades of authoritarian, one-party rule have choked off any potential opposition.” www.ft.com/content/751b... via @ft. But there WAS a strong opposition, the Varela Project and Oswaldo Payá. They killed him but the dream lives on.
The NYT gets this exactly right — measles is the canary in the coal mine. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/25/o...
Opinion | Measles Is Back. What Comes Next Will Be Worse.
nytimes.com
One of the best— Kevin Klose, Who Made NPR a Reporting Powerhouse, Dies at 85 www.nytimes.com/2026/04/17/b...
Kevin Klose, Who Made NPR a Reporting Powerhouse, Dies at 85
nytimes.com
From Andy Weber: I Spent Two Decades Securing Nuclear Materials. Getting at Iran’s Would Not Be Easy. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/20/o...
Opinion | I Spent Two Decades Securing Nuclear Materials. Getting at Iran’s Would Not Be Easy.
nytimes.com
To catch up with the Iran revolution there is a deeply-researched and compelling new book coming in June co-authored by Yeganeh Torbati @yjtorbati and you can pre-order now! www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/737493...
Stolen Revolution by Yeganeh Torbati, Bozorgmehr Sharafedin: 9780385550314 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
A moving, harrowing, and compulsively readable portrait of the lives of Iranians across five decades, tracing the promise of the 1979 revolution, its betrayal by forces of autocracy, and a people’s...
penguinrandomhouse.com
This just shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how to do news. Data helps, but data doesn’t tell a reporter to spend a years-long investigation into child labor or an editor to place staff in a country on the brink of war. What exactly does Bezos think WaPo’s “journalistic mission” is?
max tani @maxtani.bsky.social · 6mo agoJeff Bezos' statement, his first since last week's layoffs: "The Post has an essential journalistic mission and an extraordinary opportunity. Each and every day our readers give us a roadmap to success. The data tells us what is valuable and where to focus."
For a powerful look inside Russia today, see “Mr. Nobody Against Putin” — a remarkable, poignant and revealing documentary. One teacher‘s honesty and integrity shines as a dark cloud settles on his school.
In Foreign Affiars, a must-read piece from Michael Bustamante @mjbusta.bsky.social on Cuba: “Cuba’s cascading problems are now so severe that even a more dynamic private sector would be insufficient to fix them” www.foreignaffairs.com/cuba/cuba-br...
Cuba on the Brink
Where will the island’s crisis end?
foreignaffairs.com
Michael J Bustamante@mjbusta.bsky.social · 7mo agoMy new essay for Foreign Affairs. “On the brink…”, not of political change, but of citizens' tolerance and patience. That has not happened overnight. This crisis has been acute and sudden (especially since the pandemic), but also a slow moving train. www.foreignaffairs.com/cuba/cuba-br...
I am very sad to report the passing of my mentor and colleague at The Washington Post, Lou Cannon. He was a generous, patient tutor and a journalist of the highest order. RIP, my friend. www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2...
Lou Cannon, Post reporter and preeminent Reagan biographer, dies at 92
His books on Reagan “have never been transcended,” said presidential historian Douglas Brinkley.
washingtonpost.com
We’ve lost one of the leading nuclear historians and archivists, Bill Burr of the @nsarchive.bsky.social He was a constant source of advice, documents and inspiration. nsarchive.gwu.edu/news/2025-12...
In Memoriam: Dr. William Burr, 1949-2025
Washington, D.C., December 15, 2025 - The National Security Archive mourns the passing of our beloved colleague William Burr, the documentary leader of the nuclear history field, on December 11, 2025....
nsarchive.gwu.edu
This is one of the most urgent cases of wrongful imprisonment around the globe—and there are many. Ales is the founder of the Belarus human rights group Viasna and is unwell. He must be freed. t.me/MAYDAYMog/55...
MAYDAY.TEAM
t.me
Kate Woodsome explores what made Katherine Graham a reluctant warrior for democracy under stress. open.substack.com/pub/katewood...
The reluctant warrior: What Katharine Graham teaches us about democracy under stress
I joined Bob Woodward and Donald Graham to reflect on leadership, truth, and mental health.
open.substack.com
Kate Woodsome is smart and ambitious about saving democracy — and our sanity. open.substack.com/pub/katewood...
Why your brain can't tell the difference between a charging bear and your dad's political takes
The hidden nervous system crisis straining families (and democracy) — plus 4 ways to stay grounded during the holidays.
open.substack.com
A lot of very talented people at @hrw.org just got laid off.
Andrew Stroehlein@andrewstroehlein.bsky.social · 10mo agoSome personal news...
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.
washingtonpost.com
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.
statnews.com
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.
miamiherald.com
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...
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
nytimes.com
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
theguardian.com
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
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
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.
washingtonpost.com
