American Diplomat Podcast

First-person storytelling from American diplomats who have participated in newsworthy events overseas. Real-life stories from behind-the-scenes of international diplomacy.

Arizona State University's American Diplomat – The Stories Behind The News podcast, co-hosted by Ambassador (ret.) Pete Romero and Ms. Laura Bennett have casual conversations with American diplomats about newsworthy events from around the world.

Our mission is to provide informative entertainment to the listening public from our nations’ diplomatic practitioners. The conversations with this elite cadre of career diplomats seek to give the listener a better understanding of the very human dimensions of those serving on the front lines of war, crises, and conflict around the world. 

Ambassador (retired) Pete Romero and Ms. Laura Bennett (a writer and videographer) host weekly, 20-40 minute podcasts featuring conversations with active duty and retired US diplomats. These intimate, lively and informative conversations center on the personal recollections and reflections…their stories…as they succeed, fail and enter the fray again to advance our national interests overseas. They discuss what they really think about dealing with foreign leaders and reveal their thoughts about dealing with tribal leaders, militias and thugs.

Latest Podcast Episodes

Says Richard Verma, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, his job is to help create "the most effective, capable, inclusive, diverse department so that we can deliver for the American people," and so that we can, together with the rest of the world, solve borderless, urgent problems such as climate...
The atrocities are breathtaking.  But once Israel starts picking up the bodies in the smoking rubble of whatever is left of Gaza, then what?  Will Gaza return to Israeli occupation?  Will there be some form of UN occupation?  The Arab League?  So much of diplomacy is one bad choice or another bad choice.  Ambassador Ron...
How did Robert Menendez fall so hard?  A suspected foreign agent?  Hiding gold bullion?  Pete and John Feeley knew a different man decades ago.  A champion of Latinos in government at the start, a nasty, vindictive, corrupt politician by the end.  Did he change or could you see the germ of his demise from the beginning?...
Major General Spider Marks, formerly head of military intelligence for Korea, opines on Putin's recent meeting with Kim Jong Un of North Korea. A game changer?  No!  But what would be? And while you're here, learn why most democracies last about 250 years and how they usually implode. 
No union is perfect, but it helps to try. Authoritarians worldwide exploit their citizens' need for public safety to gain and hold power. If you can't walk out of the house at night, bring the guy who makes the streets safe! But then what happens when your loved ones start to disappear? Pete and John Feeley discuss...
The basis of the International Criminal Court is a treaty, written in part by the United States and signed by 123 countries worldwide.  Why is the US not a signatory?  Is this for some abstruse legal reason, or did the US actively undermine the treaty?  David Scheffer is back to help us understand the machinery of the...
BRICS, the economic alliance of nonwestern powers, just met in Johannesburg, with Putin conspicuously disinvited. Why? Putin is a war criminal indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), and South Africa, a member of BRICS but also a signatory of the ICC, is obligated to arrest Putin upon his arrival there. A...
Cambodia just "elected" another term for the ruling party, allowing the 38-year dictator Hun Sen to maintain dynastic rule for many years to come. The West does not like this. But what really are our economic, security and even humanitarian interests in the region? How might we reframe our thinking to best promote...

The Podcast Team

Ambassador

Amb. Pete Romero had a twenty-five year career as a diplomat in the US Foreign Service. In his last three postings, he was head of our embassy in El Salvador, US Ambassador in Quito, Ecuador and Assistant Secretary of the Western Hemisphere Bureau at the US Department of State.

Co-Host

Laura Bennett has written, directed, produced and edited short films that have won 11 awards and screened at 35 festivals throughout the United States. Laura speaks Spanish, French and English and has traveled in five continents, often solo and working as a volunteer.

The Intern

The best interns in Washington DC work for the American Diplomat podcast. Angela Martins is an undergraduate in Communications. She is the webmaster of the American Diplomat web page. She also maintains and takes suggestions and comments regarding the podcasts.

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