American Diplomat

April 7, 1994, Rwanda. Not a good day to be mistaken for the acting Prime Minister. Linda Thomas-Greenfield (now US Ambassador to the UN) shares the tale of her escape from the anti-government militia, while millions of others perished in the country's genocide.

The story of our very own Pete turns out to be interesting to our intern Lauren! For Hispanic Heritage Month, Lauren (and Laura) interview Pete about the challenges he faced as a Latino when he joined the Foreign Service, and how he overcame them to become the highest-ranking Latino officer of his time. Hint: The system worked.

Juan Carlos Pinzón, the youngest-ever Colombian Minister of Defence, and more recently the Colombian ambassador to the United States, weighs in on hemispheric events, from the valuable perspective of an expert diplomat whose country is not...the United States. How do worldwide autocracies impact hemispheric immigration and security? What is, or should be, the US role in these phenomena?

Politics, Kermit the frog, the ABCs and life as an ambassador. Ambassor Charlie Rivkin is back for a second episode, this time discussing his marvelously blended career in media, business and public service. Soft diplomacy is powerful diplomacy.

We've had some fun on the topic of political appointees. But here we have Charlie Rivkin, who served as a political appointee ambassador and assistant secretary of state and is also former head of the Jim Henson Company, now head of the Motion Picture Association. He brought managerial acumen, vision and a commitment to public service to the job, showing how much the Foreign Service can gain from a private sector leadership perspective. Just don't ask about the elevator.

Ambassador Vicki Huddleston gets around in the Sahara, and even gets the women a place inside the tent. So where did all these terrorists come from? And what is this cool band that hauls its equipment around on camels? (One of our very favorites, originally posted July 2019)

Not the same as cybersecurity or digital diplomacy, cyberdiplomacy affects us all, worldwide, our access to information, our privacy, our ability to connect. Jennifer Bachus, senior official of the brand new Cyberspace and Digital Policy Bureau, helps us understand how countries of the world unite to support common values and interests.

Ken Quinn is back, this time to talk about saving democracy from a coup attempt in the Philippines. Then, as now, democracy is under threat, but it is not the only thing that hangs in the balance...

Hi, everyone! Enjoy the sound of the cicadas and the cooling of the evenings with our annual music episode. We'll be back next week with another gripping tale - will our hero, our great democracy, live another day? (We think it will.) Have a great week.

What is Schedule F? And its evil twin, the Public Service Reform Act? Ambassador Dennis Jett joins us once again to explain these two important pieces of policy. Is their purpose to make government accountable, or perhaps is it to control the government and undermine the impact of its most senior public servants? (Plus, Dennis offers some fun ambassadorial history at the top.)