
The Future of American Diplomacy
Eric Rubin sums it up with one word. If we want to be successful in our diplomacy, we need to adopt a position of humility with respect to the rest of the world.
9 Sep 202132min

Toobah Evacuation Update
Our friend is still there, fearing for her life. What is going on in Afghanistan right now? Laura shares Toobah's most recent experience as evacuations stall and no one really knows why. Pete helps ...
7 Sep 20219min

These Are Not My Beautiful Feet
For Pride Month (belatedly posted due to events in Afghanistan and our coverage of those), Austin Richey-Allen recounts his story of gender transition in the Foreign Service. A trans kid, he discover...
3 Sep 202139min

This Didn't Have to Happen
Our disastrous departure from Afghanistan. Hugo Llorens shares his knowledge of the Taliban's subgroups (hint: none abide by the Geneva Convention), his perspective on US domestic politics and its imp...
30 Aug 202129min

And What of Our Friend Toobah?
Wouldn't we all like to know. She's alive, at least. Bad luck becomes good luck as she is turned away on her way to the airport just before the bombs go off.
27 Aug 20212min

Whaddaya Do?
People's lives are at stake in the most urgent way. Policy is a macro-level thing, and utterly necessary. But what about the people themselves? What about Toobah? What should Biden have done? Peo...
20 Aug 202132min

Encore: The Ugly American
Or a traitor, anyway. In an eerily quiet region during the Vietnam war, from a banana grove in the middle of the night, Lionel Rosenblatt discovers that a US military official is guilty of supplying ...
12 Aug 202140min

Encore: Bahrain, So Small, So Important
The Arab Spring – Tunisia, Egypt – we know about these places. But Bahrain is almost never in the news. What is its geopolitical significance, and strategic importance to the US? And why was Ambassa...
5 Aug 202150min



















