Ask the Author: Nicholas D. Kristof
Answered Questions (22)
Nicholas D. Kristof
Oh, absolutely! The status of women has definitely improved. More girls are going to school. Fewer women are dying in childbirth. Attitudes are changing. The problem is that it's all happening too slowly.
Nicholas D. Kristof
Probably seeing very young girls being auctioned off in Cambodia for their virginity. It felt like a 19th century slave market. And the girls were terrified.
Nicholas D. Kristof
Yes, sometimes. It helps that I'm a columnist, paid to have opinions, but I do try to maintain my independence at all times. On issues that I deeply care about -- sex trafficking, Darfur genocide, obstetric fistula -- it's very difficult to pretend to be dispassionate and neutral, and I don't try.
Nicholas D. Kristof
Education isn't a silver bullet, but it definitely helps. It opens minds and also improves job opportunities. It particularly helps girls.
Nicholas D. Kristof
Hm. I see it's not on this page. Not sure why. But on goodreads in the search box, if you type Tightrope Kristof, it does come up.
Thanks for putting on to-read list! It publishes Jan. 14. I think you'll like it!
Thanks for putting on to-read list! It publishes Jan. 14. I think you'll like it!
Nicholas D. Kristof
I think in general we should fuss less over the distinction between for-profit and non-profit enterprises. What matters isn't an entity's tax status but its impact. Non-profits have lots to learn from for-profit companies about scaling up, about marketing, about metrics and bang for the buck. And for-profits have much to learn from non-profits about values and doing good, which is increasingly important for recruitment and retention of workers even in the corporate world. My hunch is that over time we'll see more double- or triple-bottom-line companies that are hybrids--for profit companies that have a central aim of doing good.
Nicholas D. Kristof
This is a very delicate balance. I obviously believe deeply in certain social justice causes, and they drive my books and my columns. On the other hand, when somebody goes completely over to the activist world, their reporting becomes less dispassionate and more suspect. It becomes easier then to neglect contrary evidence and become an ideologue. So I consider myself primarily a journalist and writer, yet one who tries to use his keyboard to make the world a little bit better place.
Nicholas D. Kristof
We have a chapter on sex work in A Path Appears. Look, there's no doubt that there are some adults who sell sex to other adults on a consensual basis. But on the whole the field is rife with trafficking and with juveniles, and efforts to legalize and regulate (as in Amsterdam and parts of Nevada and Sydney, Australia) have just created parallel black markets for underage girls. Seems to me the legalize-and-regulate model just hasn't worked very well, and that the best model is the Swedish one, which targets those who pay for sex without criminalizing those who sell it (instead seeing them as people in need of social services). We should generally be focusing on pimps and johns, not on sex workers themselves. In A Path Appears, we describe one girl trafficked into the sex trade as a young teenager who was arrested 147 times; her pimp, never.
Nicholas D. Kristof
It is disheartening. And I sometimes see something else that is troubling: Great people who start organizations but then aren't great at managing them or efficient at investing money. I guess I would say that some of this is a part of being human. Some politicians or sports heroes likewise disappoint us, and some investments that look fabulous end up going bankrupt. Likewise, some heroes fall short in one way or another. We can do homework and try to reduce the risk of deception, but at the end of the day it's impossible to eliminate it entirely! But because there are some disappointments in any field, don't despair of everyone in it.
Nicholas D. Kristof
In Half the Sky we were focused on women overseas. In A Path Appears, we looked at all sources of inequity and lost opportunity--which includes gender but also many others--and not just abroad but also in the U.S. And after Half the Sky, people kept asking us, "So what do I do?" and we wanted to offer solutions and point people in helpful directions. So that's what A Path Appears about. It's a follow-on. We hope you enjoy it!
