Eshaan Mani

About Me

I'm Eshaan, a junior at Harvard concentrating in Government Honors, with a secondary in History.

I'm deeply passionate about climate resilience, and have spent much of my time outside the classroom using policy frameworks to help utilities, regulators, and grid technology companies strengthen their infrastructure and mitigate severe climate risks. Here is sampling of my work.

Alongside my policy work, I am an award-winning journalist, poet, and documentary filmmaker with more than 200 bylines across a dozen publications. At Harvard, I serve as a senior staff writer and Journalism Advising Fellow for the Harvard Political Review, a senior columnist for the Harvard Technology Review (where I interview the C-suites of innovative climate tech companies, and Executive Director of External Media for the India Conference at Harvard (2025-27).

A Selection of Recent Writings

Harvard Political Review •

Divided We Fall: An Interview with Jill Lepore - Harvard Political Review

Jill Lepore is the David Woods Kemper ’41 Professor of American History at Harvard University and a staff writer at The New Yorker. One of the nation’s leading public historians, Lepore has written extensively on American politics, democracy, constitutionalism, and the evolution of national identity. In 2026, her book “We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution,” which examines the contested history of the Constitution and inclusion, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for History. Lepore’s ne...
Harvard Technology Review •

From Ocean to Orchard: How Birufinery Is Rewriting Indonesia’s Seaweed Economy - Harvard Technology Review

Keeping up with Climate Tech vol. 13
In the race to decarbonize agriculture, most climate startups begin in laboratories or on farmland. Birufinery begins in the ocean.
Azalea Ayuningtyas, SPH ‘13, CEO of Birufinery, did not arrive at seaweed through venture capital or a research grant. She arrived through people. 
“I’ve been working with coastal communities in the more rural, remote parts of Indonesia for the past 12 years,” she told the Harvard Technology Review.
Harvard Political Review •

Interreligious Solidarity for a New Myanmar: An Interview with David Thang Moe - Harvard Political Review

David Thang Moe is a Postdoctoral Associate and Lecturer in Southeast Asian Studies at Yale University and Co-chair of the Religion in Southeast Asia Unit at the American Academy of Religion. He also holds academic affiliations with Harvard, Columbia, MIT, Boston University, and the University of Connecticut. Moe’s research focuses on religion and identity politics, especially in Myanmar. 
The Harvard Political Review spoke to Moe in advance of his talk on campus “Becoming Ungovernable Beyond...
Time for Kids •

Kid Reporter Alumni Spotlight: Eshaan Mani

Each year since 2000, our editors have selected a team of students to report for TIME for Kids. That’s more than 250 kids who’ve joined our crew! And nothing brings us more joy than seeing former TFK Kid Reporters pursue their goals and dreams.
Take Eshaan Mani. A Texas-based TFK Kid Reporter in 2019–20, he wrote about major national and world events, including youth protests (above) and the COVID-19 pandemic. Now Eshaan is studying climate and law at Harvard University, in Massachusetts. He’s...
Harvard Political Review •

The Human Side of Trade: An Interview with Ebrahim Patel - Harvard Political Review

Ebrahim Patel served as South Africa’s Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition from 2019 to 2024 and as Minister of Economic Development from 2009 to 2019. Patel began his career in the trade union movement, where he played a leading role in shaping South Africa’s post-apartheid labor and industrial policy. He has acted as the Chief Negotiator on the Labor Relations Act of 1995 and the President of the South African Labor Research Institute. Over his 15 years in the Cabinet, he drove initia...
Harvard Technology Review •

“Agency Has Never Had a Higher ROI”: YC Partner Ankit Gupta on AI, Entrepreneurship, and the Future of Work - Harvard Technology Review

At Harvard, Ankit Gupta ‘17 never set out to be a founder. But a chance partnership with a blockmate led him to co-found Reverie Labs, a biotech startup that applied machine learning to drug discovery and ultimately advanced its own medicines into the clinic before being acquired by Ginkgo Bioworks in 2024. Today, Gupta is a General Partner at Y Combinator, where he advises the next generation of entrepreneurs navigating the fast-changing startup landscape. A former deep learning researcher who...
Harvard Political Review •

