What does it mean when open-source data show that huge populations have moved? Natural disaster? An attack? Relocation of children, forced passportization? Non-classified satellite imagery, cell phone photos, video, GPS and other puiblicly

Professional Peacemaker

13 days ago 29m 54s

Meghan Stewart, head of the Negotiations Support Unit in State’s Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, knows the peace process – its structures, its history, the perspectives of combatants. Her team uses its specialized knowledge to

Will Biden Listen to His Base?

20 days ago 39m 54s

Many diplomats urge what the vast majority of voters, including American Jews, want – a restrained Israel and a place for Palestinians. Former Assistant Secretary Eric Schwartz discusses the letter that he and 67 senior foreign policy professi

The Next Thousand Years

26 days ago 37m 39s

Our climate: What we do during this decade will determine our climate for a millennium to come. Diplomats not only negotiate multilateral agreements that protect the earth but, even more so, work with nations to follow through on their commitme

Inked

Mar 21st, 2024 34m 20s

Pete unpacks the antecedents of modern-day gangsterism, going back to his days as Assistant Secretary. What were the unintended consequences of sending Central American gangsters back “home” to a country they did not know, where their best cha

The Fire Was Even Hotter

Mar 14th, 2024 37m 17s

General and Ambassador Doug Lute puts Sweden’s recent NATO membership in context: Has Putin accomplished his goals, or has it all backfired? What is the diplomatic solution to this war? And what should we expect at this year’s 75th NATO anniver

Never in My Parents’ Wildest Dreams

Mar 7th, 2024 26m 33s

For Women’s History Month, young diplomat Mary Vargas joins us to share her story as the daughter of an immigrant family of farm workers in Fontana, CA, to life as an American diplomat. How did she achieve her lifelong dream, and why does she

One Million!!!

Mar 4th, 2024 24m 12s

We just cleared our millionth download! Or, you did! Pete and Laura reflect on early days and share their favorite episodes of the 350 that they have broadcast over the years – the tomfoolery of cybercriminals, the economic party at the bor

Out To Get Us

Feb 29th, 2024 51m 41s

Tribalism: Who is "other"? Ambassador Bob Beecroft recalls the atrocities in the Balkans of the late ‘90s, after which DNA tests revealed that the victims and the perpetrators of “ethnic cleansing” were no different from one another genetically

Crowing about President Crow

Feb 22nd, 2024 30m 17s

A Million Downloads! Yes, you did it for us. Here to celebrate with us is ASU President Michael Crow. Think vision meets design meets global reach. The goal? Access and energize the full level of human potential.

"You're Calling Us Global Terrorists? Oooh, Scare Me."

Feb 15th, 2024 45m 41s

The Houthis: Who actually are these people? And Yemen: What is this place? Is it really a country? Yemen is engaged in a two-fronted, 10-year civil war, and this began long before the war in Gaza. Does Iran control the Houthis? (Hint: far fro

A Rangel Fellow’s Journey to Service - BHM

Feb 8th, 2024 46m 45s

Young foreign service officer Hermanoschy Bernard joins us in honor of Black History Month to share his story of flight from his native Haiti as a child to life in the US as a political asylee, where he turned obstacles into opportunities and a

Don't Poke the Panda - Taiwan's Election

Feb 1st, 2024 37m 15s

Ambassador Richard Boucher joins us to contextualize Taiwan's recent election in its deliberately ambiguous relationship with mainland China. No big news is good news as Taiwan preserves its integrity by not declaring its overt independence, a

No More Funny Business in Guatemala (For Now)

Jan 25th, 2024 35m 32s

Frank Mora, US Ambassador to the Organization of American States, helps us understand a diplomatic win: the (barely) peaceful transfer of power following Guatemala’s election of an outsider who is a threat to the corrupt establishment. Expectat

The Border, Part 2: This is North America’s Moment

Jan 18th, 2024 29m 5s

Amb. Tony Wayne is back to go into depth on the US-Mexico border’s two greatest challenges. How did drug trafficking become even more sinister than it was before? And can we improve the immigration crisis ahead of the upcoming US election? W

Zone of Opportunity: Trust at the Border

Jan 11th, 2024 31m 42s

Did you know that $1.5M dollars in trade cross the US/Mexico border every single minute? Did you know that 5 million US jobs depend on the trade that takes place there? Ambassador Tony Wayne explains that the border is a living membrane and t

Cybercrime: Everybody’s a Target

Jan 4th, 2024 48m 13s

Cybercrime has many names but what, actually, is it? Jim Lewis, former Foreign Service Officer, now Senior Vice President and Director of the Technology and Public Policy Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, gives us

It Wasn't All Bad, Was It?

Dec 28th, 2023 10m 15s

Pete and Laura close the year with reflections on the diplomatic successes in 2023 that helped create a more peaceful and sustainable world. Global events have offered up a lot to fear recently, but it wasn't all bad! Happy New Year from Amer

You Are Stuck and Trapped

Dec 20th, 2023 32m 27s

Psychiatrists David Charney and Ken Dekleva are back to discuss in depth what makes a person into a traitor. Start with an intolerable sense of personal failure. Then think of parties in Santiago with music, liquor, cigarettes, beautiful women

Betrayal and Treason - Why?

Dec 14th, 2023 30m 39s

Pete's old friend Manuel Rocha is in the news - but in jail as a spy for the Cubans! Imagine the shock. You trust someone, and wow. Psychiatrists David Charney and Ken Dekleva help us understand the mind of the turncoat: the greatest threat

How Corruption Destroys Democracy

Dec 7th, 2023 35m 36s

Ambassador Mark Schneider, former director of the Peace Corps and an expert on corruption in the Western Hemisphere unpacks the August election in Guatemala. Juan José Arévalo was elected on an anti-corruption platform in a 61-39 percent win –

A Win for Democracy in Poland!

Nov 30th, 2023 46m 11s

The authoritarian government of Poland has just been voted out through free and fair elections. Dan Fried, former US Ambassador to Poland and Assistant Secretary of State for Europe, has met with the highest officials of both incoming and outg

Thanksgiving with Thievery Corporation: Unity, Love, Positivity

Nov 23rd, 2023 34m 41s

Jeffrey Franca, the drummer for DC's own world music icon Thievery Corporation - the band that generously allows us to use its music to open our show each week - shares with us the value of unity, love and positivity in his work, which is influ

Dissent and Its Consequences

Nov 15th, 2023 27m 26s

What do you do if you have a severe crisis of conscience over a policy that you cannot support? Do you speak up? Or do you keep your head down and do your job? If you use State's established Dissent Channel, are you bound by its rules to keep y

Barbados Agreement - Venezuela and the US

Nov 9th, 2023 39m 34s

Ambassador Larry Gambiner joins us to discuss a new deal in which President Maduro of Venezuela agreed to democratic reforms, including free and fair elections, in exchange for a reduction in US sanctions. But when opposition party candidate Ma