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PODCAST

SoftPower/FulStories

Christopher Wurst

Epic weekly tales from every corner of the globe. Forget politics, academia, or the office, these are "soft, powerful stories" told by those who lived them. Is what happens in Kinshasa really important in Kansas? Should an Idahoan care about the problems of an Indonesian? (The answer is yes, but...) SP/FS gives the human story center stage. People can debate the virtues of global soft power, but no one--from Osaka to Omaha to Ouagadougou--can deny the magic of these encounters. Each episode begins

society & culture places & travel

All Episodes

00:32:59

#21 - Jody Olsen

SoftPower/FulStories ·

2026/01/09

Jody Olsen called her Peace Corps memoir 'A Million Miles' - and while the distance from her traditional Mormon upbringing in Utah and a rural Tunisian health clinic may not have been a literal million miles, it likely felt like even more. But those miles brought countless lessons, all of which she put to good use when, after decades of leadership roles within the Peace Corps, she became its 20th Director.SoftPower/FulStories uses first-person stories to explore why U.S. engagement in the

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00:35:53

SP/FS BONUS: Happy 2026 (from the Class of '25)

SoftPower/FulStories ·

2025/12/30

Let's face it, 2025, things could have gone a whole lot better. But it was the birth year for SP/FS, and on this special bonus episode, virtually the entire SP/FS Class of '25 storytellers return with reflections on the year past and wishes for 2026. Join us for a special cup of kindness.Guest voices: Steve Herman, Pamela White, Jack & Sarah Seybold, Fred de Sam Lazaro, Warren Acuncius, Julia Irwin, Steve Callahan, Roland Merullo, Betsy Small, Keith Mines, Florence Reed, Mark D. Walker, Jon

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00:31:31

#20 - Ambassador Lewis Lucke

SoftPower/FulStories ·

2025/12/26

As a young boy, dreaming of becoming an archeologist, Lewis Lucke wanted to visit the Holy Lands to see if the Bible stories he'd read were true. Indeed, his career did lead him overseas, though as a diplomat with USAID--from West Africa to Central America, finally the Middle East, and eventually as a US ambassador. Along the way, he confirmed many times over there are many stories that you just can't make up.SoftPower/FulStories uses first-person stories to explore why U.S. engagement in

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00:22:47

SP/FS BONUS: Holidays with Aunt Deb

SoftPower/FulStories ·

2025/12/22

Another holiday meal means more time at the table with Aunt Deb (who was kind enough to share her own fruitcake recipe--drenched in attitude and bourbon). And yes, she came with questions. But our guests handled her with brilliance and finesse. Featuring long-time USAID veteran Julius Coles; returned Peace Corps volunteer E. Scott Osbourne; US military, State Department, and Institute of Peace veteran Keith Mines: former US diplomat and USAID alumna Noelle Ojo; and Jack and Sarah Seybold, who served

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00:28:24

#19 - Mark D. Walker

SoftPower/FulStories ·

2025/12/19

He calls his enterprise "Million Mile Walker," which is both a pun (his name, after all, is Mark Walker) and a description of a decades-long journey that has taken him all over the world, always searching for ways to improve the lives of people less fortunate than himself. SoftPower/FulStories uses first-person stories to explore why U.S. engagement in the world matters. Through conversations with diplomats, aid workers, Peace Corps volunteers, authors and artists, influencers,

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00:38:34

#18 - Leah Petit

SoftPower/FulStories ·

2025/12/12

As a Peace Corps volunteer and then as a public health specialist, including with USAID, Leah Petit has seen firsthand the impact of global health programs. Not only in lives saved--full stop--but in global stability and security. And when she saw these programs being dismantled and former colleagues' motives questioned, she took action, starting 'Global Development Interrupted,' a podcast and Substack platform that documents the lives and work of those affected when US foreign

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00:29:07

#17 - Denise Deneaux

SoftPower/FulStories ·

2025/12/05

It makes sense that one of Denise Deneaux's early literary heroes was a woman who traveled the world with utter fearlessness. Because later, as a Peace Corps volunteer assigned to Chile during Pinochet’s repressive rule, she dealt with guns, danger, threats, and harassment--once sitting in a police station with her new baby on her lap. Her takeaways: tolerance, resilience, and greater empathy for people everywhere who are repressed. For this episode, Denise reads a letter to her mother that she

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00:34:40

#16 - Peter Hessler

SoftPower/FulStories ·

2025/11/28

Peter Hessler knew from an early age that he wanted to be a writer. He was also vividly aware that he needed something to write about. It turned out that the thing was China, where he was sent as a Peace Corps volunteer. It became the subject of a trio of books and a series of New Yorker articles. He was among the first groups of Peace Corps volunteers allowed in China, and later recounted their departure. And he knows this much: It is better to be there than to be absent.SoftPower/FulStories uses

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00:18:15

SP/FS BONUS: Thanksgiving with Aunt Deb

SoftPower/FulStories ·

2025/11/24

Join us at the Thanksgiving table when Aunt Deb brings both her green jello mold (the celery is a must) and, of course, her dubious questions. Over four hearty courses, she has four barbed questions--for former USAID veteran Steve Callahan, returned Peace Corps volunteers Evelyn LaTorre and Sarah Quinn, and Foreign Service Officer Jon Cebra. Their responses (and some pumpkin pie) provide the perfect dessert.SoftPower/FulStories uses first-person stories to explore why U.S. engagement in the world

