Austa Somvichian-Clausen

Lead Respect Writer at Changing America by The Hill, City Editor at InsideHook covering Washington, D.C. and New York City. Dynamic freelancer with a deep love of travel, culture, and the environment. Proud member of the LGBTQ+ community.







I'm also a freelance writer and creative consultant living in New York City. My primary beats are social justice, culture, food, and travel, but I've covered everything from the rise of organic marijuana (for National Geographic) to social media slacktivism (for Women's Health in print), and beyond. 


Though I'm currently based in NYC, I've also called Washington, DC and Los Angeles home (and take assignments in both cities). I hold dual U.S. and Icelandic citizenship, so I'm also able to work across Europe without requiring a visa. 


Formerly: Apartment Therapy, National Geographic.


Thrillist •

How to Safely Celebrate the Biden-Harris Inauguration in DC

The 2021 presidential inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will take place on Wednesday, January 20, starting at 12 pm eastern time, following Biden’s train journey from his home in Wilmington, Delaware to the nation’s capitol—a trip the President-Elect took daily for 36 years while he was a U.S. senator. Biden will then take his oath of office on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol, the same building that just last week was attacked by a mob of Trump supporters, leaving five dead. Thus, i
Thrillist •

How to Have a Safe and Fun New Year’s Eve in Washington DC

As the highly anticipated end to 2020 draws near, it’s natural to have mixed feelings. Typically, New Year’s Eve is a time to dress to the nines, let your figurative hair down, and clink champagne glasses. It’s a time to now look toward what is considered to be a clean slate, making resolutions about going to the gym every day or finally becoming a vegetarian. This year it comes as no surprise to anyone that New Year’s Eve will look and feel very different. Most important now is to keep yoursel
Thrillist •

Everything You Can Do in DC This Holiday Season

November 11 - January 3 Various locations Some holiday displays like the iconic Zoolights at the National Zoo have chosen to delay festivities until next year, but there is still plenty of illumination to see this season. Meadowlark’s Winter Walk of Lights is reopening soon, a stunning half-mile of lights through the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, as well as the annual Georgetown GLOW which illuminates the neighborhood with light art exhibits. Cost: Prices vary Of course, please stay home if you
Thrillist •

10 Spooky Ways to Celebrate Halloween in DC This Year

There is certainly a lot to be spooked by this Halloween season—and we’re not just talking about your typical ghouls and goblins. Between a high stakes presidential election and an ongoing global pandemic, getting into the holiday spirit on October 31 is certain to look and feel pretty different this year. Social distancing is still of the utmost importance, and the DC Department of Health even released official guidance on how to have fun while staying mindful during Halloween and Día de los Mu
Thrillist •

Washington, DC: How to Make Sure Your Vote Counts in the 2020 Election

The weeks leading up to a historic election are hectic enough without the added bonus of a pandemic to worry about. Thankfully, DC is making it easier than ever to avoid the polls this year, even sending all registered voters mail-in ballots the first week of October. Those not yet registered can do so easily online, by mail, or in person, and anyone is allowed to vote via absentee ballot if they don’t feel comfortable visiting a voting center in person. Possibly the most stressful part of votin
Thrillist •

Escape DC Without Leaving Town By Visiting These 8 Places

Once in a while, a quick escape from the norm is necessary. Take into consideration the year we’re all having -- one which can only be described time and time again as “unprecedented,” and the desire to escape only grows. Despite travel not being an option for many right now, there are still ways to get that quick but oh-so-sweet break from reality right now, without even leaving the DMV. With that in mind, we pulled together a list of our favorite places for escapism -- from secret gardens to s
TheHill •

First-time voters make their voices heard on LGBTQ+ issues and beyond

Throughout 2020, members of Generation Z have been making headlines for some pretty unorthodox demonstrations of their political views — from bombarding far-right Twitter hashtags with Korean pop (K-pop) content or rallying on video platform TikTok to promote a mass purchase of Trump rally tickets. According the the Pew Research Center, Generation Z, those born in 1996 or later, is the most pro-government and anti-Trump generation. With that being said, they do not hold the same party alliances
thrillist •

How to Support DC’s Latino-Owned Businesses Right Now

In Washington DC, there is a diverse Latino presence to celebrate -- the 12th largest in the nation, to be exact. Many Salvadorans call DC home, and because of that Washingtonians never experience a shortage of delicious pupusas, the famous pork and cheese-filled pockets for which the country is known. For the past decade, the number of Latino business owners has also grown a whopping 34 percent according to American University, and the Latino community is the largest growing group in the metro
TheHill •

T-Mobile to give free internet to 10 million students in need

The start of September usually marks a return for students back to the classroom, but pandemic-related concerns are keeping a record number of them at home. Many of these students are now expected to participate in remote learning, meaning they will require a solid internet connection at all times in order to participate in lessons, assignments, activities and more. Remote learning presents a challenge to many students and their families who either cannot pay for or do not have access to high s
TheHill •

A California assembly member voted on the House floor with her newborn in tow after being denied the ability to vote remotely

