benjamin novak
@bnovak.bsky.social
used to ✍️ about Hungary for nyt, SAIS alum — [email protected]
Trump and Orban will meet at the White House today.
David Pressman, former US Ambassador to the UN Security Council and Hungary, explains what Orban is doing in Washington, and offers a very strong take on what Trump and Orban really have in common.
time.com/7332003/vikt...
David Pressman, former US Ambassador to the UN Security Council and Hungary, explains what Orban is doing in Washington, and offers a very strong take on what Trump and Orban really have in common.
time.com/7332003/vikt...
Viktor Orbán and Donald Trump’s Attacks on Independence
Independence is "fundamental to the health of any democracy—and it has been systematically dismantled in Hungary."
time.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Trump and Orban will meet at the White House today.
David Pressman, former US Ambassador to the UN Security Council and Hungary, explains what Orban is doing in Washington, and offers a very strong take on what Trump and Orban really have in common.
time.com/7332003/vikt...
David Pressman, former US Ambassador to the UN Security Council and Hungary, explains what Orban is doing in Washington, and offers a very strong take on what Trump and Orban really have in common.
time.com/7332003/vikt...
Reposted by benjamin novak
Former US ambassador to Hungary: "After years watching Hungary suffocate under the weight of its democratic collapse, I came to understand that the real danger of a strongman isn’t his tactics; it’s how others, especially those with power, justify their acquiescence." (h/t @bnovak.bsky.social)
Opinion | I Watched It Happen in Hungary. Now It’s Happening Here.
www.nytimes.com
July 23, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Former US ambassador to Hungary: "After years watching Hungary suffocate under the weight of its democratic collapse, I came to understand that the real danger of a strongman isn’t his tactics; it’s how others, especially those with power, justify their acquiescence." (h/t @bnovak.bsky.social)
Szabolcs Vörös is one of a handful of HU journos whose UA reporting provides a critical public service to Hungarians living in Orbán’s disinfo echo chamber
Here’s his interview w Zelenskyy — the first w a HU journo since RU’s invasion began over 1,200 days ago
www.valaszonline.hu/2025/06/10/v...
Here’s his interview w Zelenskyy — the first w a HU journo since RU’s invasion began over 1,200 days ago
www.valaszonline.hu/2025/06/10/v...
“Viktor is making a historic mistake.” An exclusive interview with President Zelenskyy | Válasz Online
www.valaszonline.hu
June 10, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Szabolcs Vörös is one of a handful of HU journos whose UA reporting provides a critical public service to Hungarians living in Orbán’s disinfo echo chamber
Here’s his interview w Zelenskyy — the first w a HU journo since RU’s invasion began over 1,200 days ago
www.valaszonline.hu/2025/06/10/v...
Here’s his interview w Zelenskyy — the first w a HU journo since RU’s invasion began over 1,200 days ago
www.valaszonline.hu/2025/06/10/v...
Absolutely great news!!!
May 16, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Absolutely great news!!!
A prize well deserved! George is a great guy. A true honor to know him.
If you’re interested in Hungarian literature, I highly recommend picking up one of George’s many translations.
If you’re interested in Hungarian literature, I highly recommend picking up one of George’s many translations.
Congrats from all of us at Rialto Towers to George Szirtes for his award of the HM Gold Medal for poetry 2024.
December 17, 2024 at 12:05 AM
A prize well deserved! George is a great guy. A true honor to know him.
If you’re interested in Hungarian literature, I highly recommend picking up one of George’s many translations.
If you’re interested in Hungarian literature, I highly recommend picking up one of George’s many translations.
Christmas jazz.
Fire in the fireplace.
Kiddos playing with legos.
Adults playing Rummy.
Leberkäse.
Fire in the fireplace.
Kiddos playing with legos.
Adults playing Rummy.
Leberkäse.
December 15, 2024 at 2:41 AM
Christmas jazz.
Fire in the fireplace.
Kiddos playing with legos.
Adults playing Rummy.
Leberkäse.
Fire in the fireplace.
Kiddos playing with legos.
Adults playing Rummy.
Leberkäse.
Reposted by benjamin novak
Some personal news: I am very excited to be joining ProPublica as an investigative reporter covering national security and technology starting in January.
ProPublica Hires Three Veteran Journalists to Join DC bureau
ProPublica is an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest.
buff.ly
November 26, 2024 at 4:35 PM
Some personal news: I am very excited to be joining ProPublica as an investigative reporter covering national security and technology starting in January.
In the rust belt of north-eastern Hungary, a new economy is thriving – one built on human blood.
www.theguardian.com/world/2024/n...
www.theguardian.com/world/2024/n...
Hungary’s most deprived people donate blood plasma to survive – photo essay
The documentary photographer Béla Váradi spent months photographing the lives of people who see plasma donation as a way to get by
www.theguardian.com
November 25, 2024 at 7:54 PM
In the rust belt of north-eastern Hungary, a new economy is thriving – one built on human blood.
www.theguardian.com/world/2024/n...
www.theguardian.com/world/2024/n...
First fire of the season
November 18, 2024 at 12:21 AM
First fire of the season
Let it be known that I invited @kalmantibs.bsky.social here well over a year ago. He politely declined and said he wouldn’t give up fighting the good fight at the other place just yet.
Glad to see him here today. His presence on social media doesn’t do him justice. Great guy if there ever was one.
Glad to see him here today. His presence on social media doesn’t do him justice. Great guy if there ever was one.
November 16, 2024 at 3:36 AM
Let it be known that I invited @kalmantibs.bsky.social here well over a year ago. He politely declined and said he wouldn’t give up fighting the good fight at the other place just yet.
Glad to see him here today. His presence on social media doesn’t do him justice. Great guy if there ever was one.
