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American Diplomat

Ambassador (Retired) Dan Rosenblum 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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28 episodes
weekly
Avg 42 min
English

Episodes 28

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Thursday · 40 min
Madam Ambassador Busts a Move
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.
September 17 · 1 hr
Democracy, Economy, Revolution?
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.
September 10 · 52 min
Energy is Life (and Death?)
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.
September 3 · 50 min
Deep in the Hermit Kingdom
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.
August 27 · 35 min
Last Officer at Abbey Gate (Encore)
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.
August 20 · 38 min
Civil Servant Dons Body Armor
In the second of our short series on Afghanistan five years after the US exit, Ken Handelman, former senior civil servant in the Department of Defense, reflects on the beauty, the weirdness and the tragedy of our 20 years in that country. What three institutions' failings led him to believe that it was time to leave? Listen and find out.
August 13 · 31 min
Bill Burns on Public Service (Encore)
Bill Burns says it best: "This is exactly the moment when you need to attract the best in our society to lives in public service, whether it's in the State Department, the US military or elsewhere. I am a passionate believer in that." We are, too! Uncle Sam needs you. (This is a repost from 2019, with a message that has never mattered more than it does today.)
August 6 · 42 min
High School Reunion in Kabul
How did Soviet-era bureaucratic stamps and a personal relationship between highly placed Afghan frenemies impact the outcome of US involvement in Afghanistan? Amb. John Bass shares the part of the story you have never heard before as we reflect on our exit five years later.
July 30 · 49 min
AI Diplomacy: Dueling Banjos?
Its economic potential is huge, but AI also brings serious national security threats. How exactly do diplomats work to create global standards that promote innovation but also protect us? Knowledge is power in uncertain times so pull up a chair for an in-depth chat with Daniel Remler, bona fide AI diplomat.
July 23 · 59 min
And in Other News…The Western Sahara
Ever wonder what it's really like to move policy along as a diplomat? Join Ed Gabriel and Bob Holley as they chronicle the progress of policy in the Western Sahara. Kings die, Texans retire and administrations come and go – but in the end, the people's voices may yet be heard.
July 16 · 33 min
My Romance With Romania
Why is Romania so important for US interests? Hint: The Black Sea, and a very long border with Ukraine. Amb. Kathy Kavalec shares insights on this often overlooked but strategically powerful US alliance.
July 10 · 32 min
Diplomacy is Empathy
How does empathy help create a more peaceful world, whether we are a first-year diplomat or Secretary of State? Amb. Kathy Kavalec (one of Dan's besties from way back) shares the diplomatic impacts of personal experience. Part one of two.
July 2 · 48 min
Crisis Du Jour
Public Diplomacy – Journalists have tough questions. What if you just don't have the answers? How do you prepare? Get inside the machinery with former State Department spokesperson Amb. Mark Toner and learn the policy impacts of the words we use.
June 25 · 42 min
What They Don't Want You to Know
Gotcha, right? Or, "Click before it's too late!" Or even, "Hey, kid. You're pretty good at this. Want a real gun?" Career public diplomacy officer Karl Stoltz tells the truth about "FIMI" – deep fakes, false personas, trolls, bots – lies that aim to provoke fear and anger and destabilize target populations.
June 18 · 36 min
Y2K to H1B?
When did the US first warm to India and why? Why did Pakistan nominate Trump for a Nobel? And what does the Y2K bug have to do with US-India relations today? Former ambassador Don Lu shares stories and insight on person-to person diplomacy and his personal connection to Disney's Splash Mountain.
June 11 · 40 min
Politics by Other Means?
Why can't we just bomb our way to victory in Iran? Listen to Lt. General Karen Gibson, former Director of Intelligence for U.S. Central Command, tell tales of the three-legged stool of military, intel and diplomacy in Iran, Afghanistan, and Iraq – when things go well and when they do not.
June 6 · 41 min
Persona No Deseada
Former Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Todd Robinson spent much of his career under fire, of one kind or another. Listen to his candid views on corruption in Guatemala, blowing up ships without due process, and how to stop fentanyl from killing Americans.
May 28 · 37 min
"This Golden Land"
Is it Burma, or is it Myanmar? Did its former leader Aung San Suu Kyi bring democratic reform or did she commit genocide? Both? Chris Milligan, former Agency Counselor for USAID, highlights breathtaking human resilience and the strategic value of foreign assistance.
May 22 · 38 min
USAID: Into The Wood Chipper
What was USAID? How did DOGE destroy it, and with what impacts to global health and stability? Nick Enrich's book "Into the Wood Chipper" details the demolition of the agency that for less than 1% of the US budget saved 92 million lives globally. Listen to him tell the tale.
May 14 · 34 min
The Case of the Powdered Orange Drink
What is "dumping"? How does it hurt us? Who comes to the rescue? The Foreign Commercial Service! Judy Reinke, after leading the FCS, became Ambassador to Montenegro. Listen to her tales of service near and far.

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