Category Archives: Interviews

Ra’ad Zeid Al Hussein was Jordan’s ambassador to the United States from 2007-2010, and Permanent Representative of Jordan to the United Nations from 2010-2014. He then served
as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2014-2018. Currently, he is a Perry World House Professor of Practice of Law and Human Rights at the University of Pennsylvania.

Jonathan Rauch ‘82 was a contributor to the Yale Political Monthly during his time at Yale and was a member of the Yale Daily News Editorial Board. Rauch has since worked as an author, journalist, and political commentator, during which time he has advocated strongly for issues including same-sex marriage and offered insightful analysis about the state of American democracy. He currently serves as a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a contributing editor of National Journal and The Atlantic.

Matthew Ellison ‘10 conducted interviews with a variety of experts for The Politic between 2007 and 2009. He went on to graduate from Georgetown University’s Law Center in 2015, serving as a Legislative Assistant at the House of Representatives during his studies. Ellison then worked for the South Carolina Democratic Party before assuming various roles in the House, which now include being the Policy Director for the House Majority Whip and the Special Counsel to the Chairman for a Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis.

Robert Kagan ‘80 founded the Yale Political Monthly in 1979 and served as its Editor-in-Chief until he graduated. Kagan went on to work for the State Department under the Reagan administration. He advised John McCain on foreign policy during his 2008 presidential campaign and has been a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute since 2010.

Gideon Rose ‘85 served as the editor-in-chief of Foreign Affairs from 2010-2021 and managing editor from 2000 to 2010. He is now the Mary and David Boies Distinguished Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations. While at Yale, he served as one of the first editors-in-chief of the Yale Political Monthly.

The first Deafblind graduate of Harvard Law School, Haben Girma has spent her life advocating for disability justice and the importance of inclusion as a human rights lawyer. Girma is also a recipient of the Helen Keller Achievement Award and a member of the Forbes 30 Under 30 Class of 2016. Former President Barack Obama also named her a White House Champion for change. Using a braille communication system that she developed herself, Girma spoke with The Politic over text about her life, activism, and the ongoing fight against ableism.