I write about the world, culture and politics, with an emphasis on human rights, migration, queer lives and democracy. Above all I am interested in the experiences of human beings as they navigate the interlocking crises of our time.
I spent a decade as an international correspondent for The Times in West Africa, South Asia and South Africa. I have also worked as a media executive, serving as editor in chief of HuffPost and managing director of Gimlet, a podcast studio at Spotify. Before joining The Times, I was a staff writer for The Orlando Sentinel and The Times Union in Albany, New York.
My mother is Ethiopian and my father was American, and I spent most of my childhood and a good chunk of my professional life in Africa. These experiences inform my perspective and work, which aims to look at global events and the United States from perspectives other than those of the rich, western world.
I attended Saint John’s College, earning a bachelor-of-arts degree in philosophy and mathematics, as well as Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. I am proud to have won a number of awards for my reporting over the years, including the Polk and the Livingston awards for international reporting.
I live in New York City with my wife and two dogs.
Human dignity is at the core of my work. I often write about vulnerable and marginalized people, and I try to take special care to ensure my reporting and writing do not cause them harm. I always strive to tell stories with nuance and respect. I am an opinion columnist and write about my views and convictions, but I am deeply committed to independence, rigorous reporting and accuracy. My work is informed by my life experiences and, whenever possible, the lived experiences of people I have met and spoken to in depth, as well as things I have been able to witness first hand.
Columnists abide by the same rigorous ethical standards as all Times journalists to ensure our independence and credibility. You can read more about The Times’s ethics guidelines.
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: Lydia Polgreen
Instagram: @lpolgreen
Threads: @lpolgreen
Bluesky: @polgreen
Trump’s 2016 presidential transition signaled how he would govern. What do his preparations for a second term tell us about America’s future?
By Jamelle Bouie, Ross Douthat, M. Gessen and Lydia Polgreen
With Trump’s return, we are all about to find out how vulnerable we really are.
By Lydia Polgreen
Trump is on track to win the popular vote. There’s a lesson there.
By Michelle Cottle, Ross Douthat, Carlos Lozada and Lydia Polgreen
Two columnists argue that the left neglected to hear what Americans were telling them over the past four years.
By Lydia Polgreen, Tressie McMillan Cottom and Vishakha Darbha
This election has shown that Arab American and Muslim American lives are considered to be expendable.
By Lydia Polgreen
Last week’s BRICS summit showed how the balance of global power increasingly eludes the West’s grasp.
By Lydia Polgreen
Three columnists explore what Kamala Harris’s appeal to conservatives means for the left.
By Lydia Polgreen, Jamelle Bouie and Michelle Goldberg
Yes, we need a debate over broken immigration policies. But is this really it?
By Michelle Cottle, Ross Douthat, Carlos Lozada and Lydia Polgreen
There is something particularly insidious about his claim that Haitian immigrants are eating household pets.
By Lydia Polgreen
The hosts argue Kamala Harris’s speech was a “joyful but not transformational” moment for the Democrats.
By Ross Douthat, Carlos Lozada and Lydia Polgreen