About

I am the bestselling author of THE VIEW FROM FLYOVER COUNTRY (2018), HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT (2020), and THEY KNEW (2022). I am also the co-host of Gaslit Nation, a weekly podcast which covers corruption in the United States and the rise of authoritarianism around the world. I live in St. Louis, Missouri.

I am well-known for my coverage of the Trump administration and its aftermath, writing about authoritarianism, kleptocracy, transnational organized crime, racism and xenophobia, media, voting rights, technology, the environment, and corruption, among other topics.

From 2016-2020, I was a regular columnist for the Globe and Mail, and from 2012-2024, I was a columnist for Al Jazeera English. I have written for dozens of other outlets including Fast Company, NBC News, POLITICO, Quartz, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Guardian, Foreign Policy, The Diplomat, Marie Claire, De Correspondent, The Atlantic, Medium, Radio Free Europe, POLITICO Europe, The Chicago Tribune, The Baffler,  Blue Nation Review, Alive Magazine, Ethnography Matters, The Common Reader, The New York Daily News, La Stampa, Slate, World Policy Journal, The Brooklyn Quarterly, Belt Magazine, Centre for International Governance Innovation, Teen Vogue, City AM,  Opinio Juris,  HRDCVR, World Politics Review, Shondaland, and The New York Times.

In addition to working as a journalist, I am a researcher and scholar. I have a PhD in anthropology from Washington University in Saint Louis (2012) and an MA in Central Eurasian Studies from Indiana University (2006). Most of my work focuses on the authoritarian states of the former Soviet Union and how the internet affects political mobilization, self-expression, and trust.

My academic research has been published in American Ethnologist, Problems of Post-Communism, Central Asian Survey, Demokratizatsiya, Nationalities Papers, Social Analysis, and the Journal of Communication.

I am regularly interviewed by the media and have been a guest on NBC, MSNBC, NPR, CBS, Al Jazeera, CBC News, BBC World Service and other broadcast outlets. In August 2013, Foreign Policy named me one of “the 100 people you should be following on Twitter to make sense of global events”. In October 2013, St. Louis Magazine profiled me as one of 15 inspirational people under 35 in St. Louis. In September 2014, The Riverfront Times named me the best online journalist in St. Louis. In June 2017, St Louis Magazine named me the best journalist in St. Louis.

I have given talks all over the world as an invited speaker at universities and at conferences on foreign policy, politics, education and technology. If you would like to book me as a speaker, contact me directly at skendzior@gmail.com.

I am represented by Robert Lecker Agency and my book publicist is Amelia Possanza at Flatiron Books. If you would like to interview me about my book, send inquiries to amelia.possanza@flatironbooks.com.

If you would like to interview me about other matters, or generally get in touch, contact me directly at skendzior@gmail.com.