Abdallah Fayyad

How to make streets feel safer without adding police - The Boston Globe Urban planning and good city management can change your state of mind.

Law enforcement isn’t the only tool for reducing crime — or making people feel safe, @abdallahfayyad.bsky.social writes. By focusing on streetscapes, city governments can do a lot to close the gap between crime statistics and the public’s overall perception of crime.

Zohran Mamdani and the politics of trying - The Boston Globe Voters are tired of hearing politicians talk about what they can’t do. The newly elected mayor of New York has offered something different.

Wrote about Zohran Mamdani and the politics of trying—something Democrats can learn from, even if they live in places that aren’t as progressive as NYC: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/05/o...

Zohran Mamdani and the politics of trying - The Boston Globe Voters are tired of hearing politicians talk about what they can’t do. The newly elected mayor of New York has offered something different.

Voters want to hear about how we can get to a brighter future, @abdallahfayyad.bsky.social writes. And that vision doesn’t tend to come from candidates who keep lecturing people on what’s not possible.

LIVE SOON: “Say More” live with Shirley Leung and Abdallah Fayyad Starting Nov 5 at 12:00 PM EST

Tune in to a live episode of #SayMore with @leungboston.bsky.social and @abdallahfayyad.bsky.social as they discuss Michelle Wu, Zohran Mamdani, and the mayor’s races in Boston and New York tomorrow at 12 p.m. on our Substack:

What if we are misremembering the civil rights movement? - The Boston Globe Harvard professor Brandon M. Terry offers a new way of thinking about what the leaders of that period achieved, what they lost, and why we should still have hope.

Spoke with Brandon M. Terry about his new book, "Shattered Dreams, Infinite Hope," which points out the flaws in how we memorialize the civil rights movement and offers a new interpretation of that period: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/28/o...

Thank you!

I’m back at the Boston Globe, writing for the Ideas section. My first piece is about how we can still lose our freedom even if legal protections like the First Amendment remain intact: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/19/o...

Why voters keep shrugging off Trump’s corruption Americans say they despise corruption. So why is Trump still president?

So why is it that no level of corruption in the Trump administration — no matter how brazen or how high up it goes, from Tom Homan, the White House border czar, to other members of Trump’s Cabinet — seems to ever stick?

More from @abdallahfayyad.bsky.social:

The growing consensus that Israel is committing genocide A UN commission joined a chorus of experts in calling Israel’s actions a genocide. Will the world listen?

The independent UN commission's newly published report adds yet another voice to the growing consensus that Israel has committed a genocide: www.vox.com/politics/461...

Will Trump protect your city? : It's Been a Minute Why is Trump sending the National Guard to cities when crime is already falling?Earlier this month, President Trump posted this: “I love the smell of deportations in the morning. Chicago about to find...

I appreciate Brittany Luse, Liam McBain and Neena Pathak for inviting me and Vox’s Abdallah Fayyad to @npr.org's “It’s Been A Minute” to talk about Trump’s obsession with Chicago and NYC. www.npr.org/2025/09/19/n...

Background via @blockclubchi.bsky.social: blockclubchicago.org/2025/09/05/s...

Decorator-In-Chief Jackie Kennedy, eat your heart out.

Had a good conversation with @slate.com about what Trump's aesthetics and redecorating tell us about his broader political project: slate.com/podcasts/wha...

Trump isn’t just remodeling the White House. He’s rebranding America. The president’s tacky aesthetic is a window into his quest to become the single most enduring symbol of America.

"His true desire, it seems, wasn’t to simply become the president of the United States, but to become the single most enduring representation of America itself."

www.vox.com/politics/459...

Trump isn’t just remodeling the White House. He’s rebranding America. The president’s tacky aesthetic is a window into his quest to become the single most enduring symbol of America.

Gift Link: www.vox.com/politics/459...

Trump isn’t just remodeling the White House. He’s rebranding America. The president’s tacky aesthetic is a window into his quest to become the single most enduring symbol of America.

President Donald Trump’s tacky aesthetic is a window into his quest to become the single most enduring symbol of America.

Trump isn’t just remodeling the White House. He’s rebranding America. The president’s tacky aesthetic is a window into his quest to become the single most enduring symbol of America.

