Once accepted into Young Voices, our team will work as your PR agent for a four-month evaluation period. We will edit and pitch your articles for publication, interview you on our podcast, and potentially pitch you for further broadcast opportunities. If you fare well, you’ll be invited to stay on our roster on an ongoing basis. Ready to make your voice heard?
Libertarian? Conservative? Market liberal? No matter what label you may give yourself, we welcome all under 35 who have a fervent interest in building a freer, more prosperous future. It doesn’t matter where you are in your career. If you’ve got insight, curiosity, and a message that matters — we want to work with you.
Young Voices regularly hosts online policy briefings and in-person events exclusive to members of our network. From thought-provoking salons and engaging policy debates to casual happy hours, we believe in the power of personal connections to advance professionally.
Applications for the Spring 2026 class are now open and will close on November 30, 2025, at 11:59 pm ET. To join our cohort, submit a résumé, an op-ed draft, and a two-minute introductory video expressing your desire to be part of the movement. Direct all inquiries to Program Manager Caleb Franz at cfranz@joinyv.org.
Jordan McGillis is a Young Voices alumni and economics editor at City Journal for the Manhattan Institute. He was also recently selected for TFAS’ Robert Novak fellowship, participating in the 2025 - 26 class.
Jordan McGillis’ Success Story Interview:
You were recently selected for the Robert Novak Fellowship with your project covering Industrial Policy with American Characteristics. What is the biggest thing you hope to accomplish through this fellowship?
The Novak Fellowship will serve as a 'forcing function' for me, narrowing my work to a specific scope in order to develop some real expertise and gravitas. I'm intrinsically motivated to write about all sorts of things, many of which are fun but not my top priority. This will force me to focus on what's important. At the end of the fellowship I hope to be recognized by policymakers here and abroad for my project, Industrial Policy with American Characteristics.
You've managed to develop a strong editorial and policy based career for yourself. How has working with Young Voices helped you strengthen your voice as a writer and commentator?
I was a pretty seasoned writer coming in, but where YV really helped me grow was with my interview presence though episodes of Moving Forward with Young Voices.
Which media placement that the Young Voices content team helped you place are you most proud of?
Molly Kate and the YV team landed pieces for me in two outlets that are widely-read and influential in the Indo-Pacific policy world, Nikkei Asia and The Diplomat. I'd had my eye on those publications for ages and I appreciate YV's tireless pitching.
You mostly cover tech, energy, and industry at City Journal. Are you optimistic about the state of American industry right now? What is the biggest thing people should consider on these issues that you believe is being overlooked?
Much is made of America's strategic dependencies, but America's tech industry generates more new and valuable ideas than any other country's (and possibly more than all other countries' combined). We have a lot going for us.
What advice would you give to young professionals aspiring to build a career centered around public policy commentary as you have done?
Some hypertalented writers are able to stay behind their keyboards and build successful careers. For me and I think most others, though, making yourself visible and known IRL to editors, think tanks, peers, etc. increases the probability of catching a big career break. Gotta get out there.
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Noah Gould is a Young Voices writer and recently participated in the Social Mobility Fellowship in the 2024/2025 class. He works as the Alumni and Student Programs Manager at the Acton Institute and was recently a visiting fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER).
Noah Gould’s Success Story Interview:
After completing your time as a Young Voices Social Mobility Fellow, you participated as a Visiting Fellow for the American Institute for Economic Affairs. How did your time as a Social Mobility fellow impact your current work?
The contributor program at Young Voices prepared me by giving opportunities for multiple "reps" in writing for a variety of outlets. The Visiting Fellowship at AIER gave me time to read and write intensively, which I was able to take better advantage of given my previous experience. In addition, I had already written for Fusion and Daily Economy, AIER's online publications, which gave me familiarity with their work.
The Social Mobility Fellowship specifically was tremendously helpful to broaden my writing. I learned more about interview techniques and on the ground research. The resulting articles, including my most recent for National Review, have rounded out my portfolio.
You often write about business and social mobility in society. What do you believe is the biggest issue that mainstream media or opinion journalism underrepresents on these topics?
Something that I try to peel back in my writing are the layers of cultural and philosophical questions underneath the economic and political phenomenon of the day. One of my mentors calls these the secondary questions, which are crucial to reveal unstated assumptions. In the less than 24 hour news cycle, we can read headlines without understanding the why behind them. In this article on Sam Bankman-Fried, I critiqued effective altruism, which is basically utilitarianism applied to philanthropy, and argued that it played a part in his meteoric downfall. That layer was missing in the coverage of his business and trial.
How has participating in Young Voices helped you as a writer and commentator?
The support of the editorial staff to clarify arguments has been tremendous to refine my writing. I also would be remiss to not mention the encouragement they bring to keep writing and find new outlets to break into.
Which media placement that the Young Voices content team helped you place are you most proud of?
This article on affordable housing in Grand Rapids in the Michigan Enjoyer was a blast to write. The editorial team at YV did a wonderful job of finding the right home for the piece, which ended up being complemented perfectly by the Enjoyer's focus on photojournalism in their long form reads. I have since written a second requested piece for the Enjoyer, which is a fantastic connection for pieces that are close to home for me.
Your primary role is as the Alumni and Student Program Manager at the Acton Institute. What advice would you give to young professionals building their career in the world of ideas?
I see the primary barrier to young professionals entering the world of ideas to be losing their ability to call balls and strikes. Many people get captured by ideological parties and get stuck in a pattern of writing or speaking to signal their position in a specific group rather than to shed light on actual issues impacting real people. It's easy to get lost in those incentives and you have to work hard to avoid this type of audience capture.
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Jonathan Gibson is a Young Voices commentator and has recently accepted a role as an AI reporter through the Tarbell Fellowship at the Dispatch.
Jonathan Gibson’s Success Story Interview:
You're starting a new role as an AI Reporter at The Dispatch through the Tarbell Fellowship. What is the most interesting or exciting thing about Artificial Intelligence that draws you to the subject? Are you optimistic about the future of AI?
As someone with a background in International Relations, the implementation of export controls for cutting edge-chips in 2022 and the release of DeepSeek-R1 in 2024 were some of the most interesting developments. I also greatly enjoyed producing research on Cold War non-state actor diplomacy, and applying this to AI.
The rapid development and diffusion of increasingly capable large language models (ChatGPT, Claude, Grok etc), and the intensity and ferocity of debate regarding the potential capabilities and challenges has also drawn me in.
Scientists such as Yoshua Bengio and Geoffrey Hinton are warning of potential existential and catastrophic risks caused by increasingly powerful AI systems, whilst sceptics such as Melanie Mitchell and Gary Marcus are suggesting the technology is ‘overhyped’ and predict that it collapses. Many in Silicon Valley have an entirely different view, suggesting AGI (artificial general intelligence) will lead to a utopia of total abundance. The economic, social and political implications of which narratives are proven right are immense and drive much debate about policy.
Regarding the future, I truly believe that there is no predetermined path as to whether AI will be 'good' or not; the question depends on the choices we make and ‘good for whom'. Certainly, it seems that there are some huge challenges, and risks. The choices we make over the next several years will likely have long-lasting and substantial impacts, As a journalist at the Dispatch, I hope to help provide serious high-quality reporting to help inform these choices.
What is something that most within mainstream media or opinion journalism misunderstand about AI?
There seem to have been misunderstandings within mainstream media around several big stories connected to AI in the last couple of years. The emergence of DeepSeek was a standout case of this for me.
Much reporting suggested that its release meant export controls didn’t work, or that this had completely closed the gap between the US and China (due to DeepSeek models performing at similar levels to other Western frontier models). These fears were so strong that Nvidia’s stock prices dropped by 17%, whilst the Nasdaq fell more than 3% on the week of the release.
However, such reports neglected the importance of computing power (compute), which remains vital to training powerful models, and didn’t recognise the time lag for export controls to bite. Compute gaps between the US and China remain incredibly important, with DeepSeek CEO having tweeted that it was the biggest bottleneck for AI development in the Chinese ecosystem. Whilst DeepSeek's achievements were genuine and significant, it does not mean its future development will not be challenging as access to cutting edge chips becomes increasingly difficult.
How has participating in Young Voices helped you as a writer and commentator?
Participating in Young Voices helped to give me greater confidence in myself and in my abilities, as well as helping me to understand the journalistic landscape far more clearly. It helped me develop my own style, offering useful advice and feedback along the way. Before Young Voices, I had very little knowledge or experience of what journalism was like. However, from the first session on ‘the art of the op-ed’, to the helpful guidance and feedback I received when drafting articles and appearing on air, Young Voices quickly helped me to become a better commentator and strengthen skills which will be useful, wherever I end up.
Which media placement that the Young Voices content team helped you place are you most proud of?
Something that I hadn’t done prior to joining Young Voices, and I really enjoyed, was debating on UK radio and television stations. Having had my first hit over 3 years ago, I began appearing almost weekly on air, with regular hits on stations such as TalkTV, Times Radio and Sky News. This was a completely new experience and introduced me into the world of broadcast media.
How has Young Voices impacted your career trajectory?
It is hard to know whether I would have still ended up in journalism without Young Voices. The networks and skills I have gained from being a part of Young Voices has certainly helped me, and it also illustrated a unique skillset and set of experience when applying for non-journalism roles which helped me to stand out.
With your upcoming role at the Dispatch, what advice would you give to young professionals aspiring to build their career in journalism?
My main advice would be to reach out to people who you admire or want to talk to and listen with an open mind. People are surprisingly generous with their time, and can offer incredibly useful advice or insights, as well as connect you with others. If you can find someone who has had the sort of career you might like, this is particularly useful, but worth doing even if that is not the case.
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Ethan Brown is a writer and commentator, former Social Mobility and Middle East History and Peace fellow with Young Voices, and he is the Training Program Coordinator at the University of Rhode Island's Metcalf Institute.
Ethan Brown’s Success Story Interview:
You've managed to develop and expand your unique voice as a climate writer and commentator. How has your time in Young Voices' programs informed your approach to complex issues like climate?
Everyone wants clean air, clean water, and a healthy environment. Yet, climate change has become remarkably politicized, with the far right denying the problem is real and the far left claiming the apocalypse will arrive on Thursday. I was initially turned off to the climate conversation myself due to doom-and-gloom headlines. That's why when I launched The Sweaty Penguin podcast in 2020, I leaned on solutions journalism, nuance, and humor with the goal of making climate change less overwhelming, less politicized, and more accessible.
Young Voices gave me the opportunity to develop a more reciprocal relationship with this disengaged climate audience I hoped to reach. Rather than just "talking at" people, I got feedback on op-eds from editors with different political perspectives than me, discussed climate change with dozens of right-wing TV and radio hosts, and joined a panel at FreedomFest in 2024 to analyze a new movie spreading climate denial conspiracies. Through these experiences, I learned that people who express skepticism about climate science are not anti-intellectual or apathetic. They feel strong feelings of fear, anxiety, and distrust of institutions — ironically the same climate emotions as a leftist college student who's convinced the world is going to end. They see a false choice between Democrats promoting top-down climate policies and Republicans (often beholden to fossil fuel industry donors) offering few alternatives, and prefer to deny the problem entirely than accept the solutions currently on the table.
In addition to providing opportunities for me to listen to these perspectives, Young Voices introduced me to other thought leaders advancing climate solutions that do value free markets and individualism. I learned how anti-regulatory policies such as permitting reform, zoning reform, repealing the Jones Act, loosening nuclear energy restrictions, and accelerated depreciation are climate solutions too, and found sharing examples like these with climate deniers often alleviated fears and re-engaged them in the conversation. On The Sweaty Penguin, I was successfully able to reach audiences on both sides of the aisle by focusing on those universal emotions of fear and anxiety. My goal is never to advocate specific policies, but rather to shift the conversation away from "is climate change real" and toward "which solutions would be most effective." I am very grateful to Young Voices for introducing me to so many new people and ideas that could help shape that approach.
What topic do you think is the least talked about within mainstream media or opinion journalism that deserves more attention?
U.S. carbon emissions peaked in 2005 and have fallen about 20% since then. China's emissions peaked last year and are primed to decline. The European Union's emissions fell 8.5% in 2023 alone. Yet, when I hear people discuss climate solutions, they still say "we need to address climate change," as if we have not already started.
