San Francisco

In a rough part of the US capital, an endeavor to unlock children’s potential

After earning her master’s degree, Robin Berkley spent more than a decade working on education policy and programming. Once a week after hours, she’d walk from her office across the National Mall to tutor Devin. “I just got really moved by working with children and getting to go from the 50,000-foot ether, where you’re basically trying to support, inform, and influence people at the state level, to seeing the end result,” Ms. Berkley says.

Got a story to tell (or sell)? Better back it up with a tape

Some years ago, I accidentally carried a tape recorder into an interview with a senior national-security official in a secure US government building. US presidents, of course, have been responsible for the most – and probably most consequential – secret recordings of unguarded political conversations.

Can fighting corruption help Arab states sell painful economic reforms?

Across the Arab world, cash-strapped governments are flying the anti-corruption flag. Tunisia, in the midst of year-long anti-corruption campaign, passed a law in July requiring officials and members of Parliament to declare their assets.

The qualities of mediating a US-Iran settlement

Since May, the United States and Iran have appeared on course for confrontation. President Trump pulled the US out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran. Iran’s forces in Syria began to threaten Israel. In August, Mr. Trump imposed new sanctions on Iran and sought to reduce Iranian oil exports to zero. Iran then warned of a regional war if the US pushed too hard.