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00:31:06

#15 - Aaron Williams

SoftPower/FulStories ·

2025/11/21

As a young man, Aaron Williams challenged the norms of his peers by aspiring to broaden his horizons as a Peace Corps volunteer. It was something they hadn't seen coming. But then, Aaron likely even surprised himself when, after two decades of work in the private sector and with USAID, he became the Peace Corps' 18th Director—something his college self certainly did not see coming.SoftPower/FulStories uses first-person stories to explore why U.S. engagement in the world matters. Through

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00:28:54

#14 - MaryAnn Shank

SoftPower/FulStories ·

2025/11/14

MaryAnn Shank is a writer and former teacher who, despite growing up surrounded by the birth of Silicon Valley, found her deepest inspiration among the women of Somalia, half a world away. She has been celebrating strong and passionate women ever since.SoftPower/FulStories uses first-person stories to explore why U.S. engagement in the world matters. Through conversations with diplomats, aid workers, Peace Corps volunteers, authors and artists, influencers, businesspeople, and more, SP/FS highlights

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00:21:37

SP/FS BONUS: The Art of Giving a Dam (Skip Waskin)

SoftPower/FulStories ·

2025/11/10

This is less a bonus episode than it is a bookend. (We recommend you start with Episode #13.) Last time around, Skip Waskin barely survived his first-ever USAID assignment in then-Zaire. Flash forward, and he is now leading USAID's biggest mission in Afghanistan. There are perilous echoes to Zaire, but on a much larger stage with life and death consequences.SoftPower/FulStories uses first-person stories to explore why U.S. engagement in the world matters. Through conversations with diplomats,

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00:27:47

# 13 - Skip Waskin

SoftPower/FulStories ·

2025/11/07

Skip Waskin's long career at USAID involved leading some of the Agency's largest and most important missions, including Russia and Afghanistan. But these illustrious roles almost eluded him — because he almost didn't make it past his very first assignment, as an embassy intern and a beginner contractor in a country formerly known as Zaire. SoftPower/FulStories uses first-person stories to explore why U.S. engagement in the world matters. Through conversations with diplomats, aid workers,

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00:34:24

SP/FS BONUS: "This. Is. The. Voice. Of. America."...

SoftPower/FulStories ·

2025/11/03

Steve Herman had a notion — already as a child, discovering the magical "SW" button on his grandmother's radio — that broadcasting somehow lay in his future. He began his career early and settled into a long tenure as a foreign correspondent and bureau chief with the Voice of America (VOA), eventually landing a position in the White House. Here, he outlines the history of the storied US soft power juggernaut along with a wealth of firsthand stories.SoftPower/FulStories uses

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00:24:35

#12 - Reverend Jennifer Butler

SoftPower/FulStories ·

2025/10/31

Reverend Jennifer Butler sensed as a young person that she might need to leave her community and her known world in order to find herself. She did. And then she did. And in finding herself, she has also found ways to help countless others.SoftPower/FulStories uses first-person stories to explore why U.S. engagement in the world matters. Through conversations with diplomats, aid workers, Peace Corps volunteers, authors and artists, influencers, businesspeople, and more, SP/FS highlights how soft

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00:32:00

#11 - Michael Varga

SoftPower/FulStories ·

2025/10/24

Nothing has come easy for Michael Varga. In the Peace Corps, he had the toughest assignment in an already difficult country. As a diplomat, he faced huge challenges. And now, in retirement, battling cancer, he is dealing with brutal obstacles. But as an artist--which he also is--he meets the world with unwavering wonder and kindness. In work, as in life, he remains an inspiration.SoftPower/FulStories uses first-person stories to explore why U.S. engagement in the world matters. Through conversations

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00:29:55

SP/FS BONUS: Soft Powerful (Under-Told) Stories (Fred...

SoftPower/FulStories ·

2025/10/20

Journalist Fred de Sam Lazaro created the Undertold Stories Project more than three decades ago, bringing stories from some of the most remote parts of the world into the living rooms of PBS NewsHour viewers and classrooms of journalism students. He has reported from more than 60 countries and numerous US communities, always seeking the small, "under-told" story that compellingly illustrates larger themes. Here, he shares some favorites, weighs in on US soft power, and gives a peek behind the

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00:23:45

#10 - Ben East

SoftPower/FulStories ·

2025/10/17

Ben East is a writer. His work shows him to be an astute student of soft power. There is a clear through line running between his time as a Peace Corps volunteer in Malawi, his experiences as a U.S. diplomat, and his work as a writer and editor. His career has been decidedly exceptional--which, it should be noted, is the opposite of mediocre.SoftPower/FulStories uses first-person stories to explore why U.S. engagement in the world matters. Through conversations with diplomats, aid workers, Peace

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00:34:13

#9 - Flo Reed

SoftPower/FulStories ·

2025/10/10

Flo Reed believes--no, she knows--that when people work together, they can overcome challenges and create significant change. Her work in Central America in the Peace Corps allowed her to see the threats that small farmers faced and gain insight into how to confront them, leading eventually to her founding of Sustainable Harvest International. Since then, SHI has helped thousands of rural farming families restore degraded land, increase food security, and build more sustainable

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00:41:54

SP/FS BONUS: Catastrophic Diplomacy (Dr. Julia Irwin)

SoftPower/FulStories ·

2025/10/06

Dr. Julia Irwin is the leading scholar writing about the history and impact of US disaster relief. In this fascinating conversation, she shares some entertaining and little-known stories to outline the evolution of American aid and the implications of American disengagement from disaster efforts around the world. (Note: This episode is a companion piece to SP/FS #8 with Warren Acuncius.) SoftPower/FulStories uses first-person stories to explore why U.S. engagement in the world matters. Through

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32 results

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