LAI Exclusive
David Rohde
Two-Time Pulitzer Prize Winning Foreign Correspondent, MS NOW Senior National Security Reporter, Author
- Delivers frontline insight into global conflict and U.S. strategy, drawing on Pulitzer Prize–winning reporting from the world’s most volatile regions
- Equips audiences to navigate misinformation and polarization with a clear, fact-based framework grounded in decades of investigative journalism
- Translates firsthand experience with extremism, war, and democratic erosion into actionable lessons on resilience, trust, and institutional leadership
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About David Rohde
Download ProfileDavid Rohde is MS NOW’s Senior National Security Reporter and a two-time Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist known for his fearless, fair-minded reporting. One of the most respected investigative reporters of his generation, he has built a career examining the forces that threaten democracy at home and abroad. As a foreign correspondent, he covered the wars in Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
His reporting on the Srebrenica massacre, where he uncovered mass graves and was briefly imprisoned by Bosnian Serb forces, earned him his first Pulitzer Prize, and his Afghanistan and Pakistan coverage earned him a second. In 2008, while reporting in Afghanistan, he and two colleagues were kidnapped by the Taliban and held for seven months before escaping—an experience that further shaped his understanding of extremism, human resilience, and the stakes of global conflict. He later chronicled the experience in his book A Rope and a Prayer.
In his presentations, Rohde draws on decades of on-the-ground reporting in war zones and in Washington. He uses vivid field experience to show how sincerity, dialogue, nuance, and empathy are not “soft” virtues but essential tools for, earning trust, and navigating conflict and finding facts. He connects those lessons to America’s current hyperpartisan moment in what culminates as a candid, ultimately hopeful talk that challenges audiences to resist apathy, listen across divides, and stay engaged.
His latest book, Where Tyranny Begins, investigates what reforms are needed to safeguard American democracy. Rohde is also the author of In Deep, a nonpartisan investigation into “Deep State” conspiracy theories, and Beyond War, an examination of America’s role in the Middle East. Over nearly fifteen years at The New York Times, he served as foreign correspondent, South Asia bureau co-chief, and investigative reporter, before holding senior editorial roles at Reuters and The New Yorker. At The New Yorker, he co-edited Pulitzer Prize–winning investigations, including Ronan Farrow’s reporting on Harvey Weinstein, further cementing his reputation for rigorous, high-impact journalism.
Video Gallery
David Rohde on Journalism, National Security, and the World’s Hotspots
David Rohde on Journalism, National Security, and the World’s Hotspots
Speech Topics
Download TopicsIn this timely keynote, David Rohde draws on decades of frontline reporting to analyze today’s rapidly shifting global landscape. He examines current conflicts and offers informative insights into how U.S. foreign policy is evolving amid intensifying competition with China and Russia and turbulence in the Middle East and Europe. Grounded in firsthand experience and rigorous reporting, this talk equips audiences with a deeper understanding of the risks, trade-offs, and strategic choices defining the next era of global affairs.
Rohde reflects on the challenge of covering American politics and national security in an era of deep polarization and declining media trust. With decades of experience in frontline reporting, he examines how conspiracy theories, hyperpartisanship, and misinformation distort public understanding. He makes the case for nonpartisan journalism rooted in evidence, nuance, and intellectual humility. Audiences leave with a sharper framework for evaluating today’s headlines and a renewed commitment to facts over faction.
Drawing on his book Where Tyranny Begins, David Rohde examines how political pressure and hyperpartisanship have weakened trust in the Justice Department and FBI. He unpacks how recent presidencies exposed structural vulnerabilities in American democracy. Rohde explains why nonpartisan public servants—from election officials to judges to career investigators—are essential to preserving the rule of law. He concludes with pragmatic reforms and a clear-eyed, hopeful case for strengthening democratic institutions before further erosion takes hold.
In this gripping keynote, Rohde recounts his seven months in Taliban captivity after being kidnapped while reporting in Afghanistan. He shares how dialogue, patience, and resilience shaped his survival and ultimate escape. The story offers rare insight into extremism, misinformation, and the human dynamics inside militant movements. Both harrowing and inspiring, the talk explores courage, empathy, and the enduring power of hope under extreme pressure.
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