Danielle Gilbert
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Public Engagement

My experience in government, academia, and military environments inform my commitment to policy engagement. I am dedicated to producing rigorous, policy-relevant research, disseminating my findings to the public, and supporting others in doing so. To that end, I serve as a fellow with the Bridging the Gap Project and a Nonresident Fellow with the Modern War Institute at West Point, bridging the academic, policy, and military communities. Moreover, drawing on lessons from the inaugural Responsible Public Engagement Institute at the University of Denver, I am committed to ethical best practices in research dissemination. 

​Policy Writing:

​I have published my insights on international kidnapping, wrongful detentions, and ransomware attacks in multiple policy outlets, including: 

"The Prisoners Dilemma: America Must Adapt to a New Era of Hostage-Taking" Foreign Affairs​, August 24, 2022. Online here. 
"WNBA's Brittney Griner deserves our support as she sits in a Russian jail cell" USA Today​, July 7, 2022. Online here. 
"Can a former left-wing guerrilla salvage Colombia's peace plan?" The Washington Post​, June 29, 2022. Online here. 
"Brittney Griner was 'wrongfully detained.' What happens now?" The Washington Post, May 6, 2022. Online here. 
"American missionaries were kidnapped for ransom in Haiti. What happens in these cases?" The Washington Post​, October 24, 2021. Online here. 
"Ransomware Lessons for a Nation Held Hostage." Lawfare, September 12, 2021. Online here.
"Armed group allegedly plotted to kidnap Michigan's governor. Here are 5 things to know about political kidnappings." The Washington Post, October 14, 2020. Online here. 
"Why Trump's alleged comments about soldiers brought so much outrage.'' The Washington Post​, September 12, 2020. Online here.
"News of a Kidnapping." Political Violence at a Glance, September 2, 2020. Online here.
"Taking Stock at 40: The UN Convention Against the Taking of Hostages." Just Security. December 20, 2019. Online here.
"The Collapse of Compassion: Visual Suffering and Political Change." Political Violence at a Glance​, July 5, 2019. Online here. 
"Trump claims he's the greatest hostage negotiator ever. So why did he make it harder to bring Americans home?" ​Monkey Cage blog, The Washington Post​, April 29, 2019. Online here. 
"'No Concessions'? A Closer Look at U.S. Hostage Recovery Policy." War on the Rocks, February 27, 2019. Online here.
"What the Dublin Tram System Hack Reveals about the Future of Hostage Taking." Just Security, January 11, 2019. Online here.
"The U.S. believes that kidnapped journalist Austin Tice is still alive. Here are 5 things to know about global kidnapping." Monkey Cage blog, The Washington Post, December 4, 2018. Online here. 
"Will Colombia's next president be a former left-wing guerrilla?" Monkey Cage blog, The Washington Post, June 15, 2018. Online here.
"How a Decade of the iPhone Changed Global Kidnapping," War on the Rocks, January 4, 2018. Online here.

​I have been quoted in The New York Times, the LA Times, ESPN, the Wall Street Journal, the New Yorker, the Financial Times, the Houston Chronicle, the Spectator, and Responsible Statecraft. ​I have also appeared on tv, radio, and podcast interviews to discuss hostage diplomacy and hostage recovery.

​​TV Appearances:

