Adrienne Mahsa Varkiani

The Washington Post Fired Me — But My Voice Will Not Be Silenced. I spoke out against hatred and violence in America — and it cost me my job.

Some personal news:

I've been fired from the Washington Post in the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting.

Thread incoming.

substack.com/@karenattiah...

I'm speaking with some really smart folks for a
@newrepublic panel later today on Trump's Immigration Report Card.

Join us as at 4 pm ET as we discuss Trump's first six months, his attack on immigrants, and what this means for American democracy.
www.eventbrite.com/e/immigratio...

The Trump administration has carried out the most destructive rewrite of immigration policy in modern U.S. history.

Join us and @newrepublic.com on July 23 as we discuss how the administration is using mass deportation to attack democracy.

Register here: ow.ly/StaR50WqaEf

The Iranian Voices Missing From the “Regime Change” Debate Pro-war voices who insist the Iranian people would welcome a war that would spell the end of the Islamic Republic are deliberately ignoring the desires of actual Iranians.

I wrote about all the Iranian civil rights activists people are ignoring when they talk about bringing regime change to Iran through bombs:
newrepublic.com/article/1970... @newrepublic.com

Kaveh Akbar is a must-read on Iran, Israel, and the growing drumbeat to war:
www.thenation.com/article/acti...

The Trump Administration Is Spending $2 Million to Figure Out Whether DEI Causes Plane Crashes The president may be disappointed by the findings.

Trump spent $2 million on a celebrity lawyer to investigate whether DEI is causing plane crashes—and naturally they found nothing
www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Trump Issues Sweeping Travel Ban Full of Contradictions There doesn’t seem to be a lot of logic behind why some countries were added to the list.

I wrote about the contradictions in Trump's newest travel ban — and questions about why some countries were added to the list but others weren't
newrepublic.com/post/196161/... @newrepublic.com

Mahmoud Khalil permitted to hold newborn son for the first time despite objections from government Detained Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was allowed to hold his one-month-old son for the first time after a federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to keep the father and infant separated by a plexiglass divider.

Detained Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was allowed to hold his one-month-old son for the first time after a federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to keep the father and infant separated by a plexiglass divider.

Trump Administration Halts Harvard’s Ability to Enroll International Students

Trump just revoked the ability for international students to enroll at Harvard. That includes students studying there NOW.

27% of Harvard students are international students. This will hurt so many people—and destroy Harvard.
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/22/u...

2018 technically! But yes everyone will have collective amnesia for sure