When the final night of the session and one of the most important votes — on affordable housing and key family leave policies — rolled around, California assemblywoman Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) realized what she must do. Wicks had just given birth to her daughter Elly, who was born with jaundice, a few days earlier on July 26. Elly’s condition means that Wicks cannot be away from her for an entire day, as her baby requires consistent nourishment to stay healthy. Wicks was understandably worried a
TheHill •

Celebrate Women's Equality Day with this award-winning female historian

Today marks the hundredth anniversary of the adoption of the 19th Amendment, which sealed into law that “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” Now recognized annually as Women’s Equality Day, the historic adoption of the 19th Amendment on Aug. 26, 1920, kicked off a century of uneven-but-steady progression for the legal voting rights of all women in the United States. Fast forward to the presen
TheHill •

New study confirms that female-led countries fared better against coronavirus

This year, world leaders have largely been measured by their responses to the coronavirus pandemic. Soon after the outbreak began to quickly spread, a theory emerged that female leaders had been reacting exceptionally well to the pandemic, keeping infection levels low in their country and coming up with inventive ways to keep their citizens safe and well-informed. Back in April, we spoke with Kathleen Gersen, a professor of sociology at New York University, about the idea that female-led countr
TheHill •

It has been 100 years since the passing of the 19th Amendment

It has officially been 100 years since Aug. 18, 1920, the historic day that the 19th Amendment was ratified and women were, in so many words, granted the constitutional right to vote in the United States. It’s an event glamorized and glorified in textbooks, an event that did help pave the way for the progression of the women’s rights movement, especially in the realm of politics. But many Americans are unaware of the full story. In reality, the 19th Amendment didn’t even name women explicitly,
TheHill •

HBO's 'Stockton on My Mind' features a young mayor at the helm of a struggling city

Directly post-commencement, most college grads are sussing out their next move, whether that means finding a desk job or continuing their education even further. For Michael Tubbs, it was a different story altogether. After graduating from Stanford University in 2012 on a full ride scholarship, Tubbs returned to his hometown of Stocktown, Calif., to mourn the loss of his young cousin who was shot to death — his stay extended indefinitely when he decided to run for, and won, a seat as the city's
InsideHook •

Will the Pandemic Kill DC’s Food-Truck Scene?

DC Slices is one of many trucks that have left the city in search of greener pastures Perhaps you remember the movie Chef that came out a few years ago starring Jon Favreau. The one where he is married to Sofia Vergara, starts up a food truck with his young son in Miami, and is so immediately successful that Gordon Ramsay offers to fund the opening of his next restaurant? If you haven’t, apologies for the lack of spoiler alerts. Regardless, it’s just the kind of Hollywood magic that can paint
TheHill •

Joe Biden selects Kamala Harris as his vice presidential running mate, making history

Joe Biden announced Tuesday that he had chosen Kamala Harris, a prominent senator from California, to be his running mate for the upcoming 2020 election ballot. The decision marks a historic moment in the gender and racial equality movement, as Harris, the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India, will soon be the first Black woman to run on a major political party’s presidential ticket. If elected, she would also be the nation’s first female, first Black and first Asian American vice pres
TheHill •

Kansas could elect its first openly transgender lawmaker to state legislature this year

From the young age of 12, Stephanie Byers knew she wanted to become a music teacher, and that’s exactly what she did. “When I was a kid I started band practice, in sixth grade, and my band director made life just...wonderful and fun. I kind of grew up in a tough neighborhood and where I went to school there were tons of kids like me that, you know, did not have money,” says Byers. “This gentleman made us all realize that we were somebody, and it didn't matter how much money we had or didn't hav
InsideHook •

The 5 New DC Watering Holes and Pop Ups That Might Just Save Summer

While there’s no way to delude ourselves into thinking that the rest of this summer will feel normal, or to totally forget about that long lost summer trip, we can at least sip some margaritas and take in the sunshine in one of DC’s brand new outdoor drinking locations — the very next best thing, in our opinion. From pop up spots with human-sized frozen-drink machines to the new Blagden Alley “streatery,” here’s where you can find us this month. This Park View bar has kept itself more than bu
TheHill •

Latinos disproportionately affected by coronavirus, sheds a light onto existing inequities

This July, the United States registered more than 1.9 million new COVID-19 infections, making it increasingly obvious that the infectious disease isn’t going anywhere any time soon. As case numbers around the world continue to slowly wane, here in the U.S. they are surging in several Midwestern states as well as the South and West, where the virus has been spreading rapidly after restrictions were lifted earlier this summer. By now, more than 4,770,000 coronavirus cases and 156,000 fatalities h
TheHill •

Art museum uses special campaign banners to help reverse air pollution

In an effort to contribute to the green movement, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, recently invested in some interesting outdoor advertising. The new campaign centers around promotion of a freshly installed Olafur Eliasson exhibition to the museum — an artist who aims to expose “some of today’s most urgent issues” to museum-goers, asking them to reflect on their understanding of the environment through the use of natural materials such as moss, fog and glacial ice. Promotion of the exhi
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