Policy played some role in existing progress, but a large share is due to dramatic improvements in the economic viability of clean energy. Last decade, the costs of solar fell by 85%, onshore wind by 55%, and batteries for electric vehicles by 85%. In 2020, 62% of new renewables that came onto the grid were cheaper than the cheapest fossil fuel alternative. And there remains only one coal plant in the United States where it costs less to operate the plant than it would take to shut down the plant and build a new solar or wind farm nearby. Climate solutions are no longer a trade-off between environment and economy, and markets are responding accordingly.
Of course, there are devastating stories of loss and damage from climate events that must be told. Climate progress also needs to occur faster to limit these damages and meet global goals set by scientists to avert physical climate tipping points. But mainstream media often fails to report on progress, and gives readers a false impression that no one is doing anything about climate change. Journalists have a responsibility to tell the whole story, and part of that story is identifying existing solutions, determining what they have achieved and how communities feel about them, and considering what limitations they have or how they can scale. Furthermore, studies show readers prefer and trust solutions stories over problem stories. By embracing solutions journalism, journalists can shift the conversation from the terrifying thought of "no one is addressing climate change" to the far more inspiring thought of "people are addressing climate change, and I can be a part of that progress."
Your commentary has also recently been drawing on your jewish identity, touching on issues from Israeli clean tech innovation to antisemitism in the climate movement. What inspired you to start speaking up on these issues?
In February 2023, I took my first trip to Israel for Jerusalem Press Club's Climate Innovation Press Tour, where I visited some of Israel's 850+ clean tech startups, learned how the country's entrepreneurs were helping address climate challenges around the world, and met leaders of joint Israeli-Palestinian initiatives such as the Arava Institute and EcoPeace Middle East using climate solutions to build peace and trust across borders — one of whom I welcomed onto The Sweaty Penguin for an interview. At a conference we attended, a large group of student activists shouted the Israeli government's Environment Minister off the stage in response to Netanyahu's frightening judicial reforms — democracy under attack, but real and in action. I later learned that Israel invented desalination and drip irrigation, and was the only country in the world with more trees in the year 2000 than 1900.
So it stunned me after October 7 when the climate movement began adopting practices to spread lies about Israel and cut off Israeli climate solutions from the rest of the world. Environmental activists helped quash Project Prosperity, which would have created a water-for-energy agreement between Israel, Jordan, and the UAE, because it would "normalize Israel." At the UN Climate Conference, only 28 Israelis could attend under tight security while delegates, demonstrators, and world leaders from Turkey and South Africa used the climate conference as a platform to bash Israel. My colleagues in climate journalism began deriding the carbon emissions of Israel's operations in Gaza while writing nothing on emissions from Russia's offensive in Ukraine which were several hundred times worse, and claiming the war in Gaza was really about stealing Palestinian fossil fuels even though Israel's offshore gas exploration was nowhere near Palestinian territory. Prominent climate activist groups such as Extinction Rebellion, Just Stop Oil, and Fridays for Future led anti-Israel protests, attempting to align the Palestinian cause with the global climate cause and oppose anyone with a more nuanced view.
My heart breaks for the thousands of innocent Palestinians and Israelis killed in this war, and I pray for a hostage deal and end to the war. I believe both groups need new leadership interested in peace and security, and I have no qualms criticizing the Israeli government. I also believe Jews have the right to live and self-determine in our ancestral homeland of Israel and I saw with my own two eyes how that has resulted in environmental successes. I feel the global climate movement should embrace that, not resist it. I had no intention to voice these concerns at first, but after a few months of seeing no one challenge the climate movement on this issue, I realized I'd have to speak up. Young Voices helped me publish initial op-eds in The Hill and National Interest, and later supported me through the Middle East History & Peace fellowship in sustaining a Times of Israel blog. I also lived in Israel for two months in 2024 volunteering primarily with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, returned for another week in 2025 to do agricultural volunteer work, and moderated a "Jews & Climate Change" panel at the 2024 Society for Environmental Journalists conference. The Young Voices network has offered considerable support as I pursued such a deeply emotional and divisive topic, and I could not have done it without them.
Which media placement that the Young Voices content team helped you place are you most proud of?
What a hard choice! A recent piece I am particularly proud of was published in Times of Israel and explored how the anti-Israel Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions (BDS) movement has opposed and undermined climate action. I had not seen anyone research that topic before. I expected to find that BDS would present challenges for Israeli academics and clean tech entrepreneurs, but I had no idea how much deeper the problem was. Most alarming to me, BDS specifically called for the boycott of the Arava Institute and EcoPeace Middle East — the two environmental peacebuilding initiatives I learned about in Israel which are co-led by Palestinians — just because they "normalize Israel." I have a lot of sympathy for college students who support BDS resolutions on their campuses and are misled into thinking it is a movement for peace and social justice. I was proud of this op-ed for discovering and illuminating what is a much more disappointing reality.
You recently started a new role at the University of Rhode Island's Metcalf Institute. What most excites you about the work you are doing there?
Metcalf Institute works to support journalists and scientists with accurate and accessible climate communication. I am the Training Program Coordinator, so I work to develop and oversee fellowships and programming to advance this mission. After interviewing over 150 scientists during my time at The Sweaty Penguin, I observed poor communication and trust between scientists, journalists, and community, so I am thrilled to be in a position to support dialogue and learning between these groups.
My proudest achievement at Metcalf Institute so far has been the Climate Ready Newsroom fellowship. Prior to my arrival, Metcalf focused primarily on training individual journalists and scientists. I was tasked with building a new program that focused on local newsrooms, aiming not just to train individuals within the newsroom but set up entire organizations for long-term, sustained, scientifically accurate, and community-centered climate coverage. Our first cohort launched last winter with seven local newsrooms in southern New England: Boston Globe, Bay State Banner, Nantucket Inquirer & Mirror, Rhode Island PBS & The Public's Radio, East Bay Media Group, Hearst Connecticut Media Group, and WSHU Public Radio. After giving the newsrooms six virtual trainings on topics such as scientific uncertainty, climate attribution science, and solutions journalism, we provided three months of coaching and supported them in the pursuit of goals to make their newsrooms "climate ready." Projects included building a “rolodex” of climate scientists in the community, developing a newsroom-wide protocol document for climate disaster coverage, soliciting climate questions from readers to inform future reporting, and launching pop-up newsrooms to more deeply engage the community.
I am so grateful that the fellowship I spearheaded has already had such a transformative impact on local climate coverage in my region. The next cohort is open to all local newsrooms in New England, and applications are live! And anyone interested in science communication training can connect with us here!
With you having such a strong background in journalism and academic education, what advice would you give to young professionals aspiring to build a career in these fields?
Seek community. Ask for help. My career would never be where it is today without the support of my friends who helped launch The Sweaty Penguin and groups like Young Voices, WNET, Solutions Journalism Network, Boston University's Build Lab, Covering Climate Now, Jerusalem Press Club, Masa, and a whole lot more. There's so many people and partners to thank.
Both journalism and academia are facing scary and frankly unconstructive attacks from the current administration. Mainstream media often has flaws in its coverage, but slashing funding for PBS and NPR and barring the AP from the White House press pool puts journalists on the defense and reduces capacity for journalists to proactively improve our skillsets through, for example, a Metcalf fellowship. Antisemitism on college campuses is alarming, but halting foreign student visas across the board and slashing NSF grants does nothing to address the systemic issues underlying antisemitism, instead blocking talented young people from entering our country, preventing scientists from doing critical research, and degrading the academic experience countless Jewish students actively seek.
At this difficult moment, I would encourage young professionals in journalism and academia to look out for our mental health, uplift one another, and be willing to call out both missteps within our industries and policies that are hostile and obstructive. If journalists and academics find ways in this political environment to still pursue the hard work of honing our craft and rebuilding trust with our communities, maybe that will help sustain our industries and allow more talented young people to enter the fields in the future.
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Jeff Luse is a Young Voices alumni who recently started a new position at Reason Magazine as a Deputy Managing Editor.
Jeff Luse’s Success Story Interview:
You recently started a new role at Reason Magazine as a Deputy Managing Editor. You also served as Policy Analyst and Deputy Editor at C3 Solutions before your role at Reason. How has your background in writing, research, and journalism prepared you for where you are today?
I think developing my research skills was the most important thing in preparing me for my role at Reason. Diving into the nuances of policy (specifically energy policy) has given me a better understanding of how laws impact society. This has allowed me to write faster and with greater academic rigor—two things that are crucial in journalism.
What topic do you think is the least talked about within mainstream media or opinion journalism that deserves more attention?
With so much attention on the federal government, I think most people are missing some of the insane things happening at the state level. Eminent domain abuses in New Jersey, civil liberties violations in Florida, moratoriums on nuclear power in Minnesota. State and local governments are constantly infringing on people’s lives. Unfortunately, much of their overreach gets lost in the media cycle.
An honorable mention (and one thing that’s getting a fair amount of attention) is the Republican Party’s shift toward big government solutions through industrial policy, populism, and reckless spending. Pundits are calling it out, but I think more people beating the drum on it is always good.
How has participating in Young Voices helped you as a writer and commentator?
Working with Young Voices showed me how to structure my arguments and write on technical issues that appeal to broad audiences. Both of these things have helped me to improve turnaround time on my writing. The Contributor program also grew my professional network, which has allowed my writing to reach more people.
Which media placement that the Young Voices content team helped you place are you most proud of?
I’d have to say my Newsweek article on government failures to address nuclear waste. This was a fun one to write, and it's a topic I’m passionate about. It being my first piece to get placed in Newsweek was a bonus!
How has Young Voices impacted your career trajectory?
Before joining Young Voices, I didn’t think that writing and journalism were in the cards for me. But working with the program ignited my love for writing and gave me a clearer career path. I don’t think I’d be where I am today had I not joined the program.
As an editor at Reason, what advice would you give to young professionals aspiring to build their career in journalism?
The best way to become a better journalist and writer is to write a lot; take a stab at new subjects and grow your portfolio. This will help you stand out in the application process.
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Jonas Du is a Young Voices alumni and commentator who was reporting on the ground at Columbia University in 2023 when the anti-Israel protests broke out on campuses. He has recently started a new role as a full time fellow at the Free Press.
Jonas Du’s Success Story Interview:
You were on the scene reporting on the protests at Columbia University following the October 7th Hamas attacks in Israel. What was the most surprising takeaway from your experience reporting during these campus protests?
The pursuit of objectivity and balance, as much as they are lauded as journalistic ideals, will lead you astray when you're confronted with extremism. When students on your campus are calling for the destruction of Israel, you must not shield their rhetoric under the guise of "pro-Palestinian activism." When they support terrorism, you must not shy away from calling out those who are pro-Hamas. When they engage in illegal or rule-breaking activities, you must not simply characterize it as a "protest." The pursuit of objectivity and balance in the legacy media, including at Columbia, has had the effect of protecting the anti-Israel cause. Of course, it is important to distinguish between what the facts are and what your opinion is, but objectivity and balance are not always in alignment with truth-seeking.
What topic do you think is the least talked about within mainstream media or opinion journalism that deserves more attention?
The way mainstream journalism is done often implicitly ignores basic economics. Policies and proposals are often presented on their face, with no attention given to their downstream effects. Economics is all about tradeoffs and incentives, and journalists tend to ignore both, which encourages readers to engage in binary thinking influenced by critical theory. A policy that helps the 1 percent comes at the expense of the working class. A law that deregulates an industry harms consumers, and so on. But this is not how the world works. Reductions in government-provided student loans, for instance, will be framed as reducing college access, but there's usually no discussion of how increased loan availability leads universities to jack up their sticker prices. Cuts to welfare benefits are framed as depriving people of much-needed assistance, but there's no discussion of whether the benefits are the most efficient way to redistribute wealth or whether they distort work incentives. Journalists should strive to explain, at least at a basic level, the economic tradeoffs behind public policy.
What journalistic quality do you believe that we need more of in the press today?
See first answer
Which media placement that the Young Voices content team helped you place are you most proud of?
