American Diplomat

American Diplomat goes behind the scenes to hear real stories from diplomats who lived newsworthy events overseas. Experience the Cuban revolution, Central American insurgencies, the end of apartheid and more through the eyes of those who were there. A project of Arizona State University.

Where Intelligence Meets Diplomacy 02/05/2026

Where Intelligence Meets Diplomacy Have you ever heard of the teeny tiny Bureau of Intelligence and Research within the State Department? Pull up a chair, because we have Phil Goldberg and Dan Smith here – both career ambassadors (highest rank in the Senior Foreign Service), and both Assistant Secretaries of State for this small but mighty intelligence service. Have a look under the hood at what may be the coolest job in the world. /episode/index/show/americandiplomat/id/39998245

PoliticsUS/Israel: Does the Tail Wag the Dog? 01/29/2026

PoliticsUS/Israel: Does the Tail Wag the Dog? Israeli security has been the third rail of public discourse. Support all that Israel does or Hamas owns you. The result: waning support. Joel Rubin is back to unpack how Trump is changing the script. /episode/index/show/americandiplomat/id/39915240

What Explains The Global Rise of Anti-Semitism? 01/22/2026

What Explains The Global Rise of Anti-Semitism? Jewish-American political analyst Joel Rubin unpacks the reasons for the increase in hate crimes and why Jewish-American groups did not expect a rise in anti-Semitism. /episode/index/show/americandiplomat/id/39818970

Strategic Patience: Can We Return to Diplomacy? 01/15/2026

Strategic Patience: Can We Return to Diplomacy? Must our foreign policy be based on ego, resources and might-makes-right? Can we effectively meet future challenges with policies based on American values? Ambassador Mike Polt hopes so, and ASU is developing a plan for the long game. /episode/index/show/americandiplomat/id/39728940

Venezuela: Gunboat Diplomacy Redux 01/08/2026

Venezuela: Gunboat Diplomacy Redux Why hasn’t Trump decided to keep US boots on the ground? Let us count the reasons. Hint, it’s not because it would be a bad look. /episode/index/show/americandiplomat/id/39654655

Bottoms Up! In Vodka Veritas Once More! 01/01/2026

Bottoms Up! In Vodka Veritas Once More! An oldie but a goodie and one of our very favorites, our annual New Year's special: In Vodka Veritas with Dick Hoagland. Ambassador Dick Hoagland, having served many years in Russia and former Soviet republics, has had ample opportunity to consider the high-stakes drinking game of vodka diplomacy. Break a bottle over the bow of 2026 and Happy New Year! /episode/index/show/americandiplomat/id/39584720

A Diplomatic Holiday To You! 12/25/2025

A Diplomatic Holiday To You! For the holidays, we asked diplomats to share their tales. We have Ken Quinn whose young kids' Christmas in Austria was saved by a team including the Chattanooga Choo Choo, a muslim Santa and a temporary North Korean "daugther". We have Peter Pham who, on his way home for the holidays from his post in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was diverted to Paris due to the US government shutdown, which turn of events led him to ensure the safety return of a recent Congolese Nobel Prize winner. And we have Kent Logsdon who shares a moving tale of singing in an ambassadors' version of a barbershop quartet the song War Is Over, when indeed, war had only just ended in that country. Have a lovely holiday season, everyone! /episode/index/show/americandiplomat/id/39530665

Clown Car or Security Strategy? 12/18/2025

Clown Car or Security Strategy? The Administration's new National Security Strategy document contains exaggerations, contradictions, insults, racism, posturing and slamming, which is to say nothing of the important topics it does not address. Amb. Charlie Ray takes the ideological manifesto apart for us, with discussion of the existential consequences for America and for our species. /episode/index/show/americandiplomat/id/39444660

