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PODCAST

American Diplomat

Ambassador (Retired) Pete Romero and Writer/Producer Laura Bennett

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.

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All Episodes

35:02

Now's the Time in Ukraine - Gen. Spider Marks

American Diplomat ·

2023/08/03

Ukraine: a nation fighting for its life. Russia's military: leaderless, feckless, inept, but well armed and with lots of conscripts willing to die. With Putin weakened (think, attempted Wagner coup), could Ukraine negotiate a peace? If not, will the war simply become a spectator sport? What are each side's options? General Spider Marks shares his analysis and opinion.

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23:56

Go For It!

American Diplomat ·

2023/07/27

Margaret Riccardelli, an airline employee in her 40s, stumbled into the foreign service thinking it would be great to serve in Italy. But where did she end up? Bangladesh, where nothing ever happens. What? Instead, she was met with revolution, poverty, an 8,000 person attack on the embassy, tornadoes, a cyclone that washed 100,000 people out into the bay of Bengal, and the fun didn’t stop there. It’s scary and it’s lonely, Margaret explains, but you step up. So what about Rome? For the whole story,

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41:16

Wagner's Ascent to Control in Central Africa

American Diplomat ·

2023/07/21

The Central African Republic: a vulnerable democracy with a weak president, failed by the West. Wagner mercenaries arrive in flip flops offering military support and quickly set up lucrative mineral businesses that depend on control of public information, intimidation and sustained conflict, resulting in the highest mortality rate of any country in the world. Why do we care? This is a model for operations anywhere that democracies and the West falter. Ambassador Larry Wohlers tells the story of the

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43:27

The Stars Over the Red Sea

American Diplomat ·

2023/07/13

Alan Eaton helps us appreciate exactly where high level policy meets the work of diplomats on the ground as he works from a Saudi military vessel to evacuate Americans from the war in Sudan.

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25:46

Party on John’s Gunboat! Happy Fourth!

American Diplomat ·

2023/07/05

Why don’t the Panamanians hate us? We sliced their country in two to build the Panama Canal, owned and controlled the Canal Zone, disallowed Panamanians from visiting the Canal Zone, and even attacked Panama in 1989, drawing condemnation from the UN and the Organization of American States. So how is it a good thing to throw our July 4th party on a gunboat right smack in the Canal? We ask Amb. John Feeley, who did exactly that.

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41:52

Impeached and Arrested and In Good Company

American Diplomat ·

2023/06/29

Pedro Castillo, recently ousted in Peru, is the latest of a succession of Peruvian presidents to be jailed or disgraced. Could this apparent chaos be in fact a sign that the judicial system is working? The devil's in the details.

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45:03

Hot Dog Man Gone Bad

American Diplomat ·

2023/06/22

Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner Group, opened hot dog stands upon his release from Russian prison as a young man. Now he leads the rapidly growing Kremlin-affiliated private military contractor, the Wagner Group. Mercenaries? Yes. Lethal? Yes. Incredibly rich and working for dictators and unstable regimes on (so far) three continents? Also, yes. Dealing in gold, diamonds, troll farms, shocking brutality, as well as political influence, Wagner's rise has been as fast as it has been unknown by

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47:33

"Wolf Warrior Diplomacy" in China?

American Diplomat ·

2023/06/15

Who coined that term anyway? It's true, there have been insults and lots of them. Why? Secretary of State Tony Blinken will visit China this weekend and Susan Thornton, Senior Fellow at Yale University Law School's Paul Tsai China Center and former US diplomat, joins us with her perspective on the complexities of China's diplomacy today.

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39:51

A Diplomat's Gender Transition

American Diplomat ·

2023/06/08

All of us belong, even at State. In honor of Pride Month, we again offer the generously told story of Austin Richey-Allen, who recounts his story of gender transition while serving as a US diplomat. From his gender transition to his leadership of GLIFA, Austin shares his experience for the benefit not only of the LGBTQ community, but for all of us who value a more inclusive world.

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51:22

Sex Up This Cable!

American Diplomat ·

2023/06/01

24 hours news TV totally changed the State Department comms staple, the cable. Pete hopped on the “wireless” to save a democracy and Amb. John Feeley connected with Panamanians using ridiculous (but very sweet) Facebook videos. Disruptive technologies including AI will never replace human trust, but they create opportunity for better diplomacy.

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38:05

The Diplomat - You Asked!

