I was a contributing Associate Editor for Northern Slant for four years from 2017 to 2021, writing primarily about US and global politics and their broader implications. Here’s a selection of articles from that period.
Trick or Treat For Biden? – October 30, 2021
As Trump’s Legal Woes Mount, The GOP Doubles Down – May 29, 2021
On Eve of 100 Days, Biden Offers Bold Agenda – April 29, 2021
‘We Are Able To Breathe Again’ – April 21, 2021
History At Stake As (Second) Impeachment Trial Begins – February 9, 2021
From The Big Lie To A Great Undoing – January 19, 2021
Looking For A Soul To Steal – January 4, 2021
Biden – Finally – Wins Presidency (a compilation of daily columns documenting the chaos for the four days after the election when Donald Trump refused to concede)
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In October 2020, my Northern Slant colleagues and I hosted a virtual discussion about the impending election. (The panel had been postponed from March that year due to Covid.)
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Party Of One – August 24, 2020
Enemies And Endgames – July 27, 2020
Tipping Point For The Bully Pulpit? – April 28, 2020
L’Etat C’est Moi – April 16, 2020
In Pivotal Week, Virus Leaves Politics In Disarray – April 10 2020
You Come At The King, You Best Not Miss… – February 5, 2020
Trump Impeached In Day Of Acrimony – December 19, 2019
Tanks, But No Tanks – July 3, 2019
The State Of Our Union Is Dysfunctional – February 6, 2019
They’re Laughing Their Asses Off In Moscow – March 19, 2018
Trump’s ‘New American Moment’ – January 31, 2018
Just Another Firing, Or A Smoking Gun? – May 10, 2017
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I recorded some short commentary videos like these from the US promoting NS coverage:
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In addition to US politics, I wrote about some other topics – here are a few examples:
Above The Fold – December 1, 2020 (review of Dublin photographer Noel Bowler’s book and exhibition looking at iconic newspapers of the world)
Tributes Pour In For Peacemaker John Hume – August 3, 2020
Wait Til’ Next Year? – May 22, 2020 (The effect of the pandemic on sports worldwide)
DC Home To Both National Pastimes – October 26, 2019 (Politics and the World Series)
Make America Greta Again – September 2, 2019 (Greta Thunberg at the UN)
‘Everything Is Getting Much Worse, Much Faster, Everywhere’ – August 11, 2019 (Jonathan Porritt and environmental catastrophe)
Dublin Gets A Reporting Masterclass – June 16, 2019 (Woodward and Bernstein talk about America from Watergate to Trump)
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Football Wins – May 9, 2019 (Liverpool and Tottenham face each other in the Champions League final, with echoes of Brexit)
Are You Running For Something? – January 27, 2019 (The election cycle turns again…)
How Finn McCool Gives Me Hope – January 6, 2019 (ice hockey and Belfast’s future)
National Treasures – November 2, 2018 (a poetry reading with two of Ireland’s masters)
‘We Are Not The Enemy’ – July 4 2018 (American journalism and the deadly shooting at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, MD.)
PJ’s Field Of Dreams – (A Belfast-born ballpayer makes his MLB debut)
227 Days And Counting. What Happens Now? – March 26, 2018 (The ‘March For Our Lives’ in Washington DC)
Generation Next? – February 26, 2018 (Fallout from the Parkland shooting)
A Place In The World – September 11, 2017
The Man Who Should Be President – May 4, 2017 (Theo Epstein, baseball and politics)
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Movies and Shakers – A six-part summer series on movies, music and TV from both sides of the Atlantic with a political theme.
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Along with colleagues, I also wrote a weekly news roundup, The Week in Five Points, and, for about a year as the Covid pandemic was taking hold, I pulled together a weekly digest of local virus-related news items.
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There’s a more complete archive – of first drafts – at Medium.
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Ahead of Britain’s 2019 General Election, I discussed the importance of newspapers and the written word in covering political campaigns with Jess Lawrence and Lisa Whitten. It was part of a longer collaborative series leading up to election day itself, when I wrote our wrap-up piece.
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Election Night Wrap-Up – December 12, 2019
Issues Or Identity – Northern Ireland votes: A Northern Slant event – December 11, 2019
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States of Play 