Today we’re talking with a Former Diplomat and Professor and one of the most experienced foreign operators I know—Mr. Ned McMahon. Ned has had an illustrious career serving a Foreign Service Officer for the US Department of State specializing in African Affairs, He spent another 10 years as the reigional director and senior program officer for East, Central & West Africa for the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs. He’s currently a professor at both the University of Vermont, and MIddleBury college…and he just happens to be my good friend.

Ned decided to channel his experiences into a profound novel called “Wisdom and the Baobab Tree”-- if you care at all about American Foreign Policy or what’s happening in contemporary development, you gotta go to amazon now and pick this read up. Ned has incredibly developed characters that really make the reader feel like they’re experiencing the life of a foreign service officer. Amazon Link to Ned's Book

Further in this episode we talk very specifically about USAID—but not with all the bloviating of political pundits. We deliberately sought to have a conversation void of noise. We aren’t picking political sides, we’re just two guys trying to understand the pros and cons of US dollars spent abroad—from a security, a commerce, and even a moral perspective. It has been the most substantive conversation I”ve had on policy since the new administration began, and I’m honored to share it with you today.

If you enjoy today’s episode, please consider rating us on Apple Spotify or wherever you find your podcasts, Enjoy the conversation!

Wisdom and the Boab Tree

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