I was shocked that the very first op-ed I wrote with Young Voices got placed in USA Today. In the fall of 2023, I wrote about the budding Freedom Conservative movement—a response to the National Conservative movement that seemed willing to abandon the principles of individual and economic liberty. My argument was that while MAGA turns off Gen Z, Freedom Conservatism could be a path toward expanding youth support of the Republican party. To my surprise, USA Today had interest in the story, helping kickstart my writing career.
You recently started a new role as a reporter at the Free Press. What most excites you about the work you are doing there?
It is an honor at my age to have a platform at The Free Press to write stories that rise above the daily news cycle and instead offer deep analysis and sensemaking about the biggest political and cultural topics of our moment. Very few of our stories are "assigned" like at traditional outlets, meaning I can let my interests drive my reporting. I spend my days thinking critically about the political world, and turning those thoughts into newsroom products. I am excited to cover topics like the American right, Gen Z culture, higher education, and national politics.
What is the biggest way Young Voices has helped you get to where you are today?
Young Voices was my first introduction to the heterodox, pro-liberty intellectual space. The progressive left dominates so many of our elite institutions that the center-right space is a small world—through Young Voices, I have met countless people in the knowledge economy in this space which has led me to the career I have today.
You've built an impressive background in journalism at such a young age. What advice would you give to budding journalists who might be interested in pursuing a similar path?
We live in the age of democratized journalism. If you have an idea, you don't need to wait for a prestigious outlet to show interest before you write it. If you don't have the connections to get your writing placed yet, post it on Substack or X! Yes, journalistic institutions provide legitimacy. But at the same time, anyone can write, report, and get noticed. Lastly, apply to Young Voices!
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James Czerniawski is a long time participant in the Young Voices network, with his commentary being featured in programs like the FOX 5 DC, the Global Lane, and more. In July, he joined the Consumer Choice Center full time as their Head of Emerging Technology Policy.
James Czerniawski’s Success Story Interview:
You have been a consistent participant in Young Voices programming for several years now. How has your commentary through Young Voices impacted your career in policy?
A: Participating in the Young Voices programming over the years has been an easy choice for me, as I have found consistent value in leveraging the program. I think participating in Young Voices has been instrumental for my career. It gave me the necessary skills to advance in a career in public policy by taking my work, which had been more research oriented to that point, and boiling it down into a concise and consumable message that could resonate with a broader audience.
What topic do you think is the least talked about within mainstream media or opinion journalism that deserves more attention?
A: For me, I think it’s the benefits of technology. Within mainstream media and journalism, lots of ink and airwaves are dedicated to highlighting the purported harms and downsides of technology. While there are some talented voices that are doing this, they are not getting the necessary reach and elevation of their work that is showing the society enhancing benefits of tech. I understand there are perverse incentives for why that may be the case, but I wish that mainstream media and journalism would still elevate that positive work more often on a consistent basis.
How has working with Young Voices helped you find your voice as a tech commentator?
A: I think Young Voices helped me identify how best to put my voice out into the ecosystem more broadly speaking. They were always willing to edit a piece and provide helpful feedback and to pitch me out to media more broadly. Those increased reps, both in writing op-eds and engaging with media more broadly speaking, helped hone and strengthen my voice as a tech commentator. They were also willing to test things out with me, which I appreciated as someone willing to try anything out.
Which media placement that the Young Voices content team helped you place are you most proud of?
A: It’s hard to pick one over the years of working with Young Voices to be most proud of. Young Voices did an incredible job of identifying opportunities in the media landscape and getting me out there. I think what I am most proud of with the media placements is the success rate associated with it. In my most recent role, I had done over 150 media hits between talk radio, TV and podcast. Young Voices was responsible for booking me on a large portion of those hits. I had gotten to a point where I didn’t even need to write op-eds (though you still should when you can!), they could just pitch me as a talent and I could get booked onto TV, radio or podcast. When it comes to Young Voices, I always tell people they will get out of it what they put in, and I think my experience with the content team encapsulates that mantra perfectly.
You recently started a new role at the Consumer Choice Center as the Head of Emerging Technology Policy. What do you think is the most exciting prospect in the tech and innovation world right now?
A: It is hard to ignore the exciting promise of artificial intelligence and its ability to improve the world in a variety of ways. From improving worker productivity to enhancing our ability to learn to assisting with research that can ultimately save lives. What also excites me about AI is watching how this particular technology, which has loads of its own policy questions to address, is simultaneously forcing the country to revisit conversations around energy and healthcare that may have been stuck in the dirt for ages. I would also be remiss if I didn’t give a shout out to regulatory sandboxes here. I have been working on that wonky and niche subject for years, and to watch it go from an idea I wrote a policy brief on to getting broader adoption in the states to now active consideration in federal policy proposals is beyond incredible to me. It truly is a pinch me type of moment.
With you now working at the Consumer Choice Center, and with a background in various nonprofit policy roles, what advice would you give to young professionals aspiring to build a career in public policy?
A: As a young-ish voice, the advice I give to any young professional is to be unapologetically driven for whatever outcome they are aiming to manifest. While your role might come with certain expectations and responsibilities, and you should strive for excellence in achieving those expectations, constantly be looking for growth opportunities for yourself. Whether it is doing the Young Voices program or any of the litany of other programming out there to develop young talent, do it and give it your all. I have increasingly utilized the phrase of “choose your own adventure” when describing how I have approached my career in public policy and encourage others to do the same. Also, especially if you are in the Young Voices program, look for opportunities to collaborate with one another. You are the voices of tomorrow! Some of the most fun I’ve had has been when I’ve worked with a fellow contributor because we both nerded out on a subject and wanted to write about it together. Lastly, don’t be afraid to ask questions. You are not alone in this journey. Your fellow contributors are resources, but so are YV alumni as they have been in your shoes before. Please don’t ever hesitate to reach out if you ever need anything.
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Autumn Billings has been a writer and commentator at Young Voices, and most recently participated in the Social Mobility Fellowship. During her time in this fellowship, Autumn also secured a position as an assistant editor at Reason Magazine.
Autumn Billings’ Success Story Interview:
You recently participated in Young Voices' Social Mobility Fellowship. How did your time in that fellowship impact your career in journalism?
Being new to the world of journalism, I didn’t quite know what to expect out of the Young Voices’ Social Mobility Fellowship. While I was comfortable with writing op-eds, reporting was a whole new beast. But the Fellowship not only demystified journalistic reporting practices, it also gave me the confidence to jump into reporting headfirst. Meeting the other writers in the fellowship was also a major benefit. Everyone had such different backgrounds, but were excited to tell the stories of people looking to make a difference or fulfill their potential—and that excitement was contagious. The fellowship experience showed me that there is no single path to a career in journalism, and the more I learned throughout the program, the more seriously I considered a career pivot. Without the Young Voices’ Social Mobility Fellowship, I don’t think I would’ve made the pivot as quickly or as successfully as I did.
What topic do you think is the least talked about within mainstream media or opinion journalism that deserves more attention?
I think mainstream media and opinion journalism suffer from a lack of steelmanning the opposition’s arguments. Word limits are tight, and attention spans are short. Heuristics may help to quickly get a point across, but they do not necessarily move a conversation, on any topic, closer to consensus. Taking on the challenge of concisely stating your opposition’s strongest arguments will only make your position stronger and more persuasive.
How has working with Young Voices helped you as a writer and commentator?
Young Voices has helped me greatly. I’ve learned so much from the people at Young Voices, but also from the other writers in the program. No question is too small to ask, which is huge when you’re so new to something. Through Young Voices, I’ve taken on opportunities outside of my comfort zone that I may not have taken otherwise. The support and connections Young Voices provided have gotten me so much further with both my writing and commentary than I thought possible in such a short amount of time.
Which media placement that the Young Voices content team helped you place are you most proud of?
Honestly, I’m proud of all the media placements the Young Voices content team helped me place. Each one challenged me to step a little further outside of my comfort zone, whether that be through the content I covered or the medium style. One that stands out in particular is a Fox News Radio tour where I appeared on four different radio shows over a three-hour time frame. I had never done something like that before, and I was pretty nervous. But once it got started, I had so much fun talking with radio show hosts from across the country about the news of the day.
How has Young Voices impacted your career trajectory?
I started with the Young Voices Contributor Program because I always had a curiosity for journalism, along with a passion for liberty. Even while I pursued other interests, in the back of my mind, I always thought, “One day, maybe, I’ll finally give writing a try,” but kept putting it off. Starting up in a new career field was intimidating. But after meeting and talking with people who had been through the program and had great things to say, I thought Young Voices was the best opportunity to give writing—and getting my work published—a shot. Little did I know how quickly I was going to want to take on more and more writing, and even consider making it a full-time career. Young Voices certainly helped catalyze that career pivot, not only because of everything I learned during the program but also because of the helpful and passionate people I met.
With you now working at Reason, what advice would you give to young professionals aspiring to build a career in journalism?
I would say if you have an interest in journalism, go for it. For a long time, I held myself back for fear that I had missed out on some special knowledge or experience because I never studied journalism in college. Before starting in journalism, I didn’t have a well-defined “beat” like I thought you needed to be successful. But what I did know was that I had a lot of curiosity and drive to connect audiences to the ideas that interest me. Today I’m writing on and covering topics I wouldn’t have necessarily considered when I was in school, or even after graduating, and I get to learn something new every day. I’m glad I finally put myself out there despite not knowing exactly where I’d end up, and found a great community to learn from along the way.
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Sam Raus is one of our most recent success stories. Sam has participated in Young Voices as a writer for well over a year, securing placements in the Dispatch, USA Today, Newsweek and The Hill, among others. In June, he joined full time as the first David Boaz Resident Writing Fellow at Young Voices.
Sam Raus’ Success Story Interview:
You recently joined Young Voices as our first David Boaz Resident Writing Fellow. How do you think classical liberals can better communicate their ideas to a more mainstream audience?
Most people think about politics in terms of how it affects their daily lives — their paycheck, their job, their family, etc. So if you want to explain complex policy ideas, start with the human side. Tell a story. Show how the issue touches someone’s real-world experience. Data and logic matter, but they only go so far. What really makes an argument land is helping people see why it matters to them personally.
What underserved topic or policy do you hope to bring more attention to through your writing?
I want to bring more attention to how government policies can quietly hold back innovation and limit competition in technology and energy resources. From ineffective subsidies to regulations that prop up legacy players, a lot of well-meaning policy creates barriers for new ideas and startups. I’m especially interested in how this affects everyday consumers with higher prices, fewer choices, or slower progress. We talk a lot about the future, but bad policy can keep it stuck in the past.
How has working with Young Voices helped you as a writer and commentator?
Working with Young Voices has pushed me to become a sharper, more intentional writer. Everyone has opinions, but few can communicate them well. I’ve learned how to clarify my argument, tighten up my wording, and keep the audience in mind. It’s been great training not just in writing, but in how to express ideas to people verbally too.
Which media placement that the Young Voices content team helped you place are you most proud of?
My Newsweek piece on the perils of AI regulation was certainly a turning point for my career. Not only did it reach a massive readership, but the piece led me to building relationships with people across the tech policy space.
How has Young Voices impacted your early career trajectory?
Being part of Young Voices helped me see how my interests in policy and communication could come together in meaningful, real-world work. Instead of feeling like I had to choose between writing or research, I’ve learned how to blend them and pursue opportunities I wouldn’t have otherwise considered.
Finally, what advice do you have for any young professional hoping to expand the impact of their writing or build a career in journalism?
Take on the uncovered stories. Everyone has an opinion on the hot button issues of the day. Not as many people can speak to the nuances of say, antitrust or drug regulations. You won't gain a million followers off writing these pieces, but you'll leave a real impact on policymakers and other influential voices.
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Our most recent Success Story with Kate Farmer, a Young Voices Social Mobility Fellow who was recently awarded the Joseph Rago Memorial Fellowship in Journalism through The Fund for American Studies. Kate will officially be joining The Wall Street Journal as a full-time writer and editor on WSJ's Opinion team.
Kate Farmer's Success Story Interview:
You were one of Young Voices' first Social Mobility Fellows. What drew you to talk about Urbanism, Homelessness, and Criminal Justice?
