This page contains a collection of resources for aspiring policy professionals in the US, including articles, books, newsletters, podcasts, and more. It focuses on resources most relevant to people seeking to work in US federal-level emerging technology or security policy.

The page is split into two parts: the first consists of career-specific resources, providing both strategic advice on high-level career decisions and tactical advice on applying for particular opportunities. The second consists of topic-specific resources to help readers learn about particular emerging technology policy areas, including AI, biosecurity, civic tech, cyber, nuclear weapons and space.

This collection consists of resources that different DC professionals have recommended. It does not aim to be comprehensive, and we haven’t vetted all these resources individually. The collection is also a work-in-progress, and we appreciate any feedback (e.g. resources we missed) via this form.

Career-specific policy resources

General US policy career resources

• Books:
  • The Great Courses: Understanding the US Government (Audible) (2020)
  • Hack Your Bureaucracy: Get Things Done No Matter What Your Role on Any Team (2022)¹
  • Podcasts:
    • Transition Lab, Partnership for Public Service²
    • Stories from the Backchannel, Center for a New American Security³

Other policy resource lists 

• GoGovernment Resources, Partnership for Public Service
• Resources, United States of Technology
• Tech to Gov
• Digital Policy Guide, a guide to US information technology law and policy
• Resources Overview, Network on Emerging Threats

Policy work opportunities

Policy job boards

• USAJobs.gov, the government’s job board for agencies (see these guides)
• Employment Bulletins for the House, Senate, Senate Internships
• Resume Banks for the House and Senate
• AI.gov/apply (AI-related opportunities in government; we recommend filling out the expression of interest form on the page)
• Federal Internship Finder, Partnership for Public Service
• Federal Jobs Coach, a custom GPT agent trained to summarize USAJobs postings and review your resume
• Paid:
  • Traverse Jobs, focus on Congress and advocacy
  • Tom Manatos Jobs, focus on DC policy (e.g., Congress, federal agencies)
  • Daybook, focus on political, policy, and non-profit jobs
• 80,000 Hours Job Board, includes some policy jobs and internships
• ProFellow, a large database of fellowships and funding opportunities
• Tech and Innovation Public Sector Job Board
• If you’re interested in working in progressive policy or advocacy, check out this list of job boards; if instead, you want to work in conservative policy organizations, check out GOP Jobs, Conservative Jobs, the Heritage Foundation’s Job Bank, and the Conservative Partnership Institute’s Job Bank Initiative.

Policy internships

• Policy internship guide
• Congressional internships: Why and how to apply
• Virtual Student Federal Service: remote government internships for US students
• Semester in DC programs
• Federal Internship Finder – GoGovernment 
• DC Internships, The Fund for American Studies
• The Washington Center supports DC-based internships and academic seminars
• Google Public Policy Fellowship
• USAjobs.gov internships for students and recent graduates (see also list here and USAjobs guide here)

Policy fellowships

• Policy fellowship guide (incl. this database & also these databases)
• Horizon Fellowship
• RAND Technology and Security Policy Fellowship
• AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowship
• TechCongress Fellowship
• Presidential Management Fellowship (+ PMF application tips)
• STPI Science Policy Fellowship
• Scoville Peace Fellowship

Policy graduate school

• General graduate advice
  • Why do a graduate degree if you want to work in policy?
  • What are the best graduate degrees for policy work?
  • When should you go to graduate school?
• Policy master’s guide (+ master’s program database)
  • 1. What are policy master’s degrees and why should you get one?
  • 2. Which policy master’s programs should you apply to?
  • 3. How to apply and get into top policy master’s programs?
  • 4. How to fund a policy master’s degree?
• Law school guide
  • 1. What is law school and how can you test your fit? 
  • 2. Why (not) go to law school? 
  • 3. What are career paths after law school?
  • 4. How to choose which law schools to apply to?
  • 5. How to apply and get admitted to law school?
  • 6. How to fund law school?