Venezuela: Be Careful What You Wish For 12/11/2025

Venezuela: Be Careful What You Wish For Imagine a free and prosperous Venezuela. What would it take? We take you to a simulated White House Situation Room with diplomat and Venezuela expert Brian Naranjo. Are you ready for some ground truth? /episode/index/show/americandiplomat/id/39369685

Milei: Man or Maniac? 12/04/2025

Milei: Man or Maniac? The chainsaw was one thing. But the dog economists? Either way, $20billion is a nice bailout package for Argentina. Senior State Department economist Rich Sanders unpacks life in Argentina today, for their eccentric-in-chief and for the Argentine populace. /episode/index/show/americandiplomat/id/39262875

From Harlem Hellfighters to The Jazz Ambassadors - A Tale of Hope 11/27/2025

From Harlem Hellfighters to The Jazz Ambassadors - A Tale of Hope State Department lawyer Mike Peay traces how, during a time of deep racial conflict, black American jazz artists went overseas to promote the American experiment, winning the hearts of millions with their music and personas, but would it improve race relations at home? We share this episode once more to lift our hearts on Thanksgiving day. /episode/index/show/americandiplomat/id/39149920

Space: Catching Up to the 21st Century 11/20/2025

Space: Catching Up to the 21st Century There are no embassies in space, so why diplomacy? Space is everywhere on earth – in financial transactions, food supplies, GPS – and it is key to hybrid warfare, particularly in US competition with China. Space demands agreements before conflicts get hot. Major General Brook Leonard is back to help us understand the facts and the strategic implications. /episode/index/show/americandiplomat/id/39109370

The Discord Rebellion - Nepal 11/13/2025

The Discord Rebellion - Nepal Nepalese democracy is strong but its economy is not. Social platforms gave voice to the aggrieved. When the government threatened access, young folks got down to business, and they got it done. How? Amb. Peter Bodde unpacks. /episode/index/show/americandiplomat/id/39020390

We’ll Be Back 11/06/2025

We’ll Be Back Senator/Ambassador Jeff Flake, one of POTUS’ first targets, tells us why he believes that inclusiveness will win in the US and beyond. /episode/index/show/americandiplomat/id/38931965

The Insurrection Act: Can the Courts Stop Trump? 10/30/2025

The Insurrection Act: Can the Courts Stop Trump? POTUS has wide discretion in sending the standing military into American streets. Public and international law expert John Bellinger examines what our courts will do if he tries to deploy them. /episode/index/show/americandiplomat/id/38742860

POTUS Attacks Venezuelan Soil…So what? 10/23/2025

POTUS Attacks Venezuelan Soil…So what? Ex-National Security Council lawyer John Bellinger takes us into a hypothetical White House Situation Room to advise on the shaky legal grounds for any future attacks on Venezuela. Does Trump care? /episode/index/show/americandiplomat/id/38743355

The Gaza Peace Plan: What Could Go Wrong? 10/16/2025

The Gaza Peace Plan: What Could Go Wrong? Amb. Patrick Theros is back to parse just how the Gaza Peace Plan will likely unfold and why Trump will have to marshal his inner Tony Soprano to get it done. /episode/index/show/americandiplomat/id/38607075

The Most Dangerous Place to be in DC? 10/09/2025

The Most Dangerous Place to be in DC? Between Trump and the Nobel Peace Prize. Israel’s Bibi crossed a redline with his attack on Qatar. The fabulously knowledgeable Amb. Patrick Theros parses this moment and its significance. /episode/index/show/americandiplomat/id/38526615

Venezuela: The President’s Flotilla 10/02/2025

Venezuela: The President’s Flotilla Blowing up small boats to stop drug trafficking? Or is it like swatting flies with a blowtorch? And what about those drug-laden planes still flying north? Ambassador James Story sets the record straight. /episode/index/show/americandiplomat/id/38434290

