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.
Aug 22, 2025•43 min
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.
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Episodes
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.
Aug 14, 2025•41 min
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?
Aug 07, 2025•38 min
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.
Jul 31, 2025•42 min
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.
Jul 24, 2025•33 min
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.
Jul 17, 2025•36 min
The Incredible Shrinking Trade Partner
What happens when tariff policy becomes a whim? Career commercial officer Dan Crocker peers into the chaos and breaks down the stakes for businesses and national security.
Jul 10, 2025•43 min
The Last of the Cold Warriors is Gone - Now What?
The old approach to national security is breaking apart. Americans demand change. Young diplomats and global service professionals today have a once in a century opportunity to reshape how the US engages in the world. Amb. Tom Shannon is back to inspire and share his awesome insights. In his words, Liberate the Future. ( FSJ Jan-Feb 2025 )
Jul 03, 2025•23 min
Attacks on Iran: Salvation or Quagmire
Will diplomacy come next? Will Trump and Netanyahu give the Ayatollah an off-ramp? Acting Secretary of State and Undersecretary in the first Trump administration Tom Shannon lists both sides' options and their likelihood of taking place. Will there be Iranian “retribution” and if so, what will it look like?
Jun 26, 2025•36 min
Colombia: Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory
For decades Plan Colombia was the gold standard for tackling counter-insurgency. With the current spike in cartel/gang violence, are Colombians losing faith in their conciliatory, populist leader Petro? Is the current violence due to a legacy of armed groups? Does it just boil down to testosterone? Ambassador Kevin Whitaker breaks it all down for us.
Jun 19, 2025•50 min
Are the Chinese Coming for You?
The Federal Government has a long-standing entity which reviews possible threats posed by foreign actors, investing inside the US. What happens when a small town decides to wreck a Chinese investment…prudence or a resurgence of the Red Scare? Security expert Nova Daly unpacks these questions and updates us on the impending deadline for TikTok…yes, the clock is ticking!
Jun 12, 2025•37 min
Lebanon: Finally, A Ray of Hope, or Just a Flash Bang?
With Assad overthrown in Syria and the new regime freeing themselves of decades long sanctions will they be able to stop the flow of financing and weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon? Is this an opening to permit reform and true democracy in Lebanon or will it be another missed opportunity? Ambassador Ed Gabriel sets forth what is at stake in the region and for US interests.
Jun 05, 2025•31 min
Have You No Sense of Decency, Mr. Secretary?
With so much disinformation flying around, Senator Chris Van Hollen sets the record straight and takes down Secretary Rubio at the same time.
May 29, 2025•13 min
The Pastry Chef, the Hand Grenade, the OSS and Vietnam
From wartime to prosperity, Ambassador Ted Osius shares his personal experience of change in US/Vietnam relations since the end of the war 50 years ago. Best question: Why is Amb. Osius optimistic, even in today’s trade climate? Hint: Nothing is Impossible , the title of both Amb. Osius’s book and his previous episode with us. For bonus fun, enjoy the video of Vietnamese female rap artist Suboi !...
May 22, 2025•44 min
Politics of Retribution
How did a utopian vision for society lead to one of the bloodiest regimes in history, Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge? Why does it matter today? Was it mediocrity? Arrogance? Or is it just easier to seize power than it is to govern? Prof. Andrew Mertha of Johns Hopkins’ School of International Studies, whose new book Bad Lieutenants – out today, lays it out for us.
May 15, 2025•47 min
Is the Chaos at State Over?
Acting Undersecretary for Management, Ambassador Tibor Nagy, had a front row seat to the twenty-something DOGE Musketeers and their slash and burn approach to “re-organizing” venerable national security infrastructure. Tibor reflects on that and opines on whether the worst is over.
May 08, 2025•45 min
Squeezing Blood From a Stone
Overseas, mugged, sick, arrested, who are you going to call and will there be anyone to answer? Tom Yazdgerdi, the President of AFSA, the State Department labor union, fears what budget cuts will mean for traveling Americans.
May 05, 2025•38 min
What’s Behind the Trump-Bukele Bromance?
Is it simply mutual self-interest or is it Bukele's head start on the authoritarian’s handbook? Both? AmDip’s own Pete Romero breaks it down, with feeling!
Apr 24, 2025•36 min
Democracy Prevails!
