Tim Hirschel-Burns
@timhirschelburns.bsky.social
Working @gdp-center.bsky.social for a global economy that advances development and addresses climate change. Past: Oxfam, Yale Law, Benin. Views my own. Subscribe to my Substack: timhirschelburns.substack.com
A Haitian man legally immigrated to Ohio, then was given an ankle monitor bc Trump withdrew his status. He threw himself in front of truck. The trucker, who voted for Trump, is haunted. “Pierre was doing what he was supposed to do. We did not do right by him.” www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
A Reckoning in Springfield
A truck driver out on his route confronts what the country has become.
theatlantic.com
It drives me crazy to watch the int'l affairs wonk class memory hole global challenges + casually accept the future is geoeconomic competition, rival blocs etc Bc it's conventional wisdom no one answers how it's supposed to lead to anything but disaster timhirschelburns.substack.com/p/we-dont-ha...
We don’t have a choice
Those who’d give up on global cooperation are promising global crises
timhirschelburns.substack.com
ICYMI: What really happened to USAID? It was democratic breakdown and rightwing culture war-radicalization), says @timhirschelburns.bsky.social buff.ly/z1l5fr4
I wrote about @carlos-barragan.bsky.social's incredible book on Nigerian romance scammers—and the Nigerian romance scammer I got to know as I read it timhirschelburns.substack.com/p/the-book-t...
The book that made me video call a Nigerian romance scammer from a wedding
“The Yahoo Boys” by Carlos Barragán
timhirschelburns.substack.com
Glad to see this covered. Last year I wrote about Cudjoe Lewis and the Beninese citizenship law his descendant utilized, which makes tens of millions of black Americans—including many who do not have Beninese ancestors—eligible for a form of citizenship open.substack.com/pub/timhirsc...
40 million Black Americans are eligible for Beninese citizenship
How a recent law shows the promise and challenges of trying to right the wrongs of the past
open.substack.com
Interactive Journalism@interactives.bsky.social · 2mo agoNew on The Guardian : “Trafficked on the last US slave ship, Cudjo Lewis never returned home to Benin. But his descendant has”
Live report from the Minnesota State Fair, located in the heart of American democracy, where there’s an ICE Out adaptation of Picasso’s Guernica made entirely from crops
"We don’t need them, they need us" is a formulation Trump has used on various occasions now. It’s the core summation of how he sees the US relationship with the rest of the world. The reason it’s wrong is very simple: We need each other
Joey Politano🏳️🌈@josephpolitano.bsky.social · 2mo agoI mean just every day you wake up and he’s embarking on an even more ridiculous act of economic self harm
This is the most personal thing I've ever written, and it means a lot that people seem to have found something of value in it. If you haven't, I hope you'll give it a read too timhirschelburns.substack.com/p/joseph-gbe...
Joseph Gbenangnon Chabi, 1984-2026
Remembering a man forgotten in life
timhirschelburns.substack.com
«He couldn't countenance the idea there were rich parts of the world that could knowingly coexist with poverty like his own, whose response would be to shut out the tired &poor. He never lost confidence that humans were far better than the evidence of his life had given him reason to believe
Tim Hirschel-Burns@timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 2mo agoLast month Joseph died unexpectedly. His life was likely very different from the people you're used to encountering, but we had enough in common to share an unusual friendship for 9 years. It would mean a lot if you took a little time to read about him timhirschelburns.substack.com/p/joseph-gbe...
Last month Joseph died unexpectedly. His life was likely very different from the people you're used to encountering, but we had enough in common to share an unusual friendship for 9 years. It would mean a lot if you took a little time to read about him timhirschelburns.substack.com/p/joseph-gbe...
Joseph Gbenangnon Chabi, 1984-2026
Remembering a man forgotten in life
timhirschelburns.substack.com
I used Our World in Data's awesome new page to make 10 charts on global inequality. Here's the per person income level of 10th percentile, median, and 90th percentile of the global income distribution (adjusted for cost of living differences). The typical human lives on just $3,521 per year
Zero people died because of DOGE. Ok maybe people died but it was MacKenzie Scott's fault. And the government needed to cut costs. Well sure, even by DOGE's own account they saved 10% of what they originally promised. And fine much of that 10% didn't happen www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
Elon Musk’s DOGE made big errors in claims of government savings, GAO finds
The government watchdog found that billions of dollars in DOGE’s public tally could not be verified and that some claimed cuts never happened.
washingtonpost.com
In which I critique Western libs, hawks, and restrainers alike 🔽 timhirschelburns.substack.com/p/its-the-gl...