I was! I can’t emphasize enough how much the Social Mobility Fellowship pushed me as a writer, and how much I needed it for my growth.
When I first applied to Young Voices, I was a teenage college sophomore with zero media or journalism training. I was probably the youngest person in my Contributor Program cohort, and although I was a strong writer, my lack of confidence held me back. Starting the Social Mobility Fellowship, and being surrounded by some Young Voices heavyweight writers — Neetu Arnold, Sofia Hamilton, Ethan Brown — was intimidating. But it was those people who ended up being some of my biggest champions. I specifically remember Neetu pushing me to pitch my article ideas with confidence, and Sofia encouraging me to not let my age or lack of experience hold down my voice. It was the ability to rub shoulders with them in person, and to receive professional reporting training for the first time, that gave me a huge boost in my writing. My first piece out of the fellowship was a clear notch above anything I’d written before.
As for my topics, I’ve always been interested in the realm of what’s often referred to as “poverty studies” or “social mobility studies.” I’m interested in homelessness especially because it’s so underserved a topic — I’m frequently told that covering homelessness is a “career killer,” and that nobody wants to read about it. But it's a massive and complex issue that affects millions of Americans, and I’d love my role as a writer to be that person who makes people care.
What topic do you think is the least talked about within mainstream media or opinion journalism that deserves more attention?
Like I said, homelessness is so neglected a topic. And because media is a competitive field, and the most interesting or stimulating topics get the most clicks, homelessness and social mobility policy usually fail to catch readers’ eyes. But it doesn’t have to be that way — and strong, incisive reporting speaks for itself. That level of underservice also means that there are a lot of big stories out there yet to be found. On my first reporting trip ever, I dug up a huge scandal of bureaucratic disarray and homelessness funding loss in my hometown, and it ended up running nationally in Reason Magazine. So many things like that sit near the surface in the field of homelessness, and they’re an indication that the subject needs more writers and more attention.
Since you've written a lot about the issue of homelessness, what do you think is the biggest cause of it, and is there a solid answer to resolving the crisis on a state-by-state basis?
It’s so complex. There’s no simple answer to fixing it, and that’s why homelessness — as a field of government services — is one of the highest-waste areas. Billions are spent every year just for the problem to worsen, and it’s common practice for a local government to spend thousands on one individual just for them to return to the streets a few months later. It’s heartbreaking, and it’s one of the most complex policy puzzles you can find.
In general, though, there are a few rules-of-thumb about homelessness that I often emphasize in my writing. The first is that homelessness is overwhelmingly misunderstood as just a housing problem, and that misconception is one of the main reasons why so many expensive and well-intentioned programs fail. This often boils down to understanding the difference between temporary and chronic homelessness. Temporary homelessness is about emergency shelters, job reintegration programs, and resources dedicated to getting a normally functional life back on track. But the real driver behind the national uptick in homelessness has been a rise in chronic homelessness. Chronic homelessness is plagued by drug addiction, mental illness, and unstable families, and you can’t properly address it without addressing its roots. That’s what makes working on homelessness so complex, and also why writing on homelessness is so stimulating — it requires pulling from lots of different disciplines for complete answers.
How has working with Young Voices helped you as a writer and commentator?
Young Voices has really given me everything — writing and editing training, reporting lessons, PR advice and connections, but especially confidence. There are so many young writers out there with talent, but it’s the resources and coaching YV offers that really allows them to grow into their full potential. Before starting YV, as an early college student, my writing was rarely given any criticism. But when I joined YV, my first articles were torn up with edits and suggestions for improvement. YV taught me how to write — and think — at the highest level in a way my university never did. When pushed in these conditions, I progressed rapidly, and doors in my life started opening. It is a wonderful thing that YV put so much faith and confidence into the 19-year-old writer I was, and I’m very grateful for it.
Which media placement that the Young Voices content team helped you place are you most proud of?
I’d say my Reason piece on the lost homelessness funding was the one I’m most proud of. But to throw a different hat into the ring, Young Voices recently connected me with an opportunity to write a long-form article on AI therapy (a fun side interest I’ve covered over the years), and the media hit I did for it was an hour-long appearance on The AI Report Live. I do not have any sophisticated background in AI or tech, and had never done a hit longer than twenty minutes before, so this was very out of my comfort zone. But YV has always pushed me to take gigs that seem intimidating at first, and pulling it off successfully gave me a lot of confidence. I ended up having fun doing it, too.
How has Young Voices impacted your career trajectory?
Publishing op-eds and doing media hits through Young Voices has opened so many doors in my life. It helped me enter full-time work as a journalist at a major newspaper, but even if journalism isn’t your final career goal, just having a few published op-eds in your area of expertise do so much to push your resume or application to the top of the heap — no matter where you’re trying to go. Even just for getting a good policy job, or for improving your prospects for grad school, it goes a long way.
For me, writing for the Wall Street Journal was once a distant dream, and I’m still pinching myself that I get to be there full-time.
Being awarded the Joseph Rago Memorial Fellowship, what advice would you give to young professionals aspiring to build a career in journalism?
Never feel like you’re too young or too inexperienced to start. You don’t need a “real job” or a college degree to write and publish at the highest level. That’s even the case for 19-year-olds! Seek out criticism in your work, and take on new projects that intimate you — you will improve faster than you think. Young Voices has always pushed me to challenge myself, and that’s really how I’ve been able to grow.
I’d also recommend finding ways to meet and befriend other writers. Being mentored by other members of the YV community helped me find my place in the field, and allowed me to learn things about the writing and journalism community I couldn’t have known before. It really does take a village!
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Our most recent Success Story with Neetu Arnold, a Young Voices Social Mobility Fellow who was recently hired to be a Paulson Policy Analyst for the Manhattan Institute.
Neetu Arnold's Success Story Interview:
You've worked for the National Association of Scholars as a research fellow and now going to be a Paulson Policy Analyst at the Manhattan Institute, focusing on problems within higher education. What drew your attention towards higher education?
Being a college student at Cornell University during the 2016 election gave me first-hand experience with higher ed’s intolerance toward views outside the progressive orthodoxy—from shutting down classes when the results of the election didn’t go as hoped for; to one-sided statements on political issues from university leadership; to bias response teams to monitor wrongthink by professors and students.
I felt that many people didn’t quite grasp how bad things had gotten at our elite universities. Not only that, but I knew what was happening at the universities would eventually reach all of our most influential institutions—the progressive activist messages that permeated classrooms were shaping the next generation of journalists, policymakers, and teachers. Writing became my outlet to show how far gone our universities had become.
What topic do you think is the least talked about within mainstream media that deserves more attention?
The mainstream media doesn’t sufficiently question “equity-based” policies. At best, some reporters may mistakenly think equity means fairness in some colloquial sense. At worst, journalists are aware that the modern notion of equity means reallocating resources and opportunities based on class and race, and don’t question it because they are blinded by their own biases. Equity-based policies are discriminatory and they damage our country’s ability to be competitive with the rest of the world. The lack of good reporting on this topic means Americans are left in the dark as governments, corporations, and schools adopt harmful policies.
For example, earlier this year, I learned about a plan that would distribute state funds to Illinois universities based on the racial makeup of their student body. This plan was proposed by the Illinois Commission on Equitable Public University Funding in a 90-page report. It wasn’t as if I was the first to write about this proposal, but nobody in mainstream news outlets seemed to notice what was wrong with this scheme. With the help of Young Voices, I was able to show how this plan would violate civil rights law in an article with The Wall Street Journal. The article reached a large audience; even Elon Musk commented that what Illinois lawmakers had proposed was “messed up.”
The work has only started—Illinois lawmakers have turned the idea into a bill that will be deliberated this upcoming spring. But hopefully my reporting, along with the work of other opponents of this bill, will play some part in the ensuing debate.
With some of the recent problems with plagiarism and campus protests happening within universities, do you think there's much that can be done to improve higher education?
There are a ton of opportunities to improve higher education. Particularly after the Congressional hearings surrounding elite universities’ responses to the October 7 attacks on Israel, the public saw how morally bankrupt and hypocritical our academic institutions had become. The icing on top was watching elite university presidents leave their posts due to the immense scrutiny. It showed that high-quality reporting, public awareness, and accountability are feasible ways to improve higher education. Already, schools are delineating better policies on institutional neutrality and punishment for unlawful protests.
There are still many other issues in higher ed— college affordability, DEI, foreign influence. That’s why journalism and policy analysis in this area will continue to be important.
How has working with Young Voices helped you as a writer and commentator?
When I joined Young Voices, I already had some experience writing and pitching articles. The Young Voices team helped me refine those skills. But what I valued the most was the consistent media appearances the Young Voices team would help me book on the back of my articles. This is an important aspect of the organization because it can be hard to break into the media when you’re young and inexperienced.
I have long struggled with anxiety around public speaking. Getting a media interview should be a positive testament to the work and research that takes place when writing articles. But the experience can quickly become unenjoyable when anxiety gets in the way.
Consistent practice is helping me learn to manage those emotions. For successful interviews, it shows me that I have the capability to do well. And for the interviews that don’t go the way I hope, it shows me that things are still okay and I can work to do better next time. The Young Voices team has been very supportive of me as I’ve worked to become a better speaker and guest on media appearances.
Which media placement that the Young Voices content team helped you place are you most proud of?
Earlier this year, I wrote a piece for Newsweek on how the Biden administration needed to give up on student loan forgiveness to focus on more pressing issues, like making sure students could access federal student aid. This piece alone led to a wave of media interview placements from Young Voices. My personal favorite interview was with The Blaze.
How has Young Voices impacted your career trajectory?
Young Voices offers many kinds of professional growth opportunities. Last year, I was grateful to be a part of the Social Mobility Fellowship. I was able to refine my reporting skills both by receiving feedback from other fellows and from editors at external outlets. The projects in this fellowship were challenging. But I’m very happy with the articles that I produced, and I’ve been able to use them in my writing portfolio when applying to further opportunities. I believe that the combination of having a broad set of media appearances and a solid writing portfolio, both of which Young Voices was instrumental in developing, have led to successful job applications in my field—including my current job.
Having recently started at the Manhattan Institute, what advice would you give to young professionals aspiring to build a career in public policy?
Consistently show up. Every article you write is an opportunity for someone to notice your work. Every media interview you do is an opportunity to get better for the next one. It’s easy to gain confidence when you can look back and notice all the progress you’ve made, even if it’s hard to tell in the moment.
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This week's impact interview is with Conner Drigotas. Conner is the Managing Editor for the Connecticut Inside Investigator, an investigative nonprofit outlet dedicated to informing the people of corruption in the state's politics through news reporting and in-depth investigative pieces.
Conner Drigotas Interview
You hold degrees in Government and Psychology, and a Masters in Business. How did your interest in policy begin?
In high school I had a job at a video production company. One task I helped with was running the video board for town meetings so the stream properly appeared on local access. Being in that room as decisions were made, I realized how much influence this small board had over my small town. From there, an interest in local, state and federal policy has led to working on eradicating corruption and expanding opportunity for value.
How did Young Voices help you become a more well-rounded person and writer? Which published works or media appearances Young Voices placed for you are you most proud of?
I enjoyed listening to Glenn Beck when I was growing up and it was a big win to have three of my op eds appear on his website during my year in the Writing Fellowship. The program was a great experience because of the people in the cohort, the constant feedback, and the step up of having a team available to help place writing. Young Voices opened doors to major newsrooms, thousands and millions of eyeballs, and helped put the tools in the toolbelt along the way.
How does your publication Connecticut Inside Investigator (CII) impact the state of Connecticut and its residents?
Insideinvestigator.org is a nonprofit investigative journalism website working to root out corruption. Our reporters are tasked with creating long form investigations to tell human stories and putting a spotlight on some of the most egregious bad actors in Connecticut. We tell stories other newsrooms can’t, or won’t, with the simple goal of providing reliable information. Our impact is realized by empowering people. In our first 17 months since launch we have published 67 investigations, and more than 660 news stories - each in service of ensuring no stone goes unturned and no corruption goes unnoticed. We get to stand in the gap for people and tell human stories. We’re growing!
You’re working on an online audio series entitled “Capitaoism”. What is Capitaoism and what do you hope to achieve through this project?
