Singapore birth, Yale degree and then a 12-year WaPo stint: Who is Shashi Tharoor's son Ishaan, laid off by Washington Post?

Ishaan Tharoor

Ishaan Tharoor, son of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, has returned to public focus after being laid off from The Washington Post as part of widespread job cuts that have significantly reduced the newspaper’s international coverage.

Ishaan Tharoor laid off from Washinton Post

Tharoor shared the news in a social media post, describing the layoffs as “a bad day”. He also posted an image of an empty newsroom as The Washington Post announced a restructuring exercise that impacted a large section of its international and sports staff.

A bad day pic.twitter.com/cIX8rIjJPu

— Ishaan Tharoor (@ishaantharoor) February 4, 2026

Who is Ishaan Tharoor: All you need to know about Congress MP's son

A US-based journalist, Ishaan Tharoor has built a career in international journalism and commentary on global affairs. He is best known for his work at The Washington Post, where he launched and authored the WorldView column in 2017. The column focused on explaining global politics and international developments to a wide readership.

Born in Singapore in 1984 during his father’s diplomatic posting, Tharoor has a twin brother, Kanishk Tharoor, who is also a writer.

Tharoor completed his bachelor’s degree at Yale University in 2006, majoring in history with a focus on ethnicity, race and migration. During his time at Yale, he was awarded the Sudler Fellowship.

He began his journalism career at Time magazine in 2006 and later rose to the position of senior editor covering the New York City region. In 2014, he left the publication to join The Washington Post in Washington, DC.

Apart from journalism, Tharoor has also been involved in academia. Between 2018 and 2020, he served as an adjunct instructor at Georgetown University, where he taught a course titled Global Affairs in the Digital Age at the School of Foreign Service.