Deep in the Hermit Kingdom
American Diplomat
Former Assistant Secretary of State Susan Thornton joins us with tales of negotiations to disarm North Korea’s nuclear arsenal – What could go wrong? Could anything go right? After chairs have been thrown, after the all-night negotiations, what was really hidden inside the secret mountain? And that’s just the first negotiation of three, bringing us up to today. Susan was there for all of it.
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Last Officer at Abbey Gate (Encore)
American Diplomat
In our third of three episodes honoring the lives impacted by the US departure from Afghanistan in 2021, we repost one of our most moving episodes. Consular officer Alan Eaton helped scores of Afghans at risk evacuate from Kabul, working from inside the Abbey Gate at the airport at exactly the moment when our friend Toobah was on the other side of the gate, trying to get through. As Alan explains, "This is Jews in Germany, 1940: These people have to get out." Some did get out, some didn't. Alan shares these human moments.
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Civil Servant Dons Body Armor
American Diplomat
In the second of our short series on Afghanistan five years after the US exit, Ken Handelman, former senior civil servant in the Department of Defense, reflects on the beauty, the weirdness and the tragedy of our 20 years in that country. What three institutions’ failings led him to believe that it was time to leave? Listen and find out.
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Bill Burns on Public Service (Encore)
American Diplomat
Bill Burns says it best: "This is exactly the moment when you need to attract the best in our society to lives in public service, whether it's in the State Department, the US military or elsewhere. I am a passionate believer in that." We are, too! Uncle Sam needs you. (This is a repost from 2019, with a message that has never mattered more than it does today.)
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High School Reunion in Kabul
American Diplomat
How did Soviet-era bureaucratic stamps and a personal relationship between highly placed Afghan frenemies impact the outcome of US involvement in Afghanistan? Amb. John Bass shares the part of the story you have never heard before as we reflect on our exit five years later.
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AI Diplomacy: Dueling Banjos?
American Diplomat
Its economic potential is huge, but AI also brings serious national security threats. How exactly do diplomats work to create global standards that promote innovation but also protect us? Knowledge is power in uncertain times so pull up a chair for an in-depth chat with Daniel Remler, bona fide AI diplomat.
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And in Other News…The Western Sahara
American Diplomat
Ever wonder what it’s really like to move policy along as a diplomat? Join Ed Gabriel and Bob Holley as they chronicle the progress of policy in the Western Sahara. Kings die, Texans retire and administrations come and go – but in the end, the people’s voices may yet be heard.
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My Romance With Romania
American Diplomat
Why is Romania so important for US interests? Hint: The Black Sea, and a very long border with Ukraine. Amb. Kathy Kavalec shares insights on this often overlooked but strategically powerful US alliance.
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Diplomacy is Empathy
American Diplomat
How does empathy help create a more peaceful world, whether we are a first-year diplomat or Secretary of State? Amb. Kathy Kavalec (one of Dan’s besties from way back) shares the diplomatic impacts of personal experience. Part one of two.
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Crisis Du Jour
American Diplomat
Public Diplomacy – Journalists have tough questions. What if you just don’t have the answers? How do you prepare? Get inside the machinery with former State Department spokesperson Amb. Mark Toner and learn the policy impacts of the words we use.
info_outlineHow did Soviet-era bureaucratic stamps and a personal relationship between highly placed Afghan frenemies impact the outcome of US involvement in Afghanistan? Amb. John Bass shares the part of the story you have never heard before as we reflect on our exit five years later.