Suggestions
Alexander Kaufman
Senior Reporter at HuffPost
Alexander C. Kaufman is a senior reporter at HuffPost, where he covers energy, climate change, and environmental policy.12 He has been with HuffPost since March 2014, starting as a business reporter and later transitioning to sustainability issues in 2015.2
Kaufman is an award-winning journalist, having received accolades such as:
- The 2024 Covering Climate Now Journalism Award for his reporting on climate struggles of nomadic herders in the Mongolian Steppe2
- Two-time winner of the SEAL Environmental Journalism Award3
- Finalist for a 2022 Covering Climate Now Award3
He was also recently awarded the inaugural Melvin M.S. Goo Writing Fellowship by the East-West Center, which will support his project on China's growing nuclear power industry.3
Kaufman's reporting has taken him around the world, from the Brazilian Amazon to Greenland's ice sheet, and from China's first atom-smashing lab to the Netherlands' only nuclear reactor.1 He is known for his nuanced exploration of the energy transition and for challenging prevailing narratives on climate solutions.12
In addition to his work at HuffPost, Kaufman has:
- Published a children's nonfiction book titled "Earth's Aquarium" in 20211
- Been a regular commentator on BBC World Service's "Business Matters" for nearly a decade1
- Appeared on various media outlets, including MSNBC, NPR, and international broadcasters12
Kaufman is a fourth-generation New Yorker, raised on Long Island, and currently resides in Brooklyn with his wife.12
Highlights
What directing your government-owned utility to build a new nuclear plant will do for a person.
Charlie Kirk usually showed up on my social media feeds in videos where he confronted college students who vehemently disagreed with him, engaging in debate that — whether you felt it was in good faith or not — did often demonstrate opposing views of real issues in this country, albeit from a heavily partisan perspective. More recently I saw videos of him going head to head with right-wing antisemites, whose arguments about Jews controlling everything Kirk ripped apart. Seeing that helped me appreciate where he stood in broader right-wing political discourse — a populist, no doubt, but not one so craven as to abandon his principles to go to the furthest extremes his audience may go. His death is a tragedy. The photos of him with his kids made my stomach drop, and the videos of his shooting are going to haunt me for a long time. His death is an ominous sign of worsening political violence, a disease afflicting both sides of the spectrum. Consider the Palestinian child murdered in Chicago, and the Jews assassinated in D.C. and flamethrowered in Colorado. Recall the Democratic lawmakers killed in June in Minnesota, the assault on Nancy Pelosi’s husband, the attempted kidnapping of Gretchen Whitmer. Think about all the incidents of drivers plowing into protesters in the street.
We cannot sustain a democracy if people who peacefully gather to express their views and try to persuade others fear assassination. All that does is push evermore political discourse onto the social media platforms where vile extremism thrives. I pray those in power who knew and loved Kirk will honor the best part of his legacy by resisting the urge to carry out revenge or quash dissenting speech.