"System Error" on VICE News: "Why State Kidnappings Are on the Rise," available here.
"ABC News Live" on ABC: "What the Taliban prisoner swap means for the US and other Americans detained abroad," available here. 
​"ABC News Live" on ABC: "Biden to meet with the families of Griner, Whelan," available here. 
"CNN Newsroom" on CNN: "Detained in Russia," available here.
​"Morning News" on Spectrum 1: "Russia open to talks with U.S. on Brittney Griner prisoner swap,"
"Outside Source" on BBC News: "Brittney Griner sentenced to 9 years," available here. 
"Top Story with Tom Llamas" on NBC News Now: "Brittney Griner Sentenced to 9 years in Russia," available here. 
"Outside the Lines" on ESPN: Brittney Griner sentenced to 9 years in prison for drug charges in Russia," available here and here.  
"The National," on CBC News: "U.S. reveals prisoner swap offer made to Russia," available here. 
"Top Story with Tom Llamas" on NBC News Now: "U.S. proposes deal to free Brittney Griner," available here. 
"ABC News Live" on ABC: "Foreign policy expert on Brittney Griner's testimony, trial," available here. 
"ABC News Live Prime" on ABC: "'Substantial proposal' offered for Griner and Whelan," available here. 
"CNN Newsroom" on CNN: "The Dynamics of Hostage Taking in International Politics," available here. 
"Dan Abrams Live" on NewsNation: "Should U.S. trade 'merchant of death' for Griner?" available here. 
​"CNN New Day Weekend" on CNN: "Brittney Griner pleads guilty to drug charges in Russian court," available here. 
"Washington Journal" on C-SPAN: "Danielle Gilbert on Brittney Griner and U.S. Hostage Policy," available here. 
"Top Story with Tom Llamas" on NBC News Now: "Brittney Griner pleads guilty to charges in Russia," available here. 
"Outside the Lines" on ESPN: "Brittney Griner has plead guilty to drug charges in Russian court," available here and here. 
"The Situation Room" on CNN: "Trial Begins in Russia for WNBA Star Brittney Griner," available here.  
"The Stream" on Al Jazeera: "How can Brittney Griner be freed from Russian detention?" available here. 
"SportsCenter" on ESPN: "U.S. government considers Brittney Griner to be 'wrongfully detained' by Russia," available here.
"The Stream" on Al Jazeera: "Is Brittney Griner being used as a hostage?" available here.
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Radio & Podcast Interviews: 

"World Affairs with Ray Suarez" on World Affairs: "What Brittney Griner's detention can teach us about Putin's war" available here. 
"Big World" from American University's School of International Service: "How are Political Prisoner Swaps Negotiated?" available here. 
"The Forum" on KQED Radio: "What will it take to bring Brittney Griner -- and other political prisoners -- home?" available here. 
"Rear Vision: How History Shaped Today" on Australian Broadcasting Corporation: "Hostage Diplomacy," available here. 
"Sports Media with Richard Deitsch" podcast: "What happens next with Brittney Griner?" available here. 
"Air Talk" on KPCC: "As Russian Judge Finds Brittney Griner Guilty - How Will The US Negotiate Her Release?" available here. 
"The DSR Daily Bonus Brief" on DSR: "Brittney Griner and Hostage Diplomacy," available here. 
​"The Takeaway" on WNYC: "Brittney Griner's Guilty Plea," available here. 
"Weekend Edition with Scott Simon" on NPR: "Brittney Griner's wife demands the U.S. do more to have Russia release her," available here. 
​"Global Dispatches" podcast, UN Dispatches: "Hostage Diplomacy and the case of Brittney Griner," available here.
​"The Takeaway" on WNYC: "Russia's Ongoing Detention of Brittney Griner," available here. 
​The "Horns of a Dilemma" podcast from the Texas National Security Review: "The Personal Face of International Tension: Hostage Diplomacy and Russia's War in Ukraine," available here.
The Conversation Six podcast, available here.
The inaugural episode of the "Say More on That" podcast, in "Episode One: Dr. Danielle Gilbert and the Oxygen of Publicity," available here.
The Global Liberty Alliance Podcast with Jason Poblete, in "US Hostage Law and Policy, and Related Matters," available here. 

​Bridging the Gap:

Since 2015, I have served as a fellow with the Bridging the Gap Project, which supports scholars in contributing to public debates on global challenges and foreign policy. I manage BTG's annual New Era Workshop, a three-day conference that trains Ph.D. students to produce and share policy-relevant scholarship. I have also written for the Bridging the Gap Channel at the Duck of Minerva:

"My Yes and No Committees Approved the Writing of This Post." Duck of Minerva. January 1, 2021. Online here. 
"Borders, Blinders, and Mental Maps: Assessing Scenario Analysis in Light of Covid-19," (with Rachel Whitlark). Duck of Minerva. ​June 8, 2020. Online here.

Invited Appearances:

​I am regularly invited to brief government, military, and public audiences on my areas of expertise. Meetings and briefings include the White House, State Department, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Air Force generals, UK Parliament, think tanks, and private foundations. A list of invited, public appearances can be found in my CV. 
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