I was back on WCAX last night, discussing President Trump’s statements at the UN General Assembly meeting. We talked about his foreign policy approach, and specific policies on Iran and Israel. You can watch here.

I’ve had two media appearances recently. I talked with a reporter from the Religion News Service for an article on an international religious freedom summit the Trump Administration recently held. And I returned to Burlington, VT TV station WCAX to discuss the Trump Administration’s recent imposition of sanctions on Iran.

I was quoted in this article from Religion News Service, about a major international religious freedom gathering that happened last week. I used to work with many of the groups involved, and was a little concerned about the effectiveness of the gathering.

I was on WCAX, Vermont’s CBS affiliate, twice recently to discuss the US airstrikes against Syria. I appeared on a segment immediately after the strikes, and came back a few days later to discuss their effects with their anchor. We watch WCAX at home, so it was great to be able to contribute to Vermonters’ understanding of these important issues.

I’ve also had a report published with the Center for American Progress on how and why we should help religious minorities (like Christians) in Iraq. I hope the report will be of interest to those following this issue or concerned about religious repression and human rights.

I have an op-ed in The Globe Post on Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. I discuss how these laws are used to target Christians and other religious minorities, and how the international community can engage with potential reformers.

My book on Islam and counterterrorism, published by Cambridge University Press, is now out in paperback. This makes it a lot more affordable for anyone who was interested, but was turned off by the $80 hardcover price.

I spoke with VT Digger yesterday about an effort by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders (in cooperation with Senators Mike Lee and Chris Murphy) to increase accountability over US involvement in Yemen. VT Digger does great, in-depth reporting on Vermont issues so I was excited to contribute to one of their stories.

My forthcoming article with The Journal of Church and State is now available online. In it, I found that states that are more active on the UN Human Rights Council have higher levels of religious repression. I argued this was due to states using their seats on the Council to deflect criticism of their record. It should be of interest to scholars working on religious politics, as well as policy experts and advocates working on religious freedom and human rights.

I had two media appearances recently.

The first was with WION, an Indian news station. We discussed the recent release by Pakistan of Hafiz Saeed, founder of the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba. Unfortunately, a clip is not available.

Additionally, I was excited to appear on WCAX (Channel 3 in Burlington) to discuss Trump’s recent policy changes on Jerusalem. This is the news station I watch at home, so it was great to meet everyone in person. A link to the appearance is available here.

This week I am in Washington, DC, attending the ISAC/ISSS conference–APSA and ISA’s international security section conference–held at American University. I am presenting my new research on Middle East conflicts, a paper analyzing how informal hierarchy and status competition contributed to the Six Day War.