I'm a writer, philosopher, and journalist based in Washington, DC -- The above photo is of my neighborhood. I moved to the District upon completing my master's degree in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

I'm from the metro Atlanta suburban city of Marietta, GA, and I spent most of my formative years in the South. I've never had a Southern accent, so no one -- including Southerners -- thinks I'm from the South. In hindsight, I can sense that the bizarre relationship I had with my hometown, where I felt both foreign and native, encouraged me to explore the world. I have always found comfort in foreign ideas, people, places, etc. and I feel much of this comfort stems from being perceived as a slightly foreign entity within my society for long segments of my youth.

I have a bachelor’s degree in political science from Furman University, yet upon graduation, I decided to pursue my passion in film back in Atlanta for the next handful of years. Eventually, I decided to make a change from the world of film production and transitioned into journalism.

As a journalist, I’ve written about almost anything and everything, and have always tried to follow where the story takes me. I’ve reported on business and commodities; war crimes, conflicts, nation-building, and the Arab Spring in North Africa; politics, sports, technology, race and culture in the United States, and many other topics.

Eventually, the knowledge and insight I gained from journalism led me to develop philosophies and theories that needed to exist beyond the confines of a news article or opinion piece. In 2021, I published my first book The Crime Without a Name: Ethnocide and the Erasure of Culture in America, and NPR selected it as one of their top books of the year. The success of the book has allowed me to expand my career beyond journalism, and into teaching, public speaking, and engaging communities through The Sustainable Culture Lab.

I'm fortunate enough to have the opportunity to use my varied experiences to write books and columns, educate students, and create impactful projects that are insightful, educational, enjoyable, and hopefully, will have a positive impact on the world.

Thank you for reading my (kind of long) bio, and again thank you for supporting my work.

-Barrett