Capitaoism is an unscripted chapter by chapter look at the Tao Te Ching, and its surprising harmony with free market Capitalism. Despite not being translated into English until 1868, the ideas expressed in the Tao have shown up in the American Founding and are alive and well in free markets. I'm publishing this on Twitter as an experiment and my goal with the project is to encourage more people to consider what they value; what is value? I can’t give anyone their answer to the question, but I can help encourage the conditions of liberty and free markets which make peaceful realization of value possible. The ideas of human liberty are perennial, and we each have a one of a kind opportunity just by being alive. We each get to decide what to do with it - What an exciting opportunity!
What’s your advice for pro-liberty young people pursuing a career in journalism?
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This week's impact interview is with Cooper Conway. Cooper is currently working to receive his Master of Public Policy (MPP) at Pepperdine University focusing on education policy.
Cooper Conway Interview
You're working on acquiring your MPP at Pepperdine, tell us how you decided to focus on public policy.
In the summer of 2019, I worked as an intern providing educational programming at a nonprofit in South Baltimore. While there, I saw students and families without access to the same educational opportunities I had been blessed to receive and didn’t understand why.
Ever since I had this awakening of sorts, I have worked for various organizations that advocate for promising reforms like education choice that empower students and families. At Pepperdine, I was particularly drawn to their Education Policy and Impact initiative, which allows me to learn from various education reformers inside and outside the classroom every semester. Dr. Hattie Mitchell has particularly inspired me and my classmates in this regard, starting a charter school called Crete Academy in South Central LA that humanizes what we learn in the classroom.
As there is a lot of discussion lately about education reform in the US, do you think there's something not being covered enough in the mainstream news?
For sure! There are many negative headlines surrounding K-12 education right now, and deservedly so, but there's also a ton of good news, which is never covered enough. Across the country, we are seeing an explosion in education freedom, high-dosage tutoring programs, and other significant initiatives/reforms that impact students and families. Recently, I talked to a Mom who put her son, who was getting bullied, into a new school this past year due to an education choice scholarship. Her son is no longer being bullied and made a new best friend. I think more people would love to hear about these programs' impact on individual families and students.
What do you think would need to change to get people’s attention and make them understand how important these issues are?
If Covid-19 didn’t do it, I don’t exactly know what will. I have a poster of RFK (not Jr., to be clear) on my wall with a quote of him saying, “The youth of our nation are the clearest mirror of our performance.” For me, the poster is a helpful reminder that we are blessed to stand on the shoulders of giants and are responsible for passing these blessings on to the next generation.
You were named one of 50CAN's 2022 National Voices Fellows, what would be your advice for young adults in the liberty movement interested in public policy?
Here is a quick list of advice I have received from others that have stuck with me:
How has Young Voices helped you become a more well rounded writer and commentator?
The support and encouragement from each person at Young Voices have been an integral part of my growth. Coming into the program, I had no idea what to expect; certainly, making TikToks was not on my radar. Nonetheless, the fact that I have even gotten to this point is because of the confidence and feedback the Young Voices team has given me to be a part of the public discourse.
How did Young Voices impact your career trajectory?
Nearly three years ago, I was given the opportunity to be a part of the Young Voices community. I have made fantastic friends in the program, got into graduate school with the help of a recommendation letter from Casey, and have gotten to advocate for policies that are making the American K-12 education system better. None of that would have been possible without the support of the Young Voices team.
I am still figuring out where I will land full-time after I finish my time at Pepperdine this April. Wherever I end up, I will continue advocating for every student to have the best education possible.
Which published works or media appearances Young Voices placed for you are you most proud of?
Anything I co-author with another Young Voices contributor, I enjoy. After an eye-opening experience at FreedomFest last year, Gary Frankel and I wrote this piece in the Washington Examiner, which provides a common sense approach to school choice’s role in the liberty movement. Another article I enjoyed writing discussed my family’s school choice story.
However, my favorite placement Young Voices gave me was a speaking engagement in Jackson, Tennessee, last summer in front of families, legislators, and other community members. After the speech, I struck up a relationship with the Student Award Center, which sponsored the event. This partnership has led to incredible success as we just doubled the number of students we provide scholarships to for this upcoming school year. Additionally, we plan to be at the forefront of ESA implementation for student families in West Tennessee once it is expanded across the state.
Thanks so much to Cooper for his insightful answers! Stay tuned for our next impact interview.
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This week's impact interview is with Albie Amankona. He is a political commentator, financial analyst, and co-founder of Conservatives Against Racism For Equality (CARFE).
Albie Amankona Interview
What led you to the world of media and policy? Tell us about your career path.
For as long as I can remember, politicians and broadcasters have always excited me, whether that was watching David Cameron and Tony Blair spar at Prime Minister’s Questions in the 2000s or seeing expert broadcasters like Andrew Marr, Piers Morgan, Iain Dale, Andrew Neill or Jo Coburn hold leaders to account by asking the big questions for the public on television and radio. For me, a career in politics and media had a certain inevitability to it. I’m often asked by my colleagues in finance, “When are you going into politics?”, “When are you going to have your own show?” I’m thrilled I can finally say, “Now”!
You’re a British political commentator and a co-founder of the organization Conservatives Against Racism For Equality (CARFE). What do you think the future of British conservatism looks like?
The future of British conservatism is in our hands. Either we go down the culture-warring, conspiracy-theory-romanticising road of our transatlantic cousins in the GOP — protectionism with a dash of populism — or we rediscover what conservatives have done for centuries: Find common sense solutions to the issues of the day, get out of the way and let people live their lives on their own terms with a slim but effective state, smart regulation, competitive taxes and a patriotic, aspirational mind set. Modern conservatism can’t be exclusive as it was in the past, with a fast growing ethnic minority and LGBT+ population in Europe and the US, the future of conservatism must be effective, inclusive and attractive. I’d argue, there has been a lot of un-conservative nonsense on both sides of the Atlantic since 2016. We must get back on track, and I am going to help us get there.
How did Young Voices help you become a more well-rounded person and writer?
When I joined Young Voices I had already been a commentator for about a year, whilst I was confident in my abilities, I had never received much feedback. Jason and the team gave me the feedback and tools needed to excel and succeed in the world of political media.
You’ve appeared many times on major British media outlets including the BBC, Sky News, ITV, and TalkTV. And now you’re even hosting a show on GB News! What’s your advice for pro-liberty young people pursuing a career in media?
As a young person you’ll be constantly questioned over your support for libertarian principles as the assumption is you’re a socialist or a social democrat. Stick to your principles; don’t compromise your principles by caving to authoritarians who want to control what people think and do. And remember: “Anti-woke” traditionalists are as much of a threat to liberty as “woke” progressives. Always be polite and have something unique and well-researched to say. Producers can always find someone to say something ridiculous for clicks and views. If you want longevity, you must demonstrate skill and diligence.
Which published works or media appearances Young Voices placed for you are you most proud of?
I am most proud of my appearances on Times Radio Early Breakfast with my friends Calum Macdonald & recently Rosie Wright since Calum moved to weekend Breakfast. It’s an early slot, and not many people like doing it, but it’s one of my favourites. It’s one of the first slots Young Voices UK books you on when you are getting started. You’re one of the first voices people are hearing in the morning. The day’s news agenda is yet to be set, and so to some extent, that’s up to you and the presenter.
You’ve become a panelist for the primetime GB News Show Saturday Five. Can you tell us a little bit about the show and your role?
It’s a new prime time show on GB News, similar in format to Fox’s The Five or Sky News’ The Pledge. There are 4 regular presenters, Emily Carver, Darren Grimes, Benjamin Butterworth & myself; then a guest every week. We each have a minute to make an argument and then moderate a debate afterwards. It’s fast paced, young and punchy. I am always a bit scared one of us will forget we’re on live TV and say something inappropriate as it can feel like you’re down at the pub with friends having a debate! I feel lucky to have been given this opportunity. The show’s brainchild, Ben Briscoe, is great, and I have learnt so much. Ben previously launched Good Morning Britain on ITV and Piers Morgan Uncensored on TalkTV/ Fox Nation/ Sky News Australia. We are in good hands, and I am excited to see where things go.
Thanks so much to Albie for his thoughtful answers! Stay tuned for our next impact interview.
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This week's impact interview is with Gabriella Hoffman. She is a media strategist, consultant, and award-winning outdoor writer. Gabriella is also a Young Voices Regional Leader for the Northeast.
Gabriella Hoffman Interview
You’ve done an excellent job establishing yourself as an independent professional who offers a variety of client services ranging from media strategy to marketing to photography. Tell us about your career path.
I really appreciate that!
My freelance journey has been a whirlwind since summer 2016 and I’m very blessed to have stability today. But it hasn’t always been easy. After leaving my 9-to-5 job in 2016, I took an opportunity that I came to regret, parted ways, and decided to chart my own course through self-employment.
Starting from scratch again, I had to take on some pro bono work and then work my way up again–but in media relations. It was a humbling first three years of business. It taught me to be selective with media clients and to not limit myself. The bad experiences, especially, made me stronger.
Thankfully, I had a firm foundation established from my time working in politics and started building relations with outdoor industry contacts. It didn’t hurt that I was a somewhat established political writer who cultivated media contacts, going off of existing relationships or easily forging new ones, to make pitching client stories and columns more feasible. And in many cases, it did.
Fast forward to today: I’m in full control of my client work. I have amazing clients and will be adding a couple more long-term and short-term clients soon. My position as a freelance media strategist doesn’t limit me to just journalism or podcasting. I consult, do event planning, and create/produce content, as well.
And best of all, being a freelancer allows me to continue working with Young Voices!
You’re a conservationist and an award-winning outdoor writer. What led to your love of the outdoors and what policies can we implement to conserve American nature?
My love of the Great Outdoors was cemented when I was about 8 years old. Growing up in Southern California, my father exposed me to fishing. It was our way of bonding then and remains something we do today. Saltwater/freshwater fishing opportunities, camping, and vacations to National Parks defined my childhood. How could I not become a conservationist?
With respect to putting conservation into practice politically, I recall a moment my freshman year of college that lit a spark for me. California was mulling placing more restrictions on recreational fishing opportunities - or “marine life protection actions” – from Santa Barbara down to San Diego. Something with this proposal unsettled me, because it resulted in many key fishing areas becoming no-go zones for anglers, lost jobs and revenue for the fishing industry and subsidiary industries supported by it.
That really set it off for me and led me to pen columns at Townhall in the early 2010s and more prominently, freelance writing for the Wide Open Spaces website in 2015. I brought conservation – hunting, shooting sports, fishing, public lands – to the forefront when writing for the now defunct website, The Resurgent, from 2016 to 2020. Concurrently with my political writing, I started writing occasionally for Sporting Classics, Field & Stream, and Outdoor Life—preeminent outdoor publications. One of my pieces on grizzly bear conservation being thwarted by judicial activism attracted the attention of the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA), where I now serve as Board Member, for their Pinnacle Awards in the conservation category. Being bestowed with that award propelled my career further and enabled me to become a trusted journalist on wildlife conservation issues.
As podcasting became more en vogue, I recognized there was a deficit in podcasts led by women, especially women in the outdoors, and thus, the District of Conservation podcast was born in 2018. My podcast covers underreported topics, publishes original interviews with newsmakers, and breaks down public policy issues that affect this way of life. I’m told a handful of Members of Congress listen to the show, every now and then.
When Townhall recruited me to write for them as a regular freelance columnist in spring 2020, I took this beat to another level and print interviews with lawmakers and candidates through it.
With my podcast, columns, and videos, I’ve been able to advance a true conservation message for political observers to take and use.
How did Young Voices help you become a more well-rounded person and writer?
Young Voices has helped me refine my writing prowess and communications skills. While our organization largely appeals to new heterodox contributors, it also helps established ones like me make stronger arguments and showcase our work to larger audiences. The training and one-on-one sessions are unrivaled. Contributors are very lucky to have access to these perks at no costs.
The Contributor Program has enabled me to be a better communicator and media consultant. For that, I’m grateful!
You’re a Senior Fellow at Independent Women’s Forum and have written articles about women leaders. What’s your advice for young pro-liberty women seeking a career in the policy space?
