American Diplomat

Latest Episodes:

Encore: Who Lost China? Jun 30, 2021

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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. How are things different today?

Encore: Stay Home and Pour the Tea Jun 24, 2021

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A social worker by profession, Bonnie Miller traveled the world with her spouse Ambassador Tom Miller and created the first-ever course in Psychosocial Consequences of War in response to trauma she witnessed in Sarajevo. But the life changing moment came when she met victims of sexual trafficking. And that's when Bonnie Miller really got started.

Dull, Duller, Dulles Jun 16, 2021

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Trick Question: What happened in Yalta in 1945? Probably more than you think! And why did those proceedings hold up the confirmation of Ambassador Avis Bohlen's father Charles Bohlen as Ambassador to the Soviet Union? Plus: Are things better in American politics today than during the McCarthy era, or worse?For the full story, see Avis's article in the May 2021 Foreign Service Journal, or this link: https://afsa.org/victory-against-mccarthy-bohlen-confirmation.

Encore: Pedro Pan and the Guerrillas Jun 12, 2021

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Pete sends Phil Chicola to guerrilla country to investigate the deaths of American linguist missionaries, and both Pete and Phil are accused of negotiating with the FARC. All of this concurrent with the Clinton impeachment, and as Pete explains, it got ugly. Especially with Baby Huey.

The Sky is Green! Jun 04, 2021

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Phil Shull is back, this time connecting our earlier discussion of Chinese culture to practical business and policy challenges faced by Westerners doing business in that country.

Scarcity Colors Everything May 28, 2021

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Why does the West find China so confounding in matters of business and diplomacy? Phil Shull, retired Foreign Agricultural Service officer, explains: China's culture and history may be best understood by its written character for "population", which is comprised of symbols for "person" and "mouth". Chinese don't ask, "How's it going?" but instead, "Have you eaten today?" For more, read Phil's article, Dealing with the Dragon, in the Foreign Service Journal, at this link: https://www.afsa.org/dealing-dragon

A Bag of Doritos: It's Happening May 20, 2021

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What do 840 people, 96 hours, a hamster, a newborn, a bag of Doritos and a husband expecting to fly first class all add up to? The zombie apocalypse, or, the evacuation of Americans from Wuhan, China, at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Consular officer Alan Eaton makes it all sound like fun. For more, here's an article that Alan wrote for the Foreign Service Journal: https://afsa.org/sites/default/files/flipping_book/070820/50/

Biden Gets an Incomplete (So Far) May 13, 2021

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Dennis Jett, recidivist American Diplomat guest, regales and opines on hostage-taking in Peru, the Cuban missile crisis, the JFK assassination, and (drum roll, please) Joe Biden's first 100 days in foreign policy. Quiz: State dinners or the Iran nuclear deal - which one is a foreign affairs food fight?

The Mother of All Conspiracy Theories May 06, 2021

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In our third of three episodes on the assassination of JFK, we learn what the eminently reasonable Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, former CIA operations officer, has learned by focusing purely on the facts. But questions remain. Among them: Can we trust our own government? Can we handle the truth?

Her Fathers' Death: It Just Doesn't Add Up Apr 29, 2021

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Why did her diplomat father take his own life? Her mother kept her in the dark. Why? To protect her? From what? Zelda just wants some answers.

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