American Diplomat Podcast

Real U.S. diplomats share the untold truths behind world events—what went right, what went wrong, and what you’ll never see in the news.

Want to know what it’s really like on the frontlines of international diplomacy?  Each week, Amb. (Ret.) Pete Romero and co-host Laura Bennett sit down with active and retired US diplomats to pull back the curtain on the gritty, human side of international affairs.  From dealing with foreign leaders to navigating the chaos of war zones, these diplomats share the stories that drive the headlines.  

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Latest Podcast Episodes

Lainie McKeating and her spouse launch a husband-wife career change and land in Embassy Jakarta, Indonesia.  How does she get a substantial job of her own at their very first post?  She puts the pedal to the metal and lands the huge job of Community Liaison Officer, just in time for a terrifying scandal to unfold...
We're all stuck at home, as we should be.  But we still love you!  This little mini-dealio tells you how we will continue to share our diplomats' so very human stories despite these strange times.  Be well and be safe, and we wish your families the same.  
One of our best episodes ever (in Laura's humble opinion) about just another day in the Amazing Vicki Huddleston's life in Mali.  This repost offers good company and a virtual adventure for these days at home.  Enjoy!  
Who would we rather hang out with than Vicki Huddleston?  No One.  And right now, No One is exactly the alternative we're all faced with.  So, here's a repost of one of our favorite episodes with one of our most delightful guests, Ambassador Vicki Huddleston, who shares with us tales of the amazing yet little-discussed...
Something inspiring for our days at home...Remember the capture of Osama Bin Laden?  The Syria Red Line situation? What Laura remembers best from this previously aired episode with Bill Burns is the call to service.  All of us can make this a better world, by staying at home when we must, through international service...
The life of Ralph Bunche, recently celebrated by the State Department as a Hero of US Diplomacy, as relayed by his grandson, Ralph Bunche III and UCLA professor Kal Raustiala. Bunche, academic, pathbreaker, civil rights activist, and early planner of the United Nations, handled crises occurring in the newly independent...
Ambassador Romero, how would you describe your head? Your chin? And whose gaudy suit is that, covered in paint? (Not Pete's.) Passports from 100 years ago, a suit from a protestor's assault, and Chinese language flashcards from the 1930s, plus sooooo much more. Director Mary Kane and Public Historian Alison Mann...
Climate advocate Ambassador Bob Blake is back:  Climate change, international business, government and our individual selves.  No one can do everything but everyone can do something.

The Podcast Team

Ambassador and Co-Host

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.

Producer and 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.

Sound Engineer

Lorenzo Wilkins heads SD33/Art Direction and Design, focusing on identity, publication and marketing design.  His client list includes the former UPN television, Fox television, PBS, Spike Lee's 40 Acres & a Mule, the NAACP, the National Society of Black Engineers, Jane Firor & Associates, City First Bank of DC, the Education Trust and several political campaigns.

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Heroes of Diplomacy: Honoring Dr. Ralph Bunche

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