To aspiring liberty-minded women communicators, I want to say this: A career in public policy is doable and you should absolutely pursue it.
You don't have to go “the traditional route” in public policy by acquiring a M.A. or PhD. Public policy can be discovered through many avenues, be it working in communications or grassroots organizing. Don’t be afraid to become an expert in a niche and run with it. Discourse benefits from having different, unique voices who don’t simply regurgitate the same boring talking points.
Start with Young Voices, of course!
Which published works or media appearances Young Voices placed for you are you most proud of?
There are SO many instances to cite – Young Voices has placed me in many reputable outlets – but I’m especially proud of the piece I did about controversial national monuments designations in Deseret News and most recently penning a column about lead usage in hunting and fishing in Real Clear Policy.
While these topics may not be newsworthy or trendy, Young Voices believes they matter and will go to bat for its Contributors ensuring underappreciated topics get the coverage they deserve.
We’re delighted that you are currently working for Young Voices as a Regional Leader for our Northeast operations. Why do you think regional and local reporting is so important? What would your pitch for applying to Young Voices be for writers in the Northeast?
It’s an honor to participate in the initial Regional Leaders Program cohort as the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast representative. Since assuming this role, I’ve seen many regional contributors placed in noteworthy publications and news outlets.
National media is a great vehicle to share one’s views. But regional news – especially daily newspapers – can sometimes carry more weight and allow writers greater latitude for creativity. Americans still consume local and state news. Having a presence in a regional publication can be far more impactful shaping opinion or opposing bad policies than in national outlets.
My pitch for aspiring Northeast/Mid-Atlantic contributors is this: This region beckons for more heredox viewpoints in print, radio, and TV. If you want to flex your writing chops and have a positive impact professionally and personally, our Contributor Program is for you. Apply today!
Thanks so much to Gabriella for her thoughtful answers! Stay tuned for our next impact interview.
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This week's impact interview is with Travis Nix. He is currently a JD candidate at Georgetown and will be starting at a law firm in the fall as a tax attorney.
Travis Nix Interview
You’re currently a JD Candidate at Georgetown law with a concentration in tax law.Can you tell us a little bit about your interest in the law and your career path?
I’ve always been interested in law. When I was younger I wanted to be a sports agent, so I’ve always been interested in contracts and contractual terms. I got into tax law when I was an undergraduate intern on Capitol Hill for Congressman Peter Roskam when the 2017 tax law passed and 2019 when I was a federal tax policy intern for the Heritage Foundation. I then learned I could go to law school and help companies navigate our labyrinth of a tax code by becoming a tax attorney. This fall, I’ll be moving to New York and becoming a tax attorney at Skadden, Arps, Meagher, and Flom.
You’ve written a lot about tax policy in many outlets including multiple pieces in The Wall Street Journal. What’s one major change you would make to the tax code and why?
The one realistic change I would make to the federal tax code is permanent full expensing. Full expensing is a policy that allows companies to deduct the full costs of their capital investments, like equipment and machinery, immediately off their taxes. By making these expensive investments cheaper, the tax code can grow our economy and raise wages.
How did Young Voices help you become a more well-rounded person and writer?
Young Voices made me a better writer without a doubt. I never considered myself a good writer (and my high school English teachers would agree), but thanks to Young Voices’ extremely talented editors, I have learned how to communicate very complicated tax concepts to a general audience. This will make me a better lawyer as well as a better advocate for good tax policy.
Which published works or media appearances Young Voices placed for you are you most proud of?
The article I’m most proud of is my Wall Street Journal article on Biden proposing to change the statute of limitations for audits. This was my first WSJ article and one of the first times I wrote about substantive tax law rather than policy. This was a proposal that easily could’ve been snuck into a large omnibus bill, and it still has not passed and hopefully never will.
Personally, I’m most proud of my television appearance on Fox and Friends discussing my immune deficiency and COVID-19 restrictions. This was the first time I had ever publicly discussed my disease. I was blessed with the opportunity to raise awareness about primary immune deficiencies and drive home the point that we just want to be treated the same as our peers and be able to live freely,
What’s your advice for pro-liberty young people pursuing a career in policy?
Write about the policies you are passionate about. You know more than 99.9% of the population. Come up with original ideas and people will respect you.
Thanks so much to Travis for his thoughtful answers! Stay tuned for our next alumni interview.
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This week's alumni interview is with Tanner Aliff. He is the Healthcare Policy Program Manager at the Cicero Institute.
You’re a policy wonk on healthcare and you are currently working on healthcare policy at the Cicero Institute. Can you tell us a little bit about your interest in healthcare and your career path?
I was born in Seattle and raised in Colorado and Oregon. I went to undergrad for cognitive neuroscience and political science at George Fox University. And I just hit my one-year anniversary working as the Healthcare Policy Manager at the Cicero Institute in Austin, Texas.
Before my current position, I worked as a Research Fellow and Medicare Caseworker for Congressman Dr. Mark Green from Tennessee (TN-07). I helped Congressman Green fulfill his role on the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis by providing research reports describing the economic troubles Tennessee patients were experiencing when accessing care. I also helped declining rural hospitals get access to CMS relief funds to pay their health professionals.
Before Capitol Hill I worked with Providence Health as a Mental Health Observer in Newberg, Oregon where I collaborated with PsyD graduates, who made diagnoses and created treatment plans in the emergency department. I was on a trajectory to go into a career of clinical neuropsychology, but ended up pivoting to health policy when I repeatedly saw the healthcare system fail to connect Medicaid subsidized patients with substance use disorders to the care they need. When I realized the administration of healthcare was hurting patients more than their own illnesses or injuries, I knew it was healthcare policy that needed the most curing.
When it comes to specific health policy, my interests revolve around creating functioning healthcare marketplaces, creating transparency in community benefit requirements for nonprofit hospitals, promoting alternative payment options for patients’ health care (e.g., crowdfunding, direct care, or cash-based services), behavioral health, and creating programs that boost patient education on the American healthcare system.
You’ve written a lot about healthcare in outlets such as the Washington Examiner and Forbes. What are some policies you think the US could implement to lower healthcare costs?
That’s the 4.1 trillion dollar question many policy folks are mulling over right now. For me, it all comes down to correcting incentives. Specifically, incentives for patients and other private actors in the healthcare system. There have been valiant efforts made in states and federal agencies to expand price transparency, but this is just a small step in the right direction. Patients are still alienated from knowing how to meaningfully pay for their care, insurers are still raising premiums, small businesses are still paying too much for health benefits, and providers are still often going unchallenged in raising prices. The key to lowering healthcare costs revolves around placing agency back into the hands of patients and doctors. Crony special interests and restrictive government rules have expanded because many Americans have been alienated and duped into capitulating their freedom to pay for their own healthcare.
Merely disclosing pricing information to Americans isn’t going to move the needle. At this point, American patients have become too indifferent in understanding how health care is paid for. However, this education gap isn’t irreversible. Patients can be taught how to lower prices and premiums for themselves—they just need a strong incentive.
The one proposal states or the federal government could implement right now to lower healthcare prices is the Cicero Institute’s Patient’s Right to Save Reform. Essentially, by requiring all providers to disclose their cash rates, giving deductible credit for when patients find good deals, and rewarding patients who shop for care post deductible, America can create a functioning healthcare market that will place real competitive pressure on providers and insurers. Right now, providers and insurers have little incentive to lower prices and rates, but by empowering patient freedom under Patient’s Right to Save, Americans can organically lower the cost of healthcare without recklessly blowing up the current system or giving in to further government control.
How did Young Voices help you become a more well-rounded person and writer?
Young Voices taught me all thoughts deserved to be expressed, but not all thoughts deserved to be heard. To make a difference with writing, your thoughts need to move people to act. To move people, you need to know where they are at, what are their problems, who are the stakeholders, what is the cultural impulse, and how to construct a timely argument that will encourage other people to care about what you think is worth writing on.
I will always feel grateful to Young Voices because they taught me how to express my passion through writing and how to move people. There is an art form to writing and I was most certainly not a Stephen King or Tolstoy. I had to develop my writing through unrelenting practice. Young Voices gave me the opportunity and support to make sure that there was a platform when my writing finally reached a place where it was publication worthy. Essentially, they gave me the skills, opportunity, and the motivation to transform my writing.
Additionally, and somewhat most importantly, Young Voices taught me how to play the “game of writing.” Editors and media outlets have been placed under tons of scrutiny as of late. Meaning it’s imperative that whatever is submitted matches the mission of the outlet. Through Young Voices I learned how to approach editors, how to build a tempered reputation, how to nurture media related relationships, how to gather sources, and how to exceed expectations. The world is full of writers wanting to engage in ad hominem attacks and burn strawmen ‘til kingdom come. Young Voices taught me how to go beyond that and construct pieces of writing that make balanced arguments. My statements of praise mean little, just look at my continually growing body of published work. It’s all a testament to Young Voices as a program.
Which published works or media appearances Young Voices placed for you are you most proud of?
The “Young Voices placed” publications I am most proud of are split between a piece with the Register Guard talking about the reality of the George Floyd protests in Portland during 2020, and another piece on international physicians in the Washington Examiner.
The Register Guard piece had value because it possessed some original reporting, I did with the Portland District Attorney and the Portland Small Business Alliance. Turns out the commonly reported property damage statistic of $30 million was an inflated number that bigger outlets across the aisle used to generate partisan articles on the issue. I felt like I was able to thread the needle and argue that people living in other localities shouldn’t assume everything in their go-to outlet is gospel and there are nuances to every situation. I received positive feedback all throughout Oregon on the left and right.
The international physicians piece highlighted a Cicero Institute reform that complimented my writing on the general physician shortage taking place all over rural parts of America. It was fun to work with the Cicero Institute to produce an article that made compelling arguments that states could help alleviate their doctor shortages if they allowed veteran international physicians to skip unnecessary residency requirements if they agreed to work in underserved communities. The op-ed holds a special place in my heart because it led me to meet all the amazing folks at the Cicero Institute, who in time, would become some of my closest professional colleagues.
What’s your advice for pro-liberty young people pursuing a career in policy?
Progress is not linear.
You will succeed and fail. Few people possess, both, a crystal-clear path laid out before them, and the competence to traverse that path in accordance to their own personal timeline. For most people in policy, they don’t know the destination they want to land up in, or they don’t yet possess the skills or network to get to the destination they think they want to reach. If you are in that situation now, I can relate, but know that it’s not as existential as it seems.
Here are the five policy-career revelations that got me to where I am at and where I think I am going:
Thanks so much to Tanner for his thoughtful answers! Stay tuned for our next alumni interview.
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This week's alumni interview is with journalist Nate Hochman. He is a staff writer at National Review.
What led you to pursue a career in journalism? Tell us about your career path.
Well, the easy answer is I was always useless at math and science, so something writing-related was really the only option. But more specifically, for my sins, I’ve always liked discussing and debating big ideas — I was a political theory major in college; mea culpa — and political writing is a vocation where you get the chance to do a lot of that. (Particularly on the conservative end of the spectrum). I entered the American Right at a time of enormous upheaval, uncertainty and internecine disagreement, amid a fascinating ongoing debate about what it means to be conservative — our priorities, what we should and shouldn’t stand for, how we should approach the defining issues of our time, and so on. The best way to actually get to have a voice in that conversation was to write for conservative publications. So in college, that’s what I did; first during a summer internship at National Review (where I now work full-time), then with a Young Voices fellowship, and finally, once I had worked my way up — with YV’s indispensable support — via my own brand.
You’ve dedicated a lot of your writing to a discussion on the future of American conservatism including an opinion piece in The New York Times. How do you think the conservative movement in the US is changing and what do you see as its future direction?
That’s the question of our time! The short answer is: Probably in some ways Young Voices writers and supporters will like, and in a lot of ways they won’t. As I see it, the shift in the center of gravity within conservatism is a long-overdue response to a radically new set of issues and challenges facing today’s Right, which are vastly different from those faced by generations past. That requires the creative application of conservative principles, in a way that will redound to a very different policy agenda than that of, say, the 1984 Reagan platform. The so-called “New Right” (not a very useful term for a variety of different reasons, but one we seem to be stuck with) certainly has factions that want to facilitate a radical break with traditional conservative principles, but I reject the criticism that all of the trends within conservatism over the course of the past half-decade are a betrayal of the movement’s most fundamental long-standing tenets.
