My latest book is Pills, Powder and Smoke: Inside the Bloody War on Drugs. I was recently interviewed on US podcast, The Way, about the drug war, why it’s so hard to end and why things are slowly changing:
Showing all posts tagged human rights
Art, war and another Afghanistan
Last week I spoke on a panel at Melbourne’s Wheeler Centre on “Art, War and Another Afghanistan” alongside photographer Barat Ali Batoor, human rights lawyer and activist Diana Sayed, Afghan football player and recently arrived from Kabul, Fatima Yousufi (who was featured in a recent New York Times story), and Hazara musician Taqi Khan. Afghanistan…
How much do we owe Afghan refugees?
My new piece for Declassified Australia on the disparity between Afghan and Ukrainian refugees and how Australia (and the US) view the neediest people on the planet: Around 6,000 humanitarian visas have been granted to Afghan refugees in the 12 months since the end of the US occupation in August 2021. This is from a total of…
The Kafkaesque nightmare for Halabi
My latest story for Israeli/Palestinian outlet +972 Magazine on the shameful case of imprisoned Palestinian Mohammed El-Halabi. I’ve been reporting on this story for years, here’s my +972 Magazine investigation from 2019, and it speaks to the systematic injustice meted out to Palestinians. Here’s my new piece: Kafka in Gaza: How Israel turned a Palestinian…
Twenty Years plus since Taliban takeover of Afghanistan
The Twenty Years project is a collaboration between Afghan artists, journalists and a number of Australians, including me, about the legacy of the US-led war in Afghanistan. There was recently a major exhibition at Blacktown Arts gallery in Sydney, Australia featuring Afghan artists Khadim Ali, Elyas Alavi, Orna Kazimi, Najiba Noori, Melbourne-based artist Tia Kass…
“August in Kabul” is compelling book on Afghanistan
My book review in the Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne Age: AFGHANISTAN August in Kabul Andrew Quilty MUP, $34.99 Matthieu Aikins is a journalist who has spent extended periods in Afghanistan, including stints with The New York Times. Early this year, he told The Columbia Journalism Review that his whole profession had often failed when…
How legalising drugs reaches India
My book, Pills, Powder and Smoke: Inside the Bloody War on Drugs, was published in an Indian edition in 2020. It’s therefore gratifying to see how its message is reaching Indians with the publication of this letter in The Shillong Times, a newspaper in north-east India: Editor, Pockets of Shillong are witnessing a rise in…
New Zealand Earthwise radio interview on Assange, Wikileaks and Palestine
I was recently interviewed by the New Zealand’s radio program, Earthwise, on Wikileaks, Julian Assange, Palestine and state killing of journalists.
Interview with Slovakian intellectual Martin Poliacik on the drug war and Ukraine
In late 2021, my latest book, Pills, Powder and Smoke: Inside the Bloody War on Drugs, was released in a Slovakian edition with an introduction by the Slovak philosopher and former politician Martin Poliacik who’s been a leading advocate for drug reform. Since its release, the book has received very positive coverage and reviews in Slovakia.…
TRT World debate on the drug war and legalising all drugs
My “debate” on global broadcaster TRT World’s The Newsmakers on the drug war and why all drugs should be legalised and regulated. These ideas are inspired by my recent book, Pills, Powder and Smoke: Inside the Bloody War on Drugs. The other panelists are former DEA head, Mike Vigil, and Portuguese expert on harm minimisation,…