Beyond the Edge of the Mountain
American Diplomat
Amb. Randy Berry, after growing up on a Colorado ranch, devoted his unique diplomatic career to helping people displaced by war, disease, climate and more. Serving in many countries of Africa and also in Nepal, he worked to restore human health, security and dignity. Much has been lost in recent months, but Randy inspires us to imagine what good we can do. Extra credit: What's in Nepal’s Museum of Stolen Art?
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Russia, Then and Now
American Diplomat
It’s 1987. Soviet repression is relaxing with Glasnost and Perestroika. So how did we get where we are today? What was the inflection point? Amb. Lynne Tracy saw it all: the beginning, middle and end of the arc of change in Russia’s recent decades. What’s been lost, and why does it matter?
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Business, or Human Dignity?
American Diplomat
Is the pursuit of profit in Venezuela and Africa consistent with the democratic ideals that have marked US diplomacy? This is the question Ambs Pete Romero and Charlie Ray recently asked ASU students in the first fall semester meeting of the Diplomat Lounge. How do we, as diplomats, evaluate competing priorities? The real question is, who are we, as a democracy?
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The Shield of the Americas
American Diplomat
What is this partnership, a return to diplomacy, of a sort? No more blowing up vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific? And who calls himself “the coolest dictator in the world”? Join our great friend Amb. Pete Romero, former Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, who calls it like he sees it.
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Fantasy Island: Haiti?
American Diplomat
Hardly. Relative prosperity, overcome by political violence and economic desperation, followed by an earthquake, leaves the Haitian people with what? Amb. Ken Merten was there for much of Haiti’s recent history. Listen while he tells us what Haiti was decades ago, and what challenges the Haitian people now face.
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Madam Ambassador Busts a Move
American Diplomat
What do the number 8 dictator, a democratic leader with a wartime past, and an African civil war all have in common? Amb. Tracey Jacobson. By what methods, both time-tested and totally on-the-fly, did she succeed in tricky moments? Tune in and find out.
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Democracy, Economy, Revolution?
American Diplomat
Kyrgyzstan: A charred White House (they have one, too), riots and pogroms, plus a problematic human rights award. Why doesn't the need for diplomacy ever stop? Our very own Amb. Dan Rosenblum saw it all while overseeing aid in Central Asia and shares the experience through his eyes, his heart and his professional lens.
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Energy is Life (and Death?)
American Diplomat
Multiple choice: Energy is (1) how we heat our homes, (2) a tool of malign influence, (3) an instrument of statecraft? And what about all those increasingly necessary critical minerals? Amb. Geoffrey Pyatt, top energy diplomat, helps us understand that diplomacy matters more than ever and that all diplomacy is based on human trust. And the glass is half full. Listen and understand why.
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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.
info_outlineIn 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.