Policy institutions

Congress

• Working in Congress guide
  • 1. Why (not) work in Congress?
  • 2. Where to work in Congress?
  • 3. How to assess office and committee relevance?
  • 4. How to apply for and land a job in Congress?
  • Congressional internships: Why and how to apply
  • Full-time roles in Congress
  • Congressional fellowships
• How I got an entry-level role in Congress
• The rise and importance of secret Congress
• Books:
  • *Act of Congress: How America’s Essential Institution Works, and How It Doesn’t (2013)⁴
  • *Surviving Inside Congress (2017)⁵
  • Congress Overwhelmed: The Decline in Congressional Capacity and Prospects for Reform (2020)
  • Climbing the Hill: How to Build a Career in Politics and Make a Difference (2018)
• Podcasts:
  • Understanding Congress, American Enterprise Institute (AEI)⁶
  • Quick Questions about Congress with Kilmer⁷

Executive branch

• Executive branch resources
  • Executive branch fellowships
• Policy Entrepreneurship at the White House: Getting Things Done in Large Organizations⁸
• Department of Defense Civilian Careers
• Books:
  • *The Art of Policymaking: Tools, Techniques and Processes in the Modern Executive Branch (2016)⁹
  • *The National Security Enterprise: Navigating the Labyrinth (2017)¹⁰
  • *Rulemaking: How Government Agencies Write Law and Make Policy (2019)¹¹
  • Executive Policymaking: The Role of OMB in the Presidency (2020) (JSTOR)¹²
  • Running the World. The Inside Story of the National Security Council and the Architects of American Power (2006)
  • The Federal Budget: Politics, Policy, Process (2000)

Think tanks

• Think tank guide, resources, and fellowships
  • 1. Why work at a think tank?
  • 2. Think tank types and activities
  • 3. Think tank roles and personal fit
  • 4. Getting a think tank job
  • Think tank fellowships
  • Think tanks working on emerging technology policy
• Books:
  • *The Fifth Estate: Think Tanks, Public Policy, and Governance (JSTOR)¹³
  • What Should Think Tanks Do? A Strategic Guide to Policy Impact (2013)

Policy advocacy

• Right to Petition: A Practical Guide to Creating Change in Government with Political Advocacy Tools and Tips (2019)¹⁴
• How to Convince an Agency: A Handbook for Policy Advocates, American Enterprise Institute
• How to effectively comment on regulations, Brookings
• Beyond the Win: Pathways for Policy Implementation, ORS Impact
• “All Politics Is Local” A Practical Guide to Effective Advocacy, American Bar Association

Security clearances

• Security clearance guide
• Background Checks and Security Clearances for Federal Jobs
• What Are the Security Clearance Adjudicative Guidelines?
• Drug Involvement and Security Clearances
• SF-86, security clearance form 

State-level policy

• Why States Matter: An Introduction to State Politics (2021, 3rd Ed), Gary Moncrief & Peverill Squire¹⁵

Living and working in Washington DC

• Washington, DC Is Not a Swamp

Topic-specific policy resources

AI policy resources

Introductory readings

• AI.gov/apply (AI-related opportunities in government; we recommend filling out the expression of interest form on the page)
• Stanford AI Index report (annual publication, includes policy and related sections)
• State of AI report (annual publication, includes a politics section)
• Artificial Intelligence, Our World in Data

Newsletters

• policy.ai, Center for Security and Emerging Technology
• AI Snake Oil, Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor
• Import AI, Jack Clark
• FYI This Week, American Institute of Physics (science policy generally)
• AI Ethics Weekly, Lighthouse3
• Tech Policy Press newsletter
• Axios AI+, Axios
• ChinAI Newsletter, Jeff Ding
• The Algorithm, MIT Technology Review

Books

• Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (2023)
• The New Fire: War, Peace, and Democracy in the Age of AI (2022)
• Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology (2022)
• The Atlas of AI: Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence (2021)
• The Alignment Problem: Machine Learning and Human Values (2020)
• Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy (2016)