Former US Ambassador to South Korea Kathleen Stephens answers the question: How was martial law defeated within hours and the would-be dictator impeached? Hint: The citizens, and the soldiers(!) said no. Putting up barricades with sofas and chairs, and grabbing a gun from a soldier, one woman asked, "Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?" Even the president accepted the rules set forth in the constitution. But why? For another one of Amb. Stephens's episodes with us, click here . Vive la republique!...
Apr 17, 2025•46 min
Universities in the Trump Crosshairs
US colleges and universities are a battleground for First Amendment rights. Each side of the political spectrum wants to limit these rights for the other side. Now the Trump Administration has weaponized these issues by cutting grants and detaining students. Is there a neutral path forward? ASU honors student Sami Al-Asady breaks it down for us.
Apr 10, 2025•27 min
DEI: Enemy of the People?
Trump has led a relentless attack on Diversity Equity and Inclusion, saying it undermines a meritocracy. Former State DEI chief Ambassador Gina Abercrombie Winstanley asserts that equity and inclusion are simply effective management tools for molding smart teams. You be the judge.
Apr 03, 2025•41 min
South Africans Don't Like to be Bullied
And why does it matter how regular South Africans feel about US behavior toward their country? Ambassador Charlie Ray untangles the powerful dynamics within South Africa domestically and vis-a-vis the United States, and helps us understand what this means for our present and future. Plus: It's up to us to create our world and it all starts with voting. Always vote!
Mar 28, 2025•33 min
We are Americans and we stand for something.
What happens when the US washes its hands of its international obligations? Ambassador Mike Polt, Co-Founder of ASU’s Leadership, Diplomacy and National Security Lab, views our president as our chief diplomat and calls the Zelensky-Trump Oval Office meeting a pivotal moment. We have humiliated the rest of the world, including our friends. Now what?
Mar 20, 2025•36 min
How is Trump 2.0 Like An Onion?
A foreign policy grandmaster strategist? Or is our president guided simply by whim and spite, without a cohesive plan? Pete and Laura break it down. You be the judge.
Mar 17, 2025•23 min
Tariff Wars
Tony Wayne, former Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs and US Ambassador to Mexico, pulls apart the strands. First, what is an import? How many times would you guess a raw material or auto part crosses a Canadian or Mexican border in the process of making and assembling a car? 4? 5? Each crossing carries a 25% tariff. That’s a lot of crossings! And a whole lot of tariffs! And the point? To make our neighbors tougher on smuggling into the US things we don’t want such as...
Mar 06, 2025•38 min
When Economists Wage War
Diplomat and Author Edward Fishman reveals how globalization is giving way to zero-sum self-interest. Can we win the emerging economic warfare? Listen, and read his new book Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare ....
Feb 28, 2025•30 min
USAID and the Fate of Gazans
Peace in the Middle East starts in Gaza and the West Bank. But beautiful parks and fountains and casinos…the Riviera of the Middle East, a beautiful vacation spot in what is now rubble? And somehow the US would own it. But what about all those Gazans, walking home along a highway, carrying all of their belongings, some with donkeys, on their way back to rubble. Enter USAID. In asymmetric warfare nothing, absolutely nothing, can defeat hearts and minds, and no one can impact those more effectivel...
Feb 20, 2025•32 min
Mar-A-Panama?
How many "Mar-a-" conquests will there be? US Ambassador (ret) to Panama John Feeley breaks it all down, with a quick review of the relevant past, and substantive, yet richly candid view of Trump’s foray into the Canal Zone today. Get smart on what is true and what is not true at all.
Feb 13, 2025•48 min
Mar-A-Greenland? What Do the Europeans Think?
The Arctic is a serious US national security issue. NATO, particularly Denmark, agree and have offered significant resources to better secure the area from China and Russia. Will Trump accept these or hold out for Mar-a-Greenland? Can we divide the policy rhetoric from the policy outcomes? Luke Coffey, former adviser to the British defense minister and prior to that a US service member, now a fellow at the Hudson Institute, knows his brief! Bonus: Who was Eric the Red?
Feb 06, 2025•44 min
Trump 2.0: Is Humiliation the Point?
Was Trump’s big showdown with President Petro of Colombia a show of might and power, or was there another reality behind the smoke and mirrors? Pete has a thing or two to say about optics, policy and human lives, from the standpoint of the practice of diplomacy.
Jan 30, 2025•26 min
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