American Diplomat ·

2023/05/25

By listener request, Pete and Laura have binged the Netflix show The Diplomat. Pete answers: How real is it? Laura answers (even though no one actually asked): How good is it? But importantly, how easy is it to make a story that mirrors real-life complexity and still moves and rolls and satisfies purely from the standpoint of story craft?

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34:29

Turkey’s Election - Why a Runoff?

American Diplomat ·

2023/05/18

In last Sunday’s election, President Erdogan received almost half of the vote, but not enough to be the winner - yet. How does he hold onto power? Turkey’s economy is in great peril and journalists are in prison while Erdogan dismantles democratic institutions. Is Erdogan, like many other autocratic leaders, a narcissist? Or is there more to understand about him? And if he does prevail in the May 28 runoff, what will be the impacts on Turkish lives and global geopolitics?

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34:16

Israel's Judicial Reforms

American Diplomat ·

2023/05/11

Say what? "Reforms?" Or simply a way for Netanyahu to skirt the law and consolidate power? True, some felt that the Israeli court had abused its power, but is it a coincidence that Netanyahu faced charges of corruption and abuse of public trust, against which these new reforms would protect him? The Israeli government has few checks. Neuter the courts, and there's only one organ of power, an unchecked parliament.

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40:45

Whither NATO?

American Diplomat ·

2023/05/04

Years ago, many wondered what had become the purpose of NATO. Not anymore! General Doug Lute, former US Permanent Representative to NATO (also former Deputy National Security Adviser) brings us up-to-date on the significance of the organization's acceptance of Finland, rejection of Sweden, relationship with Ukraine, and role in global geopolitics since its inception. This year NATO will be 75 years old! Ready to retire? No way.

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55:11

Scarcity Colors Everything - China Policy (Encore)

American Diplomat ·

2023/04/27

Today we are reposting one of our most informative episodes on China, which Laura often thinks of when analyzing today's global news: Why does the West find China so confounding in matters of business and diplomacy? Phil Shull, retired Foreign Agricultural Service officer, explains: China’s culture and history may be best understood by its written character for “population”, which is comprised of symbols for “person” and “mouth”. Chinese don’t ask, “How’s it going?” but instead, “Have you eaten

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31:48

City and State Diplomacy

American Diplomat ·

2023/04/20

Wait a sec! Diplomacy is between countries, right? So why does State have a whole office for City and State Diplomacy? Ambassador Nina Hachigian, head of this brand new office, introduces this innovation in diplomacy. Often transnational issues such as economic inequality, climate change, pandemic response, and threats to democracy are felt in cities first, and cities often find solutions most quickly. The upcoming Cities Summit of the Americas in Denver will host thousands of representatives from

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39:21

South Korea State Visit, April 26

American Diplomat ·

2023/04/13

On April 26, President Biden will host the second state dinner of his presidency, with President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea. Why is this only the second one of Biden's presidency? Why is South Korea so important for US interests? What are the economic and political pressures in Asia that impact South Korea that so impact the United States? When and why did we enter, 70 years ago, into the U.S.-South Korea alliance, to be celebrated at this state dinner? Ambassador and Korea expert Kathy

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45:03

Authoritarian Demagogue or Savior?

American Diplomat ·

2023/04/06

Ambassador Kevin Whitaker is back to share his knowledge of the populist president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, who has imprisoned thousands and violated human rights brazenly, all in the name of (rather effectively) curbing violence and bringing security to the people of his country. Pete asks, is Bukele an authoritarian demagogue or savior?

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43:54

Human Rights in Foreign Policy

American Diplomat ·

2023/03/30

Jimmy Carter is in hospice and Lizzy Shackelford is back to focus on human rights in foreign policy, the first rules for which began under Carter’s presidency. Although the rules survive, our government continues to send military support and weapons to repressive regimes throughout the world. Why? Some say that our investment buys us influence – but could the US promote human rights by at least defunding repressive dictatorships that do nothing to support US interests?

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41:06

In Case of Democracy Break Glass

American Diplomat ·

2023/03/23

Argentina, 1970s. The president catches a cold and dies. Who succeeds him? His VP, also his fifth-grade educated wife, selected expressly because she posed no threat to the president’s power. So then what? The word “disappeared” goes from being a verb form to a noun. Thousands of people become the “disappeared”, and thousands of others are tortured and killed. What do we learn from this? It’s important to have a VP capable of true leadership, an important point to keep in mind in the

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437 results

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