Podcasts

• Hard Fork, New York Times
• POLITICO Tech
• The Gradient Podcast interviews AI practitioners and has done several episodes with a focus on AI policy, including Divyansh Kaushik, Irene Solaiman, Joanna Bryson, Suresh Venkatasubramanian, and Jack Shanahan  
• The 80,000 Hours Podcast has in-depth episodes about AI policy work and career tips with AI policy practitioners and researchers like Tantum Collins, Helen Toner, Ezra Klein, Markus Anderljung, and Jeff Ding
• The Ezra Klein Show has done several interviews with AI experts focused on policy including Alondra Nelson, Gary Marcus, Brian Christian, and Demis Hassabis
• In AI We Trust?, EqualAI
• The Lawfare Podcast: Cybersecurity and AI
• Your Undivided Attention, Center for Humane Technology

Online courses

• The Economics of AI, University of Virginia
• Digital Governance, Erasmus University Rotterdam & University of Leeds
• AI Governance Professional Training, International Association of Privacy Professionals (paid)
• AI & Law, Lund University
• AI Safety Fundamentals – Governance Course, BlueDot Impact
• Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, Coursera

Think tank reports and policy analysis

• Congressional Research Service reports (search term “artificial intelligence”)
• Check out the publication pages for think tanks listed below

Government documents

• Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy AI (2023), White House
• US National Artificial Intelligence R&D Strategic Plan (2023), White House
• Trustworthy & Responsible AI Resource Center (2023), NIST
• Responsible AI Strategy and Implementation Pathway (2022), DOD
• Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights (2022), White House
• Final Report (2021), National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence

Biosecurity and pandemic preparedness policy resources

Newsletters

• The Pandora Report, George Mason University Biodefense Program
• Health Security Headlines, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security
• Global Biodefense Newsletter
• Daily Headlines, Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy
• STAT newsletters
• FYI This Week, American Institute of Physics (science policy generally)
• Pink Sheet, Citeline Regulatory (biotech industry news) 

Books

• Uncontrolled Spread: Why COVID-19 Crushed Us and How We Can Defeat the Next Pandemic (2021)
• Biosecurity Dilemmas: Dreaded Diseases, Ethical Responses, and the Health of Nations (2017)
• Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs (2017)
• Synthetic Biology: Safety, Security, and Promise (2016)
• Biological Threats in the 21st Century: The Politics, People, Science and Historical Roots (2016)
• Routledge Handbook of Global Health Security (2015)
• The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and its Dangerous Legacy (2009)
• Bioterror and Biowarfare (2006)

Podcasts

• Poisons and Pestilence Podcast
• Prevent Detect Respond (PDR) Podcast
• This Podcast Will Kill You
• The 80,000 Hours Podcast has in-depth interviews with biosecurity and policy practitioners like Jaime Yassif, Pardis Sabeti, Andy Weber, Greg Lewis, Cassidy Nelson, Tom Inglesby, and Beth Cameron
• The Hear This Idea Podcast has some interviews with biosecurity professionals like Kevin Esvelt and Jonas Sandbrink, Tessa Alexanian and Janvi Ahuja, and Ajay Karpur

Online courses

• Next Generation Biosecurity: Responding to 21st Century Biorisks
• Biosecurity Fundamentals Course, BlueDot Impact
• Nuclear Threat Initiative Education Center

Think tank reports and policy analysis 

• Congressional Research Service reports (search term “bio”)
• The Apollo Program for Biodefense (2021), Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense (see other reports)
• Pathogen Early Warning: A Progress Report & Path Forward (2022), Council on Strategic Risks (see other reports)
• Proposed Biosecurity Oversight Framework for the Future of Science (2023), National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) 
• Global Health Security Index and Preventing Global Catastrophic Biological Risks (2020), Nuclear Threat Initiative (see other reports)
• Building Strong Biosafety and Biosecurity into the Expanding US Bioeconomy (2023), Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security (see other reports)
• Understanding the Global Gain-of-Function Research Landscape (2023), Center for Security and Emerging Technology (see other reports)
• The Characteristics of Pandemic Pathogens (2018), Center for Health Security
• Health Security Net, a searchable database of reports and government documents on pandemics