Lowering the Temperature: An Interview with Jen Psaki - Harvard Political Review

Jen Psaki served as White House Press Secretary under President Joe Biden from 2021 to 2022, becoming one of the most recognizable voices of the administration and a member of the first all-female senior communications team. A veteran of both the Obama and Biden administrations, she has also served as White House Communications Director, Deputy Press Secretary, and State Department Spokesperson. Before returning to public service in the Biden administration, Psaki was a political commentator for...
New India Abroad •

The India We Imagine Reenvisioning Indias global role at the 23rd India Conference at Harvard

The India Conference at Harvard, one of the world’s longest-running student-led forums on India, will return to Harvard University on Feb. 14 and 15, 2026, convening global leaders, thinkers, and creators for two days of dialogue under the theme “The India We Imagine.”

Organized by students across Harvard University, the Conference brings together policymakers, business leaders, artists, academics, and students from around the world to examine India’s evolving role in global leadership across...
Harvard Political Review •

Making Energy Policy Boring Again: An Interview with Neil Chatterjee - Harvard Political Review

Neil Chatterjee is a former chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), where he served from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. He previously spent nearly a decade as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s top energy aide and also worked at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. As FERC chairman, Chatterjee was known for supporting market-based approaches to clean energy. Since leaving government, he has advised the global law firm Hogan Lovells and serve...
Harvard Political Review •

Reporting Without Fear or Favor: An Interview with Peter Baker - Harvard Political Review

Peter Baker is the Chief White House Correspondent for The New York Times and a political analyst for MSNBC, covering his sixth presidency after decades reporting for The Times and The Washington Post. He previously served as Moscow co-bureau chief, chronicling the rise of Vladimir Putin, and has reported from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Jerusalem. The author of seven books, including “The Divider” and “Days of Fire,” Baker has won all three major awards for White House coverage. The Harvard Politica...
Harvard Technology Review •

Electrifying Maritime Vessels with Long-Life Batteries: Spotlight on Echandia - Harvard Technology Review

Keeping Up with Climate Tech vol. 12
Within the Nordic waters where ferries bustle between islands and towns, Magnus Ericsson saw an opportunity. A Swedish Navy veteran who once oversaw submarine construction, Ericsson knew batteries had powered underwater vessels for decades. Why not bring that same electrification to civilian boats?
He first experimented with leisure boats, but quickly realized smaller vessels had too many complications. So instead, he turned to ferries where he came acr...
Harvard Technology Review •

Electric, Intelligent, Homegrown Mechanization for Indian Farmers: Spotlight on Orbit Agritech - Harvard Technology Review

Keeping Up with Climate Tech vol. 11
In villages across the western Indian state of Maharashtra, smallholder farmers hunch over rattling diesel tillers, their arms and backs aching as the machines struggle across the uneven soil. Many suffer from health issues (pain in the back, neck, shoulders, and fatigue) and they see sky-high turnover. And their diesel-powered machines, which consume lots of fuel, break down often when they’re needed most, causing costly delays. Add to this their tiny, fr...
Harvard Political Review •

Governance in an Age of Change: An Interview with Leo Varadkar - Harvard Political Review

Leo Varadkar served as Taoiseach of Ireland, the Irish equivalent of prime minister, from 2017 to 2020 and again from 2022 to 2024. He led Ireland through the COVID-19 pandemic, Brexit negotiations, and historic expansions of civil rights. A medical doctor, Varadkar also served in cabinet for over a decade across the areas of Transport, Enterprise, Social Protection, and Health. As taoiseach, he oversaw record employment, a growing budget surplus, landmark climate legislation, and major investme...
Harvard Technology Review •

Plug-and-Play Decarbonization for the Steel Industry: Spotlight on Climitra - Harvard Technology Review

Keeping up with Climate Tech vol. 10
India’s steel industry is both an engine of growth and one of the country’s most carbon-intensive sectors, responsible for roughly 12% of national emissions. Undergoing an industrial boom, India’s steel sector is on track to add 100 million tons of new capacity by 2030, 90% of it coal-based. 

