Conversation with Sean Carberry, former NPR Kabul Correspondent and Author

Sudan, Congo, Iraq, Syria, Yemen—all countries in some form of conflict today. And they are some of the conflict zones and fragile states Sean Carberry, MC/MPA 2006, reported from as a public radio journalist 2007 through 2014. That period of his life, including covering the 2011 Arab Spring and serving as NPR’s last Kabul-based correspondent, is the subject of his memoir, “Passport Stamps: Searching the World for a War to Call Home” in which he discusses his journey into and out of conflict reporting. Described by Kirkus Reviews as a “poignant, gritty memoir of a disillusioned journalist,” the book is a revealing meditation on the nature of so-called “vulture journalism” and the mental health impacts of that work. Carberry is currently managing editor of National Defense Magazine and previously served in the Defense Department Office of Inspector General as managing editor of oversight reports on contingency and counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, the Philippines, and across Africa. 

Sean Carberry is an award-winning journalist, writer, and editor. He is also a Harvard Kennedy School alum, a Mid-Career Master in Public Administration, from the Class of 2006. In his more than 15 years as a radio and print journalist, he has traveled to dozens of countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. He was NPR's last Kabul-based correspondent in 2012 through 2014. After that, he spent several years working for the Defense Department Office of Inspector General, writing and editing oversight reports on counterterrorism operations, before returning to journalism. In a previous life, he was a Gold Record-winning recording engineer and producer. In addition to his M.P.A. from HKS, Sean also has a B.A. from Lehigh University. He lives in Washington, D.C. with his cat Squeak who he rescued from the streets of Kabul.