It's the (global) economy, stupid
To people around the world, the most important thing is their standard of living. Why doesn't foreign policy recognize that?
timhirschelburns.substack.com
This map is the centerpiece of my new Substack. It shows what people think is democracy's #1 purpose. Yellow="improving living standards + well-being" Purple="protecting individual rights + freedoms" This should have big implications for our worldview timhirschelburns.substack.com/p/its-the-gl...
While Americans favor acting on the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for Netanyahu by a wide margin, the State Department is openly running a campaign to dismantle the ICC
Prem Thakker ツ@premthakker.bsky.social · 3mo agoNew poll: Americans believe the U.S. should arrest Benjamin Netanyahu by a +22 margin Total: 49-27 Black: 53-13 Hispanic: 52-15 Ages 18-29: 58-17 Harris voters: 74-10 Independents: 55-20 23% of Trump voters agree as well Economist/YouGov:
🚨NEW POST🚨 Domestically, we generally recognize Americans' top concerns are economic: jobs, housing, health care. But when we think about foreign policy, suddenly the economy goes missing timhirschelburns.substack.com/p/its-the-gl...
It's the (global) economy, stupid
To people around the world, the most important thing is their standard of living. Why doesn't foreign policy recognize that?
timhirschelburns.substack.com
Tragic: Overland couple killed in Guatemala after being deported by ICE | STLPR www.stlpr.org/law-order/20...
Overland couple shot dead in Guatemala after local ICE stop led to deportations
The couple’s 14-month-old daughter was found crying beside her mother’s body in a sugarcane field last week, according to Guatemalan authorities and media.
stlpr.org
The line between climate hushing and climate denial is getting awfully thin
So in the last week: -50% tariff on Canada (under the infamous Smoot-Hawley Act) -25% tariff on Brazil for "unfair trade practices" (the US has a trade surplus w/ Brazil) -10% tariff on 60 countries for allegedly allowing forced labor in supply chains (a very sincere concern of the Trump admin)
Financial Times@financialtimes.com · 3mo agoThe levies, which are based on the outcome of an investigation by the US trade representative’s office, will go into effect when Donald Trump's current 10% global duties expire. ft.trib.al/Q8sNd68
In case you didn’t have enough reasons to love Spanish football, here’s some more wholesome content of the male players paying their respects to the women’s team, which also won the world cup www.instagram.com/reel/DbEsgxe...
There's that quip "God created war so that Americans would learn geography." Well if phase one of the war taught us why the Strait of Hormuz is important, people are about to learn why it really matters that the Bab al-Mandab Strait is in play too
Financial Times@financialtimes.com · 3mo agoBreaking: Oil prices hit $100 a barrel on Thursday for the first time since May, after attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi militants in the Red Sea threatened to squeeze global supplies further and reignite a global inflation shock. Read more: ft.trib.al/ETy1Fo6
Just came across this photo of a World Cup screening in Gaza. Wow (Mohammed Skaik/TheNews2/Cover Images)
Looks like a normal real estate agent profile, right? Oh, his last listed sale was two years ago. Wonder what he's been up to since? This man is now the US government's head of international disaster and humanitarian response. Yes, you are looking at a senior State Department official
First country to hold the men’s and women’s World Cups at the same time. Europe’s strongest voice against militarism and genocide in Gaza. Actively expanding immigration and enjoying one of Europe’s best economies. A great country!
Well, this will be fun in a few minutes
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3mo agoTrump: "Spain is a wasted cause. We don't want to do any trade business with Spain anymore, by the way. I'd like to cut it off. Spain is a terrible partner in NATO. Cut off all trade with Spain, please. Including visits. We don't want anything to do. They're hopeless. Bad people."
Hot take to spice up a dull game: people freak out over flopping because it’s perceived as soft and effeminate but the much bigger problem for opponents’ safety and their team’s success is mindless machismo
Tim Hirschel-Burns@timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 3mo agoExceptionally in character from Enzo Fernandez
Exceptionally in character from Enzo Fernandez