A conservatism for our time is going to be more skeptical of foreign interventions and military adventurism abroad than its Cold War predecessors, and — partially as a result — more skeptical of the security state and federal law-enforcement agencies like the FBI and the CIA. That’s the part our libertarian friends will probably like. The part they might be dismayed by is that the growing skepticism of neoconservative foreign policy is part of a broader conservative nationalism that includes a concomitant shift towards a more hawkish posture on immigration and trade, a more aggressive approach to culture-war issues, a new suspicion of big business, and an embrace of Irving Kristol’s “Two Cheers for Capitalism” philosophy of markets; a tool, rather than an idol. As I see it, both libertarians and conservatives (of all stripes) are trying to advance a core set of priorities — ones that often overlap, but are also occasionally at odds. The shift in conservatism will present new opportunities for libertarian-conservative collaboration, even as it closes off old areas where we might have previously seen more eye-to-eye. We should all be thinking coalitionally: Have the big, important fights when and where they’re necessary, but be willing to work together to advance shared goals when possible.
How did Young Voices help you become a more well-rounded person and writer?
I owe an enormous amount to Young Voices. To this day, it really is a unique program — I can’t think of anything else like it. It’s very difficult to simply waltz into political writing; who are you going to pitch to? Why should they care? How do you know what they’re looking for? There’s no real textbook for all of that — it’s a learned skill, like anything else. Young Voices gave me the confidence and the experience to build that skillset — and from there, a personal brand in this industry. For a young writer with no prior experience, just getting a few bylines under his or her belt is revolutionary. From there, everything else Young Voices provides — learning about the pitching process, becoming comfortable with media hits, getting coaching from industry veterans, and so on — really makes the organization an invaluable one-stop shop for right-leaning (or at least, liberty-minded) young people seeking to make their mark in US politics.
You’ve been on the frontlines of breaking news stories over the past year, perhaps most notably with your coverage of the Georgetown University’s response to the Ilya Shapiro controversy. What’s your advice for young journalists on finding and reporting on stories?
Here, I’m going to outsource to a section of a speech, delivered to a room of young conservatives, from a very wise (and handsome) young man named Nate Hochman this summer:
So much of conservative media—and conservative politics in general—is reactive. We spend our time reacting or responding to the Left. But that’s an inherently defensive posture. It makes it very difficult to win when you’re playing on the other side’s terms.
Part of all this is simply a question of power. The constellation of mainstream, credentialed, “reputable” news outlets is very powerful. In the short term, there isn’t much we can do about that.
But part of it is a choice. Conservatives have adopted this defensive crouch by spending our time writing op-ed after op-ed about how biased the media is, about what this or that progressive pundit or Democratic politician said, and so on. And all of that is important, to a degree. I certainly do plenty of it myself. Part of our job is to hold people accountable—especially the ones that the mainstream media doesn’t.
But if we do that at the exclusion of other kinds of writing and journalism, we’ll never actually be able to set the terms of debate. And we’ll always be playing on a field where the referees work for our opponents.
The good news is, we don’t have to do that. The thing about the mainstream media’s bias is that they’re only really interested in uncovering half of the stories that are worth telling—and frankly, a lot of the stories they do tell aren’t particularly interesting or worthwhile.
What that means is that there is a cornucopia of stories for all of you to go out and find. Stories that matter, but that aren’t being told. All you have to do is go find them.
Which published works or media appearances Young Voices placed for you are you most proud of?
This TV hit on Fox 5 DC about the final days of the 2020 campaign, and this polemic I wrote about the Democrats’ government child care scheme for The American Conservative.
You’re currently a staff writer at National Review. What’s the best way to follow your work? And do you have any upcoming projects you’d like to share with us?
You can follow me on Twitter @njhochman, although I wouldn’t wish the heavy burden of following me on Twitter on my worst enemy. That’s where you’ll find any relevant info about new projects I’m working on, when they become public. Stay tuned!
Thanks so much to Nate for his thoughtful answers! Stay tuned for our next alumni interview.
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This week's alumni interview is with author, storyteller, and speaker Alexandra Hudson. She is the founder of Civic Renaissance a publication and intellectual community dedicated to beauty, goodness and truth. Alexandra is also the author of The Soul of Civility: Timeless Principles to Heal Society and Ourselves. The book is out in August and available for pre order now!
What led you to the world of writing and public speaking? Tell us about your career path and what your interests are.
I’m passionate about ideas and the life of the mind. The intellectual life is solitary—alone time is necessary to read, write, and think deeply—but it is also exceptionally social. We need others to metabolize and refine our own thinking. Community is essential to a fully realized life of the mind. I love to speak and write because of the way these opportunities allow me to cultivate an intellectual community, and to reach people with ideas that I care about—ideas of individual liberty, human dignity, personal autonomy, and the high riches on offer in life with others.
You’ve spoken about civil society and civic renewal to audiences around the world including Canada, Australia, France, and the US. What is it like to be a professional speaker? Do you have any tips for those who want to improve their public speaking skills?
Hah and don’t forget Tbilisi, Georgia, Turkey, and Italy, too! Speaking is a vital way of communicating ideas—take any and every opportunity that comes your way, because you learn from every person you encounter and every group you speak to. Q& A sessions are my absolute favorite because of how I’m able to learn what people really care about, what concerns them, what’s on their minds—and can tailor my ideas to their interests. Rotary and Lions clubs are also great places to start speaking. I was a rotary scholar for graduate school at the London School of Economics, so that was a natural community for me.
How did Young Voices help you become a more well-rounded person and writer?
Young Voices offered the professional media expertise that I needed, yet lacked. Having a whole team of people dedicated to helping refine my ideas, and communicate them more pointedly to the outside world was essential to helping me break into our harried media contest. Young Voices helped me build bylines and gain media hits that contributed to me securing my book deal. YV is an exceptional organization of which I’m thrilled to continue to be part.
As someone who has been published in major media outlets and who has worked in government and academia, what’s your advice for pro-liberty young people seeking a career in policy, journalism, or academia?
Write, write, and write some more. No writing is ever wasted. All of it refines your thinking, and makes you a better writer. Even if it never sees the light of day, it serves a purpose. Let your writing allow you to try out different ideas, and dabble in different subjects. Let this process help you cultivate your areas of interests. See what sticks! Create and write for the love of the process—not for promise or hope of worldly success.
Which published works or media appearances Young Voices placed for you are you most proud of?
Probably my CBS News hit that argued for local governance for schooling during the pandemic—there was an urge at the federal and state levels to have one-size fits all approaches to whether schools should be opened or closed, and I argued that distracts and schools should be able to make these decisions for themselves depending on many factors, such as the severity of cases, parent and teacher comfort levels, and more. Thanks for that one, Stephen Kent!
Jason also once got me a hit on English TV to discuss the Queen’s diamond jubilee—an honor especially considering her recent passing. I loved talking about tradition and how we keep history alive in our family. Thanks for that, Jason!
We’re so excited about your forthcoming book THE SOUL OF CIVILITY: Timeless Principles to Heal Society and Ourselves Politeness Failed America and How Civility Can Save It. Can you tell us a little bit about the premise of the book and why you wrote it?
While working in Washington politics, I observed and experienced an urgent need for tolerance and basic respect for others across difference. I scoured the human historical record and discovered that this is a question that people groups have been navigating for a long time. I revived wisdom from ancient handbooks and conduct manuals and ethics books from across time and place to revive timeless principles for how we can do this thing called society, civilization, and peaceful co-existence today.
We need more civility—a basic respect for the personhood and dignity of others—not more politeness—the rules and techniques of manners etiquette—to do this. I'm also thrilled to launch my series with The Teaching Company called Storytelling and The Human Condition. This series will explore over twelve episodes great stories from across time and place, and discover what it means to be human, and what it means to lead a rich life. It will be available on streaming services near you as of May 2023!
I can’t wait to share the book and course with the YV Community!
Thanks so much to Alexandra for her thoughtful answers! Stay tuned for our next alumni interview.
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This week's alumni interview is with journalist and economic analyst Brad Polumbo. He currently works as a policy correspondent for Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) and an Opinion Contributor for The Washington Examiner. Brad is also a cofounder of the media nonprofit BASEDPolitics.
What led you to the world of media and policy? Tell us about your career path.
I started out as a college student thinking I wanted to go on to law school and become a lawyer. However, I started writing for my campus newspaper as something of a side-hobby, and after having a few controversial articles get noticed nationally, Casey Given reached out to me and encouraged me to apply to Young Voices. I did, and went on to write my first professional articles for outlets like the Washington Examiner, USA Today, the Daily Beast, and National Review. I loved my experience with Young Voices and it actually showed me that I really wanted to pursue journalism full-time, which I then did after college by taking a job at the Washington Examiner full-time.
You’ve written a lot about economics in publications such as FEE, National Review, USA Today, RealClearPolitics, and more. You’ve debunked many myths about the free market. What do you think is the biggest misconception about capitalism and what’s a top economic reform you’d like to see implemented?
I think the biggest misconception about capitalism is that it’s a zero-sum game: some people get rich at the expense of others. In fact, true free-market capitalism enables trades that are mutually beneficial and the profit motive incentives fulfilling the needs of others. One top economic reform I’d like to see is a decrease in payroll taxes, which are a regressive tax on jobs.
How did Young Voices help you become a more well-rounded person and writer?
Having experienced editors revise my work helped me grow enormously as a writer. Even more importantly, though, the simple action of repetition, of writing dozens of Op-Eds, forced me to improve my skills. I went from initially spending several days on each article to now where I just need about 2 hours and a semi-stable internet connection to write something even for a major publication like Newsweek or the New York Post.
You’ve appeared many times on major outlets including Fox News, Fox Business, Sky News, and the Glenn Beck Radio Show. You even made an appearance on Dr. Phil! What’s your advice for pro-liberty young people pursuing a career in media?
Whether you like it or not, people are drawn to personalities, not substance. You need to be personable and entertaining and casual and then bring substance in after you have hooked audiences and attracted eyeballs. Too many young people in the liberty movement attempt to lead with the dry philosophy or dense statistics and end up getting ignored.
Which published works or media appearances Young Voices placed for you are you most proud of?
Young Voices helped me get my first articles published in National Review and the Daily Beast, which was very cool because they are national brands I was already very familiar with and suddenly as a college student I saw my name in their pages. It was a surreal experience!
Along with fellow Young Voices alum Hannah Cox, you’ve launched a pro-liberty media nonprofit called BASEDPolitics. Can you tell us a little bit about BASEDPolitics and the role it is playing in our media ecosystem?
Based is a popular internet slang word that is mostly used in political contexts to say that something is upfront, on point, or especially true. We’re a next-generation multi-media hub committed to providing “Based” commentary and reporting. At BASEDPolitics, we are committed to providing educational, engaging content that advances free markets and individual liberty. We strive to teach people how to think, bridge the partisan gap, and form a community with diverse audiences. We’re not satisfied with preaching to the choir or being the big fish in a little pond—our goal is to make liberty go viral.
In particular, we seek to produce content for platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube in order to reach Gen Z with our message in a way that old-fashioned liberty movement media and journalism efforts do not.
Thanks so much to Brad for his thoughtful answers! Stay tuned for our next alumni interview.
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This week's alumni interview is with tech policy wonk and writer Rachel Chiu. She is currently working as a Research Associate at the Cato Institute's Economic Department on tech antitrust. Rachel is also a Visiting Fellow at Independent Women's Forum and a Policy Fellow at The Committee for Justice.
You’ve established yourself as a tech policy expert and are currently working at the Cato Institute’s Economic Department on tech antitrust. Tell us about your career path.
After graduating from college, I worked with a small team to improve conditions during startup fundraising. We facilitated the creation of external anti-harassment and nondiscrimination policies, in addition to clear reporting channels.
I joined the Cato Institute in 2020 as a Research Associate for the Project on Emerging Technologies. In this role, I contributed to original research and supported the Project’s expansive portfolio. My focus is now on competition policy and its impact on technology and innovation.
