Nicholas Schmidle, Author at Institute of Current World Affairs

A staff writer for The New Yorker since 2012. His first article for the magazine, “Getting bin Laden,” was a National Magazine Award finalist. Since then, he has written about unresolved war crimes in Kosovo, post-traumatic stress disorder, and a Russian arms trafficker, for which he was named a 2013 Livingston Award finalist. Previously, he contributed to the Times Magazine, The Atlantic, The New Republic, Slate, and many other publications. He is the author of “To Live or to Perish Forever: Two Tumultuous Years in Pakistan.” He received the 2008 Kurt Schork Award for his reporting in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Posts and Dispatches from Nicholas Schmidle:

Can Technology Make Football Safer?
In this latest article for the New Yorker, Nicholas Schmidle writes about head injuries in Football and the use of robots and helmet technology to prevent it....
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Ten Borders
The New Yorker – Staff writer and past ICWA Fellow Nicholas Schmidle traces the incredible journey of one Syrian refugee in his latest piece. Gahith, a Syrian law student, fled his home country and traveled across Europe, encountering other refugees, smugglers, police brutality, and mores, crossing ten borders before reaching eventually Sweden. With input from spokesman for the International Organization...
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“The Kings of the Desert”
The New Yorker — Nicholas Schmidle’s latest piece describes “a billion-dollar mirage” that resulted in a financial scandal in the Middle East and legal proceedings in the United States. This is just the latest of many compelling long form pieces written by Schmidle in his capacity as a Staff Writer at the magazine, where he has been since...
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Nicholas Schmidle Newsletters
Fellowship Years: 2006-2008 Fellowship Topic: Ethnic, sectarian, and national identity Fellowship Area: Pakistan Calling Home: A Story About the MQM in Pakistan Blood Brothers: The Sectarian Story in Pakistan Face-Off: Peacock Nationalism on the Pakistan-India Border Migration Season: The Taliban and their Expanding Influence in Pakistan Brand Games: Polo and Privatization in the Hindu Kush Mountains Reform School:...
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