Introduction to The Adret
Adret /əˈdɹeɪ/ -- The sun-facing side of a mountain.
Welcome!
The Adret is a newsletter dedicated to curating articles, essays, and stories about national and international issues. The first “project” within The Adret is a monthly compilation of the best pieces I have read in the previous month. Each piece will generally fit into three criteria:
An underreported story, either from a place or issue area that receives little media attention in the United States.
A piece that challenges assumptions about the world we live in or how we tackle society’s challenges.
A work that inspires realistic, equitable, and context-driven change.
All three allude to the symbol of an adret: the world faces daunting challenges (the mountain) that are more easily overcome with good information (sunlight).
By compiling this newsletter, my aim to contribute to addressing the deluge of information from social media and news apps that are often focused on immediate reactions and short-term problems and solutions. For me, these often lead to a feeling of powerlessness and despair, so my approach is to be cautiously optimistic and deliberately slow.
The Adret is a platform for curation because there is no shortage of good, incisive, and inspiring writing out there waiting to be read.
For the reader, I hope you take your time reading, processing, and sharing the suggested articles. So, I invite you to subscribe, appreciate the fascinating stories and pieces out there, and look for inspiration on the sun-facing side.
Project 1: The Best of Each Month
“The Best of ____” will typically be published on the first of the following month. Each newsletter/post will include 10-15 items summarized in one sentence with a link to the source.
On culture
At the time of starting this newsletter, I find that one of the greatest weaknesses of many of us working in politics/policy is the fear of commenting on culture. Everything from the arts to food to how we speak influences politics and is influenced by politics. So, occasionally I will include certain bits of music, TV, movies, theater, or pop culture from the last month that fit the three criteria of The Adret.
About the author
I am a national security professional with experience working in the U.S. government and private sector consulting on international affairs. My interests include Global North-South relations, Geoeconomics, climate, emerging technology, elections, and advocacy for breakfast food.
Caveats
While most of the pieces here share some of my views, I do not necessarily agree with all of the perspectives, nor endorse the broader views of any of the authors. By sharing them, I think they are worth reading and fit one of the criteria above.
Inevitably, the collection of these newsletters will eventually hint at or reflect my own opinions. However, like all good opinions, they are likely to change.
I will often share articles behind paywalls. Excellent authors deserve to be compensated, so I encourage supporting the publications that employ them, if your finances allow.