Nicholas D. Kristof's Columns

Damon Winter/The New York Times

Nicholas D. Kristof, a columnist for The New York Times since 2001, is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner who writes op-ed columns that appear twice a week.

Mr. Kristof grew up on a sheep and cherry farm near Yamhill, Oregon. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard College and then studied law at Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship, graduating with first class honors. He later studied Arabic in Cairo and Chinese in Taipei. While working in France after high school, he caught the travel bug and began backpacking around Africa and Asia during his student years, writing articles to cover his expenses. Mr. Kristof has lived on four continents, reported on six, and traveled to more than 150 countries, plus all 50 states, every Chinese province and every main Japanese island. He jokes that he's one of the very few Americans to be at least a two-time visitor to every member of the so-called Axis of Evil. During his travels, he has had unpleasant experiences with malaria, mobs and an African airplane crash.

After joining The New York Times in 1984, initially covering economics, he served as a Times correspondent in Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Beijing and Tokyo. He also covered presidential politics and is the author of the chapter on President George W. Bush in the reference book "The Presidents." He later was Associate Managing Editor of the Times, responsible for Sunday editions.

In 1990 Mr. Kristof and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn, then also a Times journalist, won a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of China's Tiananmen Square democracy movement. They were the first married couple to win a Pulitzer for journalism. Mr. Kristof won a second Pulitzer in 2006, for commentary for what the judges called "his graphic, deeply reported columns that, at personal risk, focused attention on genocide in Darfur and that gave voice to the voiceless in other parts of the world." He has also won other prizes including the George Polk Award, the Overseas Press Club award, the Michael Kelly award, the Online News Association award and the American Society of Newspaper Editors award. Mr. Kristof has taken a special interest in Web journalism and was the first blogger on The New York Times Web site; he also twitters and has a Facebook fan page and a channel on YouTube. A documentary about him, "Reporter," aired on HBO in 2010.

In his column, Mr. Kristof was an early opponent of the Iraq war, and among the first to warn that we were losing ground to the Taliban in southern Afghanistan. He was among the first to raise doubts about WMD in Iraq, he was the first to report that President Bush's State of the Union claim about Iraq seeking uranium from Africa was contradicted by the administration's own investigation. He has visited the Darfur region more than 10 times. His columns have often focused on global health and poverty and he has also written often about human trafficking.

Mr. Kristof and Ms. WuDunn are authors of "China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power" and "Thunder from the East: Portrait of a Rising Asia" and "Half the Sky: From Oppression to Opportunity for Women Worldwide". Mr. Kristof and Ms. WuDunn are the parents of Gregory, Geoffrey and Caroline. Mr. Kristof enjoys running, backpacking, and having his Chinese and Japanese corrected by his children.

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Columns

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Dear King Hamad, Release My Friend!

A personal appeal for the king of Bahrain to free political prisoners, including a longtime friend, and start a reconciliation process.

June 8, 2011

Our Fantasy Nation?

If Republicans seek a country with low taxes, little regulation and traditional family values, I have the perfect place for them. Body armor suggested.

June 4, 2011

She’s 10 and Now May Be Sold to a Brothel

Slavery still exists, as reflected in the story of a 10-year-old Indian girl who wants to be a doctor but may be headed for a brothel.

June 2, 2011

Slums Into Malls

Watch out, China: With its liberated news media and booming economy, India could nibble your lunch.

May 29, 2011

Raiding a Brothel in India

Witnessing a recent brothel raid in Kolkata and seeing five girls freed from forced prostitution.

May 26, 2011

Religion and Sex Quiz

Think you know what the Bible says about social issues like abortion and same-sex marriage? Take this quiz and let’s see.

May 22, 2011

Getting Smart on Aid

For decades we’ve had a lot of hot air about how best to help fight global poverty. Now we have field-tested results.

May 19, 2011

What Holbrooke Knew

Richard Holbrooke, special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan before his death, warned about an overreliance on military force. It’s not too late for the administration to heed his advice.

May 15, 2011

A Rite of Torture for Girls

Let’s hope that female genital mutilation is the next cultural tradition to go the way of foot-binding.

May 12, 2011

Mothers We Could Save

A Mother’s Day thought: One of the easiest ways to save women’s lives worldwide would be to support family planning programs. Instead, they’re being cut.

May 8, 2011

Beyond Flowers for Mom

A woman dies in childbirth every 90 seconds or so somewhere in the world. Mother’s Day is a chance to help end these preventable deaths.

May 5, 2011

Where China Outpaces America

When a Shanghai child outlives an American child on average, that’s a reminder that China is more than just another autocratic country.

May 1, 2011

Great Leap Backward

While a dramatic economic rise takes place in China, the country is also host to an equally dramatic yet much less impressive rise in human rights violations.

April 28, 2011

What About American Girls Sold on the Streets?

Teenage prostitution is grossly misunderstood in the United States, with the victims treated like criminals.

April 24, 2011

‘Three Cups of Tea,’ Spilled

Whatever one thinks of the accusations against Greg Mortenson, the author of “Three Cups of Tea,” he was right about some big things.

April 21, 2011

The Power of Mockery

Youth movements have the power to overthrow dictators, reduce crime, improve calculus scores and stop teenagers from smoking.

April 17, 2011

Raise America’s Taxes

Let’s discuss the elephant in the room at the Capitol Building: We need higher taxes.

April 14, 2011

OP-ED COLUMNIST; Our Cowardly Congress

This isn't government we're watching; this is junior high. It's unclear where the adults are, but they don't seem to be in Washington. Beyond the malice of the threat to shut down the federal government, averted only at the last minute on Friday night, it's painful how vapid the discourse is and how incompetent and cowardly our leaders have proved to be. A quick guide:

April 10, 2011