Dan Harris

I was in Pakistan and then from Pakistan made some trips into Afghanistan, which was my first experience in a war zone. The first time I went into Afghanistan was actually embedded with the Taliban, which seems like a supremely dumb idea. It probably was. It was this wild experience and really unsafe and totally addictive.

So in Pakistan, which is where most of the media was based for the Afghan war, there wasn't a ton of violence. There were some isolated incidents. Danny Pearl, if anybody remembers him, the Wall Street Journal reporter who was kidnapped and brutally murdered. Pakistan itself was not a raging war zone, although the hotel where we stayed, the Islamabad Marriott Hotel,

So in Pakistan, which is where most of the media was based for the Afghan war, there wasn't a ton of violence. There were some isolated incidents. Danny Pearl, if anybody remembers him, the Wall Street Journal reporter who was kidnapped and brutally murdered. Pakistan itself was not a raging war zone, although the hotel where we stayed, the Islamabad Marriott Hotel,

So in Pakistan, which is where most of the media was based for the Afghan war, there wasn't a ton of violence. There were some isolated incidents. Danny Pearl, if anybody remembers him, the Wall Street Journal reporter who was kidnapped and brutally murdered. Pakistan itself was not a raging war zone, although the hotel where we stayed, the Islamabad Marriott Hotel,

did later get blown up by al-Qaeda or some affiliate. There was this cognitive dissonance of being in the presidential suite at the Islamabad Marriott with, like, nice food delivered to the room and then occasionally crossing the border, which wasn't that far away, to go cover actual combat. The absurdity of that experience was... kind of amazing, you know, and I savored it.

did later get blown up by al-Qaeda or some affiliate. There was this cognitive dissonance of being in the presidential suite at the Islamabad Marriott with, like, nice food delivered to the room and then occasionally crossing the border, which wasn't that far away, to go cover actual combat. The absurdity of that experience was... kind of amazing, you know, and I savored it.

did later get blown up by al-Qaeda or some affiliate. There was this cognitive dissonance of being in the presidential suite at the Islamabad Marriott with, like, nice food delivered to the room and then occasionally crossing the border, which wasn't that far away, to go cover actual combat. The absurdity of that experience was... kind of amazing, you know, and I savored it.

This is not to say I enjoyed combat. I didn't. I don't like violence. And as I've sometimes joked, I didn't even play contact sports when I was a kid. But I am a junkie for experience. And this was an incredible experience to be so young and to be

This is not to say I enjoyed combat. I didn't. I don't like violence. And as I've sometimes joked, I didn't even play contact sports when I was a kid. But I am a junkie for experience. And this was an incredible experience to be so young and to be

This is not to say I enjoyed combat. I didn't. I don't like violence. And as I've sometimes joked, I didn't even play contact sports when I was a kid. But I am a junkie for experience. And this was an incredible experience to be so young and to be

part of this network news apparatus, which at that time, remember this before there was much digital news, this was the main game to be witnessing what's happening at the tip of the spear. With our tax dollars, that was just incredibly powerful.

part of this network news apparatus, which at that time, remember this before there was much digital news, this was the main game to be witnessing what's happening at the tip of the spear. With our tax dollars, that was just incredibly powerful.

part of this network news apparatus, which at that time, remember this before there was much digital news, this was the main game to be witnessing what's happening at the tip of the spear. With our tax dollars, that was just incredibly powerful.

Yeah, my meditation teacher, Joseph Goldstein, talks a lot about how motivation, which most of us don't really look at unless you're an actor and you're asking the director, like, what's my character's motivation? But I don't think most of us think a lot about, like, what is our motivation? What drives us? Which is a very useful question to ask yourself.

Yeah, my meditation teacher, Joseph Goldstein, talks a lot about how motivation, which most of us don't really look at unless you're an actor and you're asking the director, like, what's my character's motivation? But I don't think most of us think a lot about, like, what is our motivation? What drives us? Which is a very useful question to ask yourself.

Yeah, my meditation teacher, Joseph Goldstein, talks a lot about how motivation, which most of us don't really look at unless you're an actor and you're asking the director, like, what's my character's motivation? But I don't think most of us think a lot about, like, what is our motivation? What drives us? Which is a very useful question to ask yourself.

And if you look at your own motivation with some forensic detail— Most of us will see a range. So for sure, at the craven end of the range for me was what we discussed earlier, the ambition, the ego, the excitement, the adrenaline. I would say in the middle of the range was ambition. curiosity, real journalistic curiosity about what is life on this planet? How much of it can I consume?

And if you look at your own motivation with some forensic detail— Most of us will see a range. So for sure, at the craven end of the range for me was what we discussed earlier, the ambition, the ego, the excitement, the adrenaline. I would say in the middle of the range was ambition. curiosity, real journalistic curiosity about what is life on this planet? How much of it can I consume?

And if you look at your own motivation with some forensic detail— Most of us will see a range. So for sure, at the craven end of the range for me was what we discussed earlier, the ambition, the ego, the excitement, the adrenaline. I would say in the middle of the range was ambition. curiosity, real journalistic curiosity about what is life on this planet? How much of it can I consume?

And then I would say at the stuff that's less embarrassing to talk about, the nobler end of the motivation was I believed and still believe, and I think you do too, in the importance and power of journalism and the value of having people who are willing to risk their lives to show The rest of us, what's happening on the ground? And so that was all there for me.