Nicholas D. Kristof
We involved the celebrities as a way to bring more people into topics that we care deeply about. We figured that there are plenty of people who may not be eager to engage with sex trafficking or inequality (topics of A Path Appears) but who may be interested in George Clooney or Eva Longoria or Blake Lively. The production team doing the documentary did most of the work identifying the celebrities, and they weren't paid. We worried a little the first time around that using celebrities might cheapen topics dear to us, but in fact they were great to work with and helped draw in a larger audience. Some were the absolute opposite of prima donnas: Mia Farrow washing her clothes in the sink in her hotel room in Nairobi, for example. You'll see the A Path Appears doc on PBS beginning Jan 26, 10 pm
Nicholas D. Kristof
Sheryl and I deliberately wrote as a couple about women's rights for two reasons. First, we think that if it's only women writing about the issue, the topic is immediately marginalized. Not fair, but true. Second, women's rights are human rights: civil rights weren't just a black issue, the Holocaust wasn't just a Jewish issue, and oppression of any group is a basic human rights concern for all of us. So we thought that it helped to have us address the issue as a team. But frankly, we also like doing things together. That's why we wrote A Path Appears together. That's why we're on vacation together right now. That's why we're married and have three kids together!
Nicholas D. Kristof
Thanks for the question. I'm always thrilled when readers respond to issues that I care about and highlight. Some of these are hard issues to talk about, like sex trafficking or obstetric fistula, and I'm glad readers aren't put off but want to make a difference. So I'm in turn inspired by my readers and FB followers!
Nicholas D. Kristof
This is ticklish, but I would suggest talking about your beliefs, and about facts, without criticizing local beliefs. So you can talk about the benefits to a family and a country from educating girls, citing Bangladesh vs. Pakistan as examples (Bangladesh educated girls, Pakistan didn't, and Bangladesh benefited hugely as a result). You can talk frankly about sex trafficking issues that afflict Nepal and the links to corruption, inviting discussion to break taboos. I think discussions of gender tend to work best when it's not seen as Western values vs. local values but rather as local change-makers vs. traditionalists. Good luck!
Nicholas D. Kristof
Some people say we should solve the problems at home before tackling those abroad, and I disagree with that approach. I don't think that our empathy or compassion should depend on somebody's skin color or passport color. We're all humans. And often interventions abroad get more bang for the buck than those at home. Having said that, it's sometimes perceived as "cool" to help people in Tanzania, but not across the tracks in one's own city, and I think that's equally shortsighted. We have huge needs at home and abroad, and we can and should address both! I'm so glad your church is discussing A Path Appears, and I hope you find inspiration.
Nicholas D. Kristof
We basically divide up, report separately and then write the section and hand it over to the other. The other person then edits ruthlessly. We both tend to write and rewrite quite a bit. Are there some bruised feelings during the editing? Sure, sometimes. But people periodically ask how we manage to write together and stay married. In truth, writing a book together is much easier than raising kids together (and we have three!). You can put a manuscript down at night, and it stays asleep. A manuscript doesn't play you off each other. And if you screw up on a manuscript, the stakes of failure are lower!
Nicholas D. Kristof
I began writing in eighth grade, when the kids at Yamhill Grade School in Yamhill, Oregon, decided they wanted a school newspaper, but no one wanted the bother of editing it. So they chose me editor in abstentia (I wasn't at the meeting), and my career was born. I quickly found it had three wonderful rewards: 1. The aesthetic pleasure of well-crafted writing; 2. The ability to have an impact and make the world a better place; 3. The ego thrill of the byline. I'd say those are still the best things about writing today.
Nicholas D. Kristof
I start typing.
Seriously, I get distracted all the time and go off to Twitter or Facebook. But when I finally feel I have to get started (maybe because of a looming deadline), then I just start typing. If what I write is dreadful, then I revise later. But it inevitably helps to get started and write something, even if it's completely wrong.
Seriously, I get distracted all the time and go off to Twitter or Facebook. But when I finally feel I have to get started (maybe because of a looming deadline), then I just start typing. If what I write is dreadful, then I revise later. But it inevitably helps to get started and write something, even if it's completely wrong.
Nicholas D. Kristof
Three bits of advice:
1. Read, read, read.
2. Write, write, write.
3. Edit, edit, edit.
In other words, writing is hard work. It comes through practice, through gaining an ear for language and then endlessly rewriting drafts.
1. Read, read, read.
2. Write, write, write.
3. Edit, edit, edit.
In other words, writing is hard work. It comes through practice, through gaining an ear for language and then endlessly rewriting drafts.
Nicholas D. Kristof
Honestly, I'm mostly inspired by the people I see and interview. I'm not a great believer in columnists or writers bloviating--I think it's very important to get into the field and report, not just pontificate. And when you're in the field and talk to real people whose lives and wellbeing are at stake, you just want to tell their stories!
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