I wrote about how Trump's remodeling of the White House, his takeover of the Kennedy Center, and his whole tacky aesthetic are a window into his broader political project—and his desire to become the single most enduring symbol of America: www.vox.com/politics/459...

Why Trump thinks DC can’t govern itself The racist history that explains Trump’s federal takeover of DC police.

I wrote about the paternalistic and racist roots of Trump’s federal takeover of DC: www.vox.com/politics/458...

Seizure medication, wheelchairs, Social Security cards, dentures, urns of ashes, work uniforms — just some of what's been thrown away during cruel, degrading, utterly counterproductive homeless sweeps.

A good time to revisit this gutting @propublica.org story:

What makes Israel’s starvation of Gaza stand apart There’s a long history of using starvation as a weapon of war. But this is different.

Israel could have chosen to prevent a famine at any point. Instead, it has repeatedly blocked efforts to deliver life-saving aid to Palestinians, effectively vacuum-sealing Gaza and deliberately engineering a famine. This is not some unintended consequence: www.vox.com/policy/42262...

What makes Israel’s starvation of Gaza stand apart There’s a long history of using starvation as a weapon of war. But this is different.

There’s a long history of using starvation as a weapon of war. But this is different. www.vox.com/policy/42262...

What makes Israel’s starvation of Gaza stand apart There’s a long history of using starvation as a weapon of war. But this is different.

I wrote about the long history of engineering famines—and what makes Israel’s starvation of Gaza unique: www.vox.com/policy/42262...

Democratic voters have turned against Israel. Why won’t their leaders? Democratic voters sympathize much more with Palestinians than Israelis, but you wouldn’t know that from looking at the party establishment.

Given how far Democratic voters have moved on support for Israel — a more than 60-point swing in the last decade — why has their party’s establishment been so slow to respond? www.vox.com/politics/421...

Democratic voters have turned against Israel. Why won’t their leaders? Democratic voters sympathize much more with Palestinians than Israelis, but you wouldn’t know that from looking at the party establishment.

It shouldn’t have to be “good politics” for leaders to do the right thing—especially in this case, where there is an ongoing genocide. But even though the politics should make standing up against Israel an easy choice, Democrats are still reluctant to change. Here's why: www.vox.com/politics/421...

There’s also a gap between what Democrats say and what they do. In recent weeks, more Dems have made statements about the famine Israel engineered in Gaza, but just this month, party leaders met with Netanyahu—a man who is charged with using starvation as a weapon of war and other crimes.

Democratic voters have turned against Israel. Why won’t their leaders? Democratic voters sympathize much more with Palestinians than Israelis, but you wouldn’t know that from looking at the party establishment.

Wrote about the massive disconnect between Democratic voters and the Democratic establishment on Israel, and why despite a huge swing toward support for Palestinians among voters over the last 10 years, party leaders have resisted changing their stance: www.vox.com/politics/421...

The crimes Trump doesn’t care about Trump’s DOJ is going soft on corporate crime

Wrote about how the Trump administration is (surprise!) going soft on white collar crime: www.vox.com/policy/41995...

Zohran Mamdani’s not-so-radical agenda Despite the Democratic nominee for NYC mayor being labeled a communist, his agenda actually promises something much more ideologically modest.

A look at the hyperventilating, poorly informed and, yes, frankly racist attacks on Mamdani. www.vox.com/politics/418...

The astonishing racism in NYC’s mayoral race And 3 reasons that explain it.

Throughout Zohran Mamdani’s campaign for New York City mayor, he’s faced a barrage of attacks that have only gotten worse since he handily won the Democratic primary two weeks ago.

And this isn’t just happening at the local level. www.vox.com/politics/419...

The astonishing racism in NYC’s mayoral race And 3 reasons that explain it.

Wrote about the astonishing bigotry we’re seeing in the NYC mayoral race, and how it’s fueled by anti-Palestinian racism and a new era of crassness and cruelty. www.vox.com/politics/419...

www.vox.com/politics/418...

Zohran Mamdani’s not-so-radical agenda Despite the Democratic nominee for NYC mayor being labeled a communist, his agenda actually promises something much more ideologically modest.

I wrote about @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social and why his agenda is a pragmatic approach to local governance and not as scary or radical as his critics suggest. www.vox.com/politics/418...