New beginnings — and a quick ask.
I've missed y'all. Here's what I've been up to, and where you can read me.
Detour-ers! It’s been a long minute, and I wanted to clue you in to a new chapter I’ve set off on.
But first, a review of where we’ve been together: From January 2024 thru September 2025, The Detour was a hub for readers in over 50 countries who sought nuanced coverage of U.S. and global affairs. We talked about wildfires in the American west, the sticky politics of peace accords in eastern DRC and ceasefires in Sudan, the feminine urge to drop everything for a beachside walking trail in southern Scotland, Senator Cory Booker’s history-shattering “non-filibuster filibuster”, and so much more. I ultimately closed the chapter on this newsletter to embark on another calling: teaching the next generation of graduate-level journalists while managing and scaling an internationally recognized newsroom that covered the ripple effects of global flashpoints on women and girls.
What fun we had. As I said during my bittersweet send-off, I needed to step back, recover from a spell of burnout, and re-emerge when the time was right.
That time has come. Here’s where you can find me:
Introducing THIS WEEK ON ICE, a weekly podcast hosted by global affairs reporters Kelly Kimball (me!) and Matt Kendrick covering the latest developments of the Trump administration’s mass deportation policies.
Available on: Spotify. Apple Podcasts. Substack.
For those who have followed this newsletter from Day 1, you may recall my co-host, Matt Kendrick: He wrote about El Salvador’s mass-incarceration crisis for Frame Media well before the country was deputized to house ICE deportees from the United States. Matt was the first-ever story I commissioned and published at Frame, and we’ve been trusted colleagues ever since.
Each week, Matt and I will break down three to four of the biggest headlines, surface reporting that may have flown under your radar, and speak with guests who can help us understand what’s next amid rapidly expanding immigration activities marked by brutal enforcement tactics, family separations that challenge legal norms, and removals to third countries and foreign detention facilities.
As seasoned journalists who have covered justice, accountability and human rights globally, we quickly realized immigration enforcement is no longer a policy sidebar. It is central to how power is being consolidated in the United States, how rights are being tested, and how America is re-defining itself at home and abroad. The scale and speed of what’s happening demand sustained attention.
We’re dropping fresh episodes every Friday on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and on Substack.
If you believe in this kind of independent coverage, and if you believe sustained reporting on immigration enforcement matters, I hope you’ll come along with me on this ride. Subscribe. Share. Send us your questions and tips at thisweekonice@gmail.com.
Many thanks for your readership, your support, and your curiosity.
See you on the airwaves,
Kelly
P.S. — My good friends at Frame Media ended paid subscriptions for The Detour last September. If you have questions, please email admin@frame.media