American Diplomat

“I feel wonderful!”  Hosay Erfani, who appeared on our show as the Taliban took over (They Will Cut Our Heads, Of course, And What of Our Friend Toobah), had a harrowing escape from the deadly regim…

Nadya Bliss, the executive director of ASU’s Global Security Initiative, helps us understand disinformation from the ground up.  What is the algorithmification of information and what are the technol…

We all recognize the intractability and tragedy of the Arab/Israeli conflict but what are the dynamics of Iran’s proxy forces, separately fighting Israel, working together?  What is each of their rel…

Campaign promises - repatriating the undocumented, Mexico’s role in securing the border, tariff quid pro quos and NATO’s role in a Russian/Ukraine peace - will require expert diplomacy.  Will the new…

Oh, the stress of the election!  We're feeling the strain!  So we thought we could all use a little break.  Here's one of our earliest, most fun episodes.  Larry Dinger regales us with tales of tires…

David Scheffer, our country's foremost diplomat on war crimes, reveals the unstoppable forces seeking justice.  The bad get badder and the good get better.  

An inspirational story of personal redlines and resilience that has stuck with us:  Ambassador John Feeley left a beloved job as US Ambassador to Panama, at the pinnacle of his career. Why?  He could…

Soviet occupation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania ended 30 years ago but to many, it could have been yesterday.  How secure are these states, and what will happen to them if Ukraine falls?  Is there…

Out with the old, in with the new?  Will Claudia Sheinbaum, new (and first female) President of Mexico, allow the departing leader AMLO to control her presidency, as designated successors of autocrat…

And what does Behghazi have to do with our withdrawal from Afghanistan, and why are people investigating our exit from that country on the third anniversary of the withdrawal, not, say, on the first …

Prominent Brazilian journalist Cecilia Tornaghi shares the major struggle between Elon Musk and Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes, after the judge shut down X.  The episode begs the q…

Janessa Goldbeck, ex-Marine, CEO of Vet Voice Foundation and producer of the new film War Game, explains what a war game is and how it became the basis for this unusual and highly effective film.  Wh…

FSO Chad Houghton takes us back to 2020 when John Kerry, the first Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, brought the US back into the Paris agreement. Quiz: Which is worse, methane or CO2? Also, wh…

David Thomas, Executive Director of ASU’s Milo Space Science Institute, describes the global stability benefits of providing countries of the world access to space through education (what’s it like t…

Steve Herman, author of Behind the White House Curtain, is back to tell the tale of the time the Trump administration tried to seize editorial control of the Voice of America and turn it into a prop…

The Maduro regime told breathtaking lies about voting tallies, but the opposition has proof.  What are diplomats doing to promote a democratic outcome?  Keith Mines, Vice President of the Latin Ameri…

Journalist and FSO (you read that correctly!) Steve Herman’s new book Behind the White House Curtain delves into the balance between, as Pete says, being the pitcher and the umpire at the same time.…

General Brook Leonard is back to focus on China as our competitor in space.  What is rivalry in space – economic, military, both?  And what can we learn from China’s holistic approach to space?  The …

Major General Brook Leonard joins us to parse “coopetition” in the 3rd space age.  With vital interests ranging from movement of money to food security, space technology is moving faster than rules a…

NATO celebrated its 75th year anniversary last week. It doubled down on Ukraine support and the Alliance now sees Itself as the bulwark against growing anti-democratic regimes. Ambassador Kurt Volker…