Mexico’s Steel Magnolia 09/25/2025

Mexico’s Steel Magnolia Polar opposites: Mexican President Sheinbaum – a fact-based scientist, an introvert, methodical, with high standards…and then there is Trump. Mexico expert Brian Naranjo explains how she manages to tame the beast. /episode/index/show/americandiplomat/id/38349555

Estonia: Punching Above Its Weight 09/18/2025

Estonia: Punching Above Its Weight After repeated Russian invasions and/or occupations and with a population only 0.89% the size of Russia, how do you defend yourself, particularly in the age of hybrid warfare? Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur breaks it down. And, most importantly, how best to create tolerance for others’ views, when the goal is for us all to remain alive under the same sun? /episode/index/show/americandiplomat/id/38267745

Trump: Bread and Circus 09/11/2025

Trump: Bread and Circus Use entertainment as political discourse, distort reality, mock adversaries, distract the public from the real issues. The Romans started it and Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi put it on full throttle. Italy expert Steve Scherer shows us how elected populists gain and keep power. /episode/index/show/americandiplomat/id/38173920

Human Rights, Twisted and Bent 09/04/2025

Human Rights, Twisted and Bent What happens when our president operates from his own alternative reality? A growing Axis of Upheaval against us? Elizabeth Shackelford is back to clarify the moment. /episode/index/show/americandiplomat/id/38092705

Reality Show: Canada 08/28/2025

Reality Show: Canada We fought, died, celebrated victories and became prosperous together. Canadians could count on us, until now. Journalist Steve Scherer walks us through the US boycotts and yes, the profound sense of betrayal. /episode/index/show/americandiplomat/id/38001040

The Jihadi Whisperer 08/22/2025

The Jihadi Whisperer What prompts someone to become a violent Muslim extremist? Even more, what would get them to turn against their comrades? Counter-terrorism guru Brig Barker demystifies this dark world. /episode/index/show/americandiplomat/id/37925845

The Hole in Putin’s Imperial Designs 08/14/2025

The Hole in Putin’s Imperial Designs Why is Kazakhstan safe from Russia? It juts into the heart of Russia and shares the longest continuous land border in the world. What is their secret? Ambassador Dan Rosenblum’s analogy: walking a tightrope. /episode/index/show/americandiplomat/id/37816755

Ukraine: Does Moral Truth Still Exist? 08/07/2025

Ukraine: Does Moral Truth Still Exist? What happens when you are instructed to treat the aggressor as an innocent? Former Ambassador Bridget Brink’s career reaches a fork in the road. What to do? Hint: Who’s running in the Michigan Seventh Congressional District? And most importantly, why? /episode/index/show/americandiplomat/id/37719285

What Happened to the Man of My Dreams? 07/31/2025

What Happened to the Man of My Dreams? He's charismatic, he's exciting, he's strong. How do elected autocrats woo their publics and then destroy the very countries they promised to elevate? What happens to the populace? Kristie Kenney, ambassador to Ecuador, Thailand and the Philippines has a thing or two to say about these folks and the reasons that people elect them. Repost from 2020, with oddly entertaining postscript from Pete. Spolier alert: Things doesn't always turn out the way these guys expect. /episode/index/show/americandiplomat/id/37524140

Encore: Who Lost China? 07/24/2025

Encore: Who Lost China? It is the 1950s. Senator Joseph McCarthy and his henchman Roy Cohn target and humiliate our diplomats for accurately reporting an eventual Mao victory in China. Jack Service and his family are at the center of the storm. Is history repeating itself before our eyes? Enjoy this snapshot of diplomacy that is more relevant today than it was when we first posted it in 2020. /episode/index/show/americandiplomat/id/37502500

America Alone? 07/17/2025

America Alone? Secretary Rubio’s stated goal is to reduce our diplomatic corps by 15%. Does it stop there? After four years of whim and chaos will the world ever trust us to lead again? Will we have the expertise and talent? Ambassador Eric Rubin lays it all out for us. /episode/index/show/americandiplomat/id/37430750

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