For an industry that imports 85% of its coking coal, the Russia–Ukraine war is truly a wake-up call: PCI coal prices doubled overnight, gutting steelmakers’ margin...
Harvard Technology Review •

Priming AI for Agricultural Insights: Spotlight on LetzFarm - Harvard Technology Review

Keeping up with Climate Tech vol. 9Globally, about 570 million smallholder farmers are responsible for 1/3 of global food production. Despite their crucial role, smallholders often struggle to make data-driven decisions, as they lack real-time, localized agricultural intelligence. LetzFarm, a collaboration between Abris Inc. and the Carbon Zero Institute of Trinidad and Tobago, is changing that. By harnessing AI and real-time data, LetzFarm provides farmers with personalized insights on soil hea...
Harvard Technology Review •

Tackling Plastic Waste with Synthetic Biology: Spotlight on Breaking - Harvard Technology Review

Keeping up with Climate Tech vol. 8All images credit: BreakingPlastic waste is everywhere—from landfills to oceans to the air we breathe.Today’s primary recycling processes are inefficient — crushing and grinding in recycling plans destroys the fibers in plastics and renders them unable to be reused. So only 9% of plastic makes it to a recycling plant. The rest ends up in landfills, waterways, or is incinerated, which releases toxic gases into the atmosphere.Breaking is taking a radically differ...
Harvard Technology Review •

Heating People, Not Spaces: Spotlight on Focal - Harvard Technology Review

Keeping up with Climate Tech vol. 7By Eshaan ManiOn sidewalks, patios, and rooftops, outdoor heaters have become a fixture of modern city life—especially in the post-COVID era. But behind the warm glow of propane flames lies a sobering truth: these systems are wildly inefficient, carbon-intensive, and technologically outdated. Enter Focal—a startup aiming to flip the paradigm by asking a simple question: what if we heated people, not the air around them?Founded by Raj Tilwa and Rohan Pandya, Foc...
Harvard Technology Review •

The Retrofit EV Revolution: Spotlight on Voltpost - Harvard Technology Review

Keeping up with Climate Tech vol. 6In a world racing to electrify transportation, one startup is taking a refreshingly grounded approach…by looking up. Specifically, at lampposts.Voltpost, co-founded by Luke Mairo, Jeff Prosserman, and Jörn Vicari, is retrofitting existing lamp posts into electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. “I started my career in banking at Barclays Bank, covered a range of industries, including the industrial companies and the autos, the energy sector — which was mostly o...
Harvard Political Review •

Can Bollywood Do Justice to Sex Workers? - Harvard Political Review

A petite lady wearing dark shades saunters to the mic at a feminist meeting in Mumbai’s Azad Maidan sports ground. She introduces herself as Gangubai Kathiawadi, a social activist and madam of a brothel in the Kamathipura red-light district.“Everyone here probably has a job,” she begins. “Those with intelligence sell their intellect; our business is of the body, so we sell our bodies. Why is only our profession seen as immoral? You all lose your dignity once, and it’s gone. We lose our dignity n...
Harvard Technology Review •

Minimizing Methane Emissions in Rice Farming: Spotlight on Mitti Labs - Harvard Technology Review

Keeping up with Climate Tech vol. 5Rice isn’t just a staple food for billions—it’s the lifeblood of food security in many parts of the Global South. Yet, conventional rice farming is one of the world’s biggest water guzzlers and a significant emitter of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Mitti Labs, co-founded by Xavier Laguarta, HBS ‘23, Devdut Dalal, HBS ‘23, and Nate Torbick, is on a mission to transform rice farming by addressing water scarcity, climate change, and the economic challenges fac...
Harvard Political Review •

Inside Biden’s Messaging Strategy: An Interview with Michael Donilon - Harvard Political Review

Michael Donilon served as senior advisor to President Joe Biden, working on a wide range of domestic and foreign policy issues and acting as one of President Biden’s primary speechwriters. Donilon has worked for Biden since 1981 and has been involved in seven presidential campaigns, including for Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, in addition to Biden. He also played a role in more than 30 winning U.S. Senate and gubernatorial campaigns. The Harvard Political Review sat down with Donilon to discuss...
Harvard Political Review •

Driving Domestic Policy Change: An Interview with Neera Tanden - Harvard Political Review

Neera Tanden served as the Director of the U.S. Domestic Policy Council and as domestic policy advisor to President Biden. Tanden also served in the Obama and Clinton administrations and has worked on numerous presidential campaigns. She also previously held the role of President and CEO of the Center for American Progress and the Center for American Progress Action Fund, one of the nation’s largest think tanks. The HPR sat down with Tanden in October 2024 for a short discussion on policymaking...
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