Talking to the Public about Public Policy

The last several years have demonstrated that policy experts, including civil servants, civil society, and good government activists have done a poor job at talking to the American public about the benefits of a values-driven approach to foreign policy. As a lifelong fan of science fiction and fantasy and someone who regularly attends fan conventions for pop culture and speculative fiction, I’ve spent more than a decade engaging with non-policy audiences about these topics. I’ve used television, movies, books, and comics to discuss complicated issues of human rights, preventing mass atrocities, foreign policy, and space ethics and policy. A few examples of my public engagement in fan spaces are included below.

Former Feds & Friends

Former Feds & Friends brings the expertise of former government employees out of the policy bubble and into everyday conversations. We use film, TV, and popular culture to make concepts like stability, good governance, rule of law, and civic resilience accessible and engaging. Think of us as the “spinach in your stable democracy smoothie”—delivering serious insights in ways that are creative, relatable, and fun.

Episodes I host or comment in:

WorldCon

Worldcon is the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society. It was first held in 1939 and, after a hiatus during WWII, has been held continuously since 1946. The membership of WSFS are fans from all over the world who travel to whatever city it is held in each year. Each Worldcon is independent and organizes its own panels and speakers. I’ve participated as a panelist for almost a decade and have been attending as a fan for 15 years.

A few panels I’ve Spoken on:

  • “Law & Order in Near-Earth Space: Hopeless?,” Seattle WorldCon 2025;

  • “Post-Human Soldiers: Battles, Bionics, & Ethics,” Seattle WorldCon 2025;

  • “Ethical Uses of Outer Space,” Seattle WorldCon 2025;

  • “The Lessons of the Expanse: Law, human rights, & ethics in the near future,” Glasgow 2024;

  • “Policing the High Frontier: Fiction vs reality,” Glasgow 2024;

  • “Legal Systems in Science Fiction,” ChiCon 8;

  • “The Prime Directive Problem: Is development interference?,” ChiCon 8;

  • “Nonviolent Revolution: Peaceful transfers of power in fiction and reality,” ChiCon 8;

  • “The Complexities of War,” DisCon 2021, Washington, DC.

MarsCon

MarsCon is a local fan convention held in the Virginia Beach area which tends to attract significant interest in fans of science fiction, fantasy, gaming, literature, movies and television, and comics. Panelists are local attendees who speak about subjects they are expert on, often with invited authors, artists, or science experts.

Panels I’ve Spoken on:

  • “Imagining Atrocities: Using Speculative Fiction to Help Address Human Made Atrocities;”

  • “Space Colonization: How and When?”;

  • “Are All Empires Evil? Governance in Space;”

  • “Your Weird Civilization is Infringing Upon My Utopia;”

  • “Casting Your Galactic Vote: What reality and SF can tell us about interplanetary governance.”