Government strategies

• Biodefense Posture Review (2023), DOD
• National Biodefense Strategy and Implementation Plan (2022), White House
• Executive Order on Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation (2022), White House
• American Pandemic Preparedness Plan (2021), White House
• National Strategy for a Resilient Public Health Supply Chain (2021), HHS

International organizations and treaties

• World Health Organization (WHO)
• World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH)
• Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
• Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA)
• Australia Group
• WHO Pandemic Treaty (under negotiation)
• Biological Weapons Convention (1975)

Conferences

• Events calendar, Global Biodefense
• Annual Biosafety & Biosecurity Conference, Association for Biosafety and Biosecurity
• Global Health Security Conference

Civic tech and public interest tech resources

Introductory articles

• Getting started, TechToGov
• Breaking into civic tech, Chris Kuang
• What is civic tech?, Mett Stempeck
• Navigating the field of civic tech: A guide for newcomers and explorers (includes a Civic Tech Companies and Organizations database)
• Public-Interest Technology Resources, Bruce Schneier

Newsletters

• List of civic tech newsletter, Civic Tech Field Guide
• Substack blogs on civic tech
• This Week in Civic Tech, Code for America
• GovTech newsletters
• Apolitical
• Authoritarian Tech

Books

• List of civic tech books, Civic Tech Field Guide
• Recoding America: Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better (2023)
• Hack Your Bureaucracy: Get Things Done No Matter What Your Role on Any Team (2022)
• Technology and the Public Interest (2022)
• Power to the Public: The Promise of Public Interest Technology (2021)
• A Civic Technologist’s Practice Guide (2020)
• Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor (2018)
• The Responsive City: Engaging Communities Through Data-Smart Governance (2014)

Podcasts

• The Book I Wish Every Policymaker Would Read, The Ezra Klein Show
• Public Interest Tech, With Bruce Schneier, Techdirt (Belfer Center, Harvard Kennedy School)

Online courses

• Advocacy Assembly courses
• Tech Stewardship Practice Program
• Solving Public Problems, The Gov Lab
• AI for Good Specialization, Coursera  
• Apolitical Microcourses

Government strategies

• Fact Sheet: Advancing Technology for Democracy (2023), White House
• Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights (2022), White House 
• Mission of the US Digital Service 

Job boards

• Finding Jobs, Tech to Gov
• Public Interest Tech Job Board, Code for America
• Tech Jobs for Good
• Internet Law & Policy Foundry Job Board

Conferences

• Code for All Summit (annual conference)
• Civic Tech Field Guide events calendar 
• IEEE International Symposium on Technology and Society
• Non-Profit Technology Conference

Cyber policy resources

Newsletters

• Weekly Cybersecurity, Politico
• Crypto-Gram, Bruce Schneier
• Zero Day, Kim Zetter
• The Hacker News 
• Cybersecurity 202, Washington Post

Books

• The Hacker and the State: Cyber Attacks and the New Normal of Geopolitics (2020)
• The Fifth Domain: Defending Our Country, Our Companies, and Ourselves in the Age of Cyber Threats (2019)
• Cybersecurity Ethics: An Introduction (2017)
• The Cybersecurity Dilemma: Hacking, Trust and Fear Between Nations (2016)
• Countdown to Zero Day: Stuxnet and the Launch of the World’s First Digital Weapon (2014)

Podcasts

• Darknet Diaries
• Security Now

Online courses

• The Citizen Clinic Cybersecurity Education Center, CLTC Berkeley
• Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate, Coursera 
• Cybersecurity Trainings, CISA

