Nicholas Schmidle writes about the intersection of culture, religion and politics abroad. He has reported from South and Central Asia, and his work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Slate, The New Republic, The Virginia Quarterly Review, The Washington Post and many other publications. He regularly appears on NPR, BBC, ABC, and other news channels to discuss terrorism, Afghan and Pakistani politics, and the Taliban. Mr. Schmidle, a former fellow of the Institute of Current World Affairs, lived in Pakistan in 2006 and 2007. He speaks Urdu and Persian.

Mr. Schmidle's book, To Live or to Perish Forever: Two Tumultuous Years in Pakistan was published by Henry Holt in May 2009. As a Schwartz fellow, Mr. Schmidle will be writing on economic collapse, political violence, and modern-day anarchism.