You’ve been published in a multitude of outlets on a range of tech issues including the gig economy, antitrust, and content moderation. Which tech issue do you think is most misunderstood by the media?
The media — and legislators from both sides of the aisle — misunderstand the implications of using antitrust in “proactive” ways. Antitrust is a powerful tool that enables the government to distort and shape the marketplace while doling out benefits to select companies at the expense of disfavored ones. This is not how the free market ought to function. I’d like to see a cautious approach to antitrust reform, especially as it pertains to technology companies and their ability to operate.
How did Young Voices help you become a more well-rounded person and writer?
Joining Young Voices has been one of the best decisions of my professional career. The staff have taught me the art of op-ed writing — and not just in a technical sense. They have pushed me to delve deeper into my areas of focus and learn how the topics I care about impact others. Writing has become an investigatory process for me. It is both research-oriented and community-based. Because of Young Voices, I have the unique ability to comment on issues in ways that substantially impact policy discussions.
You’re a prolific writer who has been published in USA Today, National Review, and City AM among other outlets. What’s your advice for aspiring pro-liberty writers?
Pro-liberty writers have a challenging task since our opinions rarely fall within the popular view. Consequently, it is even more important to be authentic, honest, and intensely focused on the facts. Op-eds written from a place of sincerity and genuine interest have inherent merit, even when standing alone against the fiercest criticism.
Which published works or media appearances Young Voices placed for you are you most proud of?
My articles in City A.M., a London-based newspaper, are some of my favorites. The caliber of commentary in their opinion section is very high; I never tire of seeing my name next to bright thinkers. It is also a fun experience to compare US and UK tech policy issues!
You’re still early in your career and you’ve already covered a lot of ground! You’ve been Head of Policy at #MovingForward, a Research Associate at Cato, a Policy Fellow at the Committee for Justice, and a Visiting Fellow at Independent Women’s Forum. What are your plans for the future and what’s the best way for people to keep up with your work?
I plan to attend law school and continue writing. I post my articles on Twitter (@rachelhchiu) and MuckRack.
Thanks so much to Rachel for her thoughtful answers! Stay tuned for our next alumni interview.
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This week's alumni interview is with economist and writer Alexander Salter. Alexander joined Young Voices in 2020 and since then we've helped him get published in many outlets including several appearances in the The Wall Street Journal. For his achievements, Alexander won the Young Voices Contributor of the Year Award in 2021.
He has become a formidable and compelling advocate for free enterprise. Alexander is currently the Georgie G. Snyder Associate Professor of Economics in the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University.
What led you to the world of economics and academia? Tell us about your career path.
I studied economics and math in college. I wanted to be an investment banker. The financial crisis made that difficult. I graduated in 2010, but Wall Street still wasn’t eager to hire. I decided to go to graduate school. Worst-case scenario, I could get a private-sector job with better credentials when markets stabilized. (Prospective Ph.D. students: don’t do this! The only reason to go to grad school is to become a professor. Nothing else is worth the opportunity cost.) My Ph.D. program at George Mason completely changed the way I viewed economics and politics. I got excited about ideas and the academic life. Becoming a professor was largely an accident, but it turns out it was the best thing for me!
You are a strong proponent of the free enterprise system as well as a professor of economics. How can we teach young people the value of free enterprise as opposed to alternatives such as socialism?
Genuine socialism—public ownership of the means of production and exchange—is probably the most discredited idea of political economy. It’s supported today by those who don’t understand the difference between socialism and the welfare state, as well as a small number of “true believers” who are immune to evidence and hence are unpersuadable. Thankfully, most people are open to discussion. Theory and history show that socialism destroys material prosperity, political liberty, and humane society. We need to teach how markets work and be honest about the great policy debates of the 20th century. There’s no magic bullet.
How did Young Voices help you become a more well-rounded person and writer?
I had far too high an opinion of my writing abilities when I first joined Young Voices. Op eds were just an easier version of academic writing, I thought. Wrong! Writing for the public is an art. Honing it requires an incredible amount of practice. Thanks to Young Voices, I’ve made great progress in acquiring the right skills. Interestingly, learning to write for the public has improved my scholarly writing, too. My prose is much more readable. The opposite of what I envisioned happened: learning to talk to the “intelligent layman” helped me make better arguments to my scholarly peers.
As someone who has achieved success in multiple fields, what’s your advice for pro-liberty young people seeking a career in policy, journalism, or academia?
Specialization is overrated. An odd position for an economist to take, but it’s true! Maintain a wide-ranging outlook and make sure you can write on multiple topics. Of course, you’ll have a particular expertise—mine is monetary policy—but your appeal will be broader if you can handle multiple topics competently. This is also helps to prevent professional burnout. Personally, I’d be miserable if I had to limit myself to one subject or theme.
Now for some more typical advice: learn economics. Be familiar at least with supply and demand and its applications. It’s relevant to everything. There’s a great book online free of charge: Universal Economics by Armen Alchian and William Allen. Policy wonks and journalists will find a wealth of ideas and concepts that will improve their arguments. Academics will find a sophisticated way of looking at the world that illuminates society’s hidden logic, which is especially valuable for fields outside economics.
Which published works or media appearances Young Voices placed for you are you most proud of?
Definitely my work in the Wall Street Journal. I submitted my first piece to WSJ when I was a first-year grad student. After ten years of trying to get in, I finally cleared the hurdle. I doubt I would’ve made it without the fantastic editorial support I got from Young Voices. Never give up!
You’ve got a lot of projects including a published book, a frequent presence in the media, and a full-time teaching job at Texas Tech University. Can you tell us a little bit about your plans for the future and the best way people can follow your work?
I’d like to get more involved in politics and public policy. School choice at the state level and reforming the Fed at the national level are two hot-button issues where liberty advocates can do a lot of good. The public is rightly angry about failed government schools and rampant inflation. We can’t afford to lose the moment.
In academia, I’m working on some projects to preserve and revitalize Chicago-UCLA style price theory. This unique and powerful approach to studying markets is dying out as older generations of scholars retire, and newer generations become infatuated with flashy techniques that lack social-scientific substance. Understanding the role of prices in allocating resources and coordinating production is what economics is all about. If it goes, so does the economics profession!
As for my work, I make all my papers and articles available at my website (www.awsalter.com). I love hearing from readers, so please feel free to email me.
Thanks so much to Alexander for his thoughtful answers! Stay tuned for our next alumni interview.
Support Young Voices' work empowering rising leaders for liberty like Alexander
Young Voices is launching a series of alumni interviews to highlight the life changing impact of our programs and the good work that our participants are doing in the fields of policy, journalism, and academia. Interviews will be released every few weeks. Our first interview is with prolific writer and healthcare policy professional Elise Amez-Droz.
You’re a policy wonk on healthcare and have been working on healthcare policy at the Mercatus Center for nearly half a decade now. Can you tell us a little bit about your interest in healthcare and your career path?
I didn’t choose healthcare policy — it chose me. I studied business in undergrad and grad school but have always had an interest in public policy. I started dreaming about working for a think tank as soon as I heard about their existence. When it came time to pick a policy field, I realized that I had accumulated a decent bit of knowledge about the healthcare industry through school, and that my personal experience as a health insurance customer had given me an idea or two about what needed to change. Somehow, that was enough to secure a job in health policy in DC. I’ve since grown to love health policy and now get to manage the healthcare team at Mercatus.
You’ve written a lot about healthcare costs in outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, National Review, and Modern Healthcare. What are some policies you think the US could implement to lower healthcare costs?
People are familiar with “third-party payers,” where insurance companies act as the middlemen between patients and providers. But really, the third party is you and I — the patients. Insurance companies and hospitals strike deals, and we’re made to pick up the tab. The US should stop making health insurance the goal of every healthcare reform, because that’s what got us in the mess we’re in in the first place. Instead, it should seek to put patients back in control of their healthcare dollars. Americans should be empowered to buy the coverage that works for them and spend their money on care that they actually need and want. One example is that people should be able to know the price of care before they receive it and to reap the rewards of shopping for better value, as outlined in a new report by health policy colleagues titled the Patient’s Right to Save. Every reform should drive toward reconnecting patients with providers.
How did Young Voices help you become a more well-rounded person and writer?
The question is well posed, and let me start with the latter part. The growth I’ve experienced as a writer over the past few years can be entirely credited to Young Voices. The training and support I’ve received from the editors and staff members are why I’m now able to quickly write a timely piece on a new topic in a short amount of time. But Young Voices has also made me a more well-rounded person by teaching me the value of discipline (please turn in a draft by the end of the month!), perseverance (no, it’s not time to shelve this piece, it still has a shot!), and excellence (you can’t make that point unless you have a reliable source to back it up!). I’ve also greatly benefitted from media training and briefings. Last but not least, Young Voices contributors represent a rare breadth of intellectual currents and persuasions, which makes for interesting conversations and valuable learning opportunities.
What’s your advice for pro-liberty young people pursuing a career in policy?
Never, ever compromise on your values. No amount of money, no career move, no prestigious invitation is worth your reputation. Be a person of integrity.
Which published works or media appearances Young Voices placed for you are you most proud of?
This year, my goal was to write for National Review, and we did it it in April! But 2022 had more surprises in store, and I got published by two top healthcare outlets (STAT on lessons from Singapore’s healthcare system, and Modern Healthcare on Medicare Part A’s looming insolvency), and we eventually got something placed in The Wall Street Journal on the issue of animal testing. Thank you, Young Voices!
You’re very active in DC as a founding member of the Adam Smith Society’s DC Professional Chapter and a founder of the Health Policy Society. What’s it been like to build these communities, especially as an immigrant to the US? How can people get involved with these societies?
The best way to succeed in the US is not to look to the past but to the future. I think that being an immigrant forced me to work extra hard and think creatively about how to get ahead. Americans’ profound sense of hospitality and community is how I was able to build a network of friends and colleagues without having gone to college here. That’s what is driving me to create communities of my own — I know personally just how crucial they are to having not only a flourishing career but also a fulfilling life. If anyone is interested in market-oriented health policy, please reach out to me via LinkedIn or my personal website.
Thanks so much to Elise for her thoughtful answers and stay tuned for our next alumni interview in a few weeks!
Support Young Voices' work empowering rising leaders for liberty like Elise
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Once accepted, a contributor participates in our program for a four-month period (either January to May or July to October). During that time, all contributors are expected to attend 3 onboarding trainings on Zoom and submit one article draft per month to Young Voices’ editorial team as a minimum.
After four months, contributors and alumni can apply to remain on our talent roster through our Advanced Tracks offerings. We currently offer three tracks: Writers, Commentators, and Policy Fellows. Members of the Writers Track can continue submitting articles to the editorial team for publication. Members of our Commentator Track can keep working with the PR team on broadcast interviews. Our Policy Fellowships are ad hoc opportunities to take a deep-dive on a specific policy area, guided by learning from think tank scholars and writing deliverables.
Not necessarily! As a professional development program, Young Voices welcomes applications from writers ages 18 to 35 from all levels of experience. It is not a requirement for an applicant to have been published to apply. That said, one requirement of our application process is that an applicant submit an unpublished op-ed draft (500-800 words). We just want to gauge where you’re starting from and if/how we can help.
Yes. Applications for the Contributor Program are competitive at about a 35% acceptance rate, so don’t beat yourself up if you don’t get in the first time. You’re welcome to apply again in the next application cycle (application deadlines are May 31st and November 30th each year). In the past, Young Voices has accepted new contributors into the program on their second or even third attempt, so if you didn’t succeed the first time, we would love to receive another application from you.
While the United States is Young Voices’ main focus, we do allow applicants from other Anglosphere countries for our Contributor Program (i.e. Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom). Writers based in Europe are welcome to apply for our European Fellowship (see: Young Voices Europe). Unfortunately, we do not serve other locations at this time.
Contributors are not paid for the articles they submit to us as a requirement of remaining in the program. Our greatest compensation to our writers is the free mentorship and public relations services we provide to advance their career. That said, Young Voices does offer exclusive opportunities for alumni through our Advanced Tracks which involve some form of monetary compensation, often.
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