Think tank reports and policy analysis

• Congressional Research Service reports (search term “cyber”)
• Will AI Make Cyber Swords or Shields? (2022), Center for Security and Emerging Technology
• Lawfare: Cybersecurity & Tech
• War on the Rocks: Cyber
• Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Cyber Security

Government strategies

• National Cybersecurity Strategy (2023), White House Office of the National Cyber Director
• Executive Order On Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity (2021), White House

Conferences 

• Billington CyberSecurity
• RSA Conference (counts for continuing education credits for ISC2, the biggest infosec professional network)
• DEF CON
• Black Hat
• BSidesNoVA

Nuclear weapons policy resources 

Introductory articles

• Nuclear Notebook and Status of World Nuclear Forces, Federation of American Scientists
• Nuclear Weapons, Our World in Data

Newsletters

• Nuclear Policy News, Center for Strategic and International Studies
• Proliferation News, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Books

• Negotiating the New START Treaty (2021)
• The Myth of the Nuclear Revolution: Power Politics in the Atomic Age (2020)
• Gambling with Armageddon: Nuclear Roulette from Hiroshima to the Cuban Missile Crisis (2020)
• The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner (2017)
• Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety (2013)
• The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and its Dangerous Legacy (2009)

Podcasts

• Arms Control Wonk, Jeffrey Lewis
• Press the Button, Ploughshares Fund
• The 80,000 Hours Podcast has in-depth interviews with nuclear policy professionals like Jeffrey Lewis, Joan Rohlfing, Andy Weber, Daniel Ellsberg, Samantha Pitts-Kiefer, Bonnie Jenkins, Luisa Rodriguez, and David Denkenberger

Online courses

• IAEA Learning Management System
• Nuclear Threat Initiative Education Center
• Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non‑Proliferation Nuclear Security E-Learning Module 
• EU Non-Proliferation and Disarmament eLearning Course (modules 4 and 5 deal with nuclear weapons specifically, but the entire course could be useful)

Think tank reports and policy analysis

• Congressional Research Service reports (search term “nuclear”)
• Assessing the Dangers: Emerging Military Technologies and Nuclear (In)Stability (2023), Arms Control Association 
• Artificial Intelligence in Nuclear Operations (2023), Center for Naval Analyses
• U.S. Nuclear Policies for a Safer World (2021), Nuclear Threat Initiative
• Publication pages of think tanks listed below

Government strategies

• Nuclear Posture Review (2022), Department of Defense
• National Security Strategy (2022), White House 
• Strategic Concept (2022), NATO (see also NATO’s nuclear deterrence policy and forces)

International organizations and treaties

• International Atomic Energy Agency
• Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization
• Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (2021)
• Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (1970)

Conferences and seminars

• Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference
• CSIS PONI Fall Conference
• Arms Control Association Annual Meetings
• ISODARCO Courses
• LLNL-NSSC Nuclear Security and Nonproliferation Workshop
• Public Policy and Nuclear Threats Bootcamp, UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation
• Regular DC networking event: Gin & Atomics Happy Hour 

Space policy resources

Newsletters

• SpacePolicyOnline.com
• Payload Space

Books

• The Politics of Space Security (2019)
• Space Policy in Developing Countries (2017)
• Handbook of Space Security: Policies, Applications and Programs (2015)
• After Apollo?: Richard Nixon and the American Space Program (2015)

Think tank reports and policy analysis

• Congressional Research Service reports (search term “space”)
• Space Threat Assessment, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
• Global Counterspace Capabilities Report, Secure World Foundation 
• Publication pages of think tanks listed below

Government strategies and treaties

• Space Policy Review and Strategy on Protection of Satellites (2023), DOD
• Strategic Framework for Space Diplomacy (2023), State Department
• US Space Priorities Framework (2021), White House

International organizations and treaties

• United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)
• Artemis Accords (2020)
• Outer Space Treaty (1967) 

Conferences

• SpacePolicyOnline.com events list
• Space Symposium, Space Foundation (annual conference)
• SpaceCom

Related articles

Footnotes