Latest Reflections
The emerging divide around AI and what it tells us about human nature
Luba Kassova | June 06, 2023
As I am driven in the back of yet another seatbeltless taxi in Sofia, I ponder risk, uncertainty, the impermanence of existence and the latest emerging line of polarisation: whether AI could overwhelm and destroy humanity or whether hypothesising to that...
Dreamful in Seattle and the superpower of connecting with your younger self
Luba Kassova | May 16, 2023
Is there a city you have always wanted to visit but somehow felt was just a tad too far out of reach? For me this has always been Seattle. Rewinding back to the spring of my life. I am in Sofia, Bulgaria. It is 1991, the year after...
Why gender-focused reporters burn out at alarming rate and what to do about it
Luba Kassova | May 03, 2023
Last month at the International Journalism Festival, two editors – Megan Clement of Impact newsletter and Ankita Anand of Unbias the News – revealed the preliminary results of a survey among journalists and editors who cover gender news....
Have you ever been gaslighted. Here is how to recognise it and protect your reality
Luba Kassova | April 19, 2023
The first time I heard the term gaslighting (psychological manipulation to undermine someone’s perception of reality) was in June 2021, during the pandemic. I was interviewing Kalani*, a wellbeing consultant, a woman of colour, who had had cancer and...
The many facets of womanhood
Luba Kassova | March 08, 2023
On International Women’s Day I find myself pondering over what defines womanhood. What does being a woman mean for me? One image emerges before my eyes - assured, confident and powerful. The image of my mother. It is she who laid the foundation of my...
Drained at 16… The toll of a year of 60 exams
Luba Kassova | February 23, 2023
I watch my 16-year-old boy’s spark and his cracking sense of humour drain from him every time he approaches his exams. He is 16. This year alone he will take a total of some 60 mock or real exams. When a cycle of mock exams is over, he...
Should there really be a special place in hell for women who do not help other women?
Luba Kassova | February 07, 2023
“There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women”, noted Madeline Albright in her 2006 keynote speech at a Celebrating Inspiration luncheon with the WNBA’s All Decade team. Recently I have seen this statement...
New Year’s lessons from my first-ever retreat
Luba Kassova | January 25, 2023
Unshackle yourself from the inevitable disappointment of too many New Year’s resolutions. Just set one. On the last day of every year, I typically make a number of resolutions for the year ahead which I invariably fail to fulfil. Humbled by my...
Why this song could not have been written about a man. The high price of being a woman in politics
Luba Kassova | January 11, 2023
This opinion piece was first published in Bulgarian by the Bulgarian news provider offnews.bg “Tired ..., a hungry hyena, I enter the office ... with a moustache on, tarted up and ready for battle, without a penny in my pocket ... at this...
The auditorium may be dark, but it is not empty
Luba Kassova | December 14, 2022
Four years ago, I made a significant change in my career to focus on non-fiction narrative writing. Since then, I have also been dabbling with journalism - my opinion pieces have been published in six countries, and my writing has been quoted in another 70....