Glad to see him here today. His presence on social media doesn’t do him justice. Great guy if there ever was one.
It’s the little things in life…
Had the boys (6 and 2) join me in the living room for a pre-bedtime screening of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf narrated by David Bowie.
They loved it. What a pleasant experience.
youtu.be/Va8Uz6MoKLg?...
Had the boys (6 and 2) join me in the living room for a pre-bedtime screening of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf narrated by David Bowie.
They loved it. What a pleasant experience.
youtu.be/Va8Uz6MoKLg?...
David Bowie Narrates Disney's Peter And The Wolf (Full)
YouTube video by Lucy Whiskers
youtu.be
November 16, 2024 at 3:29 AM
It’s the little things in life…
Had the boys (6 and 2) join me in the living room for a pre-bedtime screening of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf narrated by David Bowie.
They loved it. What a pleasant experience.
youtu.be/Va8Uz6MoKLg?...
Had the boys (6 and 2) join me in the living room for a pre-bedtime screening of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf narrated by David Bowie.
They loved it. What a pleasant experience.
youtu.be/Va8Uz6MoKLg?...
Prediction: The next Surgeon General of the United States
November 13, 2024 at 9:41 PM
Prediction: The next Surgeon General of the United States
“The Black Death was therefore a rare event, ‘with only one generally accepted precursor and no equivalent successor’. Belich has revisions to make to the traditional account. . . .Belich’s answer inculpates the humble gerbil.“
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Tom Shippey · Blame the gerbils: After the Plague
In The World the Plague Made James Belich has a hard case to make, and a somewhat heartless one: that the Black Death...
www.lrb.co.uk
November 13, 2024 at 1:03 AM
“The Black Death was therefore a rare event, ‘with only one generally accepted precursor and no equivalent successor’. Belich has revisions to make to the traditional account. . . .Belich’s answer inculpates the humble gerbil.“
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
What does the 2017 “Unite the Right” protest in Charlottesville have in common with Hungarian embassy in Washington?
www.szabadeuropa.hu/a/amerikai-m...
www.szabadeuropa.hu/a/amerikai-m...
Szélsőjobboldali fiatalt alkalmaz a washingtoni magyar nagykövetség, feladata az egyeztetés a trumpistákkal
A 29 éves amerikai tüntetett a fehér felsőbbrendűségért, és kapcsolatban volt Magyarországon is ismert fajvédővel. Ma már a CPAC-re jár, és Magyarországnak dolgozik a washingtoni nagykövetségen, felad...
www.szabadeuropa.hu
October 24, 2024 at 12:28 PM
What does the 2017 “Unite the Right” protest in Charlottesville have in common with Hungarian embassy in Washington?
www.szabadeuropa.hu/a/amerikai-m...
www.szabadeuropa.hu/a/amerikai-m...
Shoutout to the heroes who donate obscure old books to libraries.
January 11, 2024 at 9:38 AM
Shoutout to the heroes who donate obscure old books to libraries.
Yes, Orban does plan to create a yet another agency to secretly investigate and dox the regime's critics. But while ppl whine about "rule of law" and "rights," they lose focus of progress elsewhere, e.g. Scythians are close to being recognized as a national minority and getting a seat in parliament.
November 30, 2023 at 5:27 PM
Yes, Orban does plan to create a yet another agency to secretly investigate and dox the regime's critics. But while ppl whine about "rule of law" and "rights," they lose focus of progress elsewhere, e.g. Scythians are close to being recognized as a national minority and getting a seat in parliament.
Anna Vinnitskaya’s performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Budapest Festival Orchestra this evening was mesmerizing
November 25, 2023 at 9:01 PM
Anna Vinnitskaya’s performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Budapest Festival Orchestra this evening was mesmerizing
Orbán’s keeping busy.
(Kudos to @hungarianhelsinki.bsky.social for the translation)
helsinki.hu/en/wp-conten...
(Kudos to @hungarianhelsinki.bsky.social for the translation)
helsinki.hu/en/wp-conten...
November 23, 2023 at 3:24 PM
Orbán’s keeping busy.
(Kudos to @hungarianhelsinki.bsky.social for the translation)
helsinki.hu/en/wp-conten...
(Kudos to @hungarianhelsinki.bsky.social for the translation)
helsinki.hu/en/wp-conten...
The “Cyprus model,” a giant conveyor belt for Russian wealth to the West located in an EU member state
Great story from Dean Starkman
www.icij.org/investigatio...
Great story from Dean Starkman
www.icij.org/investigatio...
How Cyprus rose to become the beating heart of the Putin regime’s shadow financial system - ICIJ
Russia dominated the island’s banking system under the watch of the European Union.
www.icij.org
November 16, 2023 at 6:58 PM
The “Cyprus model,” a giant conveyor belt for Russian wealth to the West located in an EU member state
Great story from Dean Starkman
www.icij.org/investigatio...
Great story from Dean Starkman
www.icij.org/investigatio...
This post claims Hungarians have been putting lights in carved pumpkins since 1081.
Hard to see how this is true. Pumpkins and squash are native to the Americas. Hungarians would have had to find a way to procure them from the New World hundreds of years before Columbus got there.
Hard to see how this is true. Pumpkins and squash are native to the Americas. Hungarians would have had to find a way to procure them from the New World hundreds of years before Columbus got there.
November 2, 2023 at 10:56 AM
This post claims Hungarians have been putting lights in carved pumpkins since 1081.
Hard to see how this is true. Pumpkins and squash are native to the Americas. Hungarians would have had to find a way to procure them from the New World hundreds of years before Columbus got there.
Hard to see how this is true. Pumpkins and squash are native to the Americas. Hungarians would have had to find a way to procure them from the New World hundreds of years before Columbus got there.