American Diplomat Podcast

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

American Diplomat Podcast - [node:title]

January 10, 2019

More Fun Facts about Trade

Did you know that over 11 million jobs in the U.S. come from exports? And that they pay U.S. citizens 15-20% more than non-export related jobs? Dan Crocker debunks our most intrenched myths about trade. Plus, why does Pete ask if he's a meatball? Learn this and more, workin' at the Car Wash! (If you weren't alive in...

January 3, 2019

Questions, Questions...

Why do we care about diversity in the Foreign Service? When did you know this job was "the one"? How do you do your job with so much danger out there these days? Students visiting the State Department as Cox Fellows have some pretty good questions. Julie Chung, Stacy Williams and Luis Mendez, plus of course Pete,...

December 27, 2018

College Students Visit State

The American dream is alive and well at the U.S. Department of State. Stacy Williams, Luis Mendez and Julie Chung share with visiting Cox Fellows inspiring stories of their journeys from where they began to leadership roles in the Foreign Service. And to keep the inspiration going, music from Funkadelic: One...

December 20, 2018

A Public Servant in the Private Sector

Did you know that 95% of the world's consumers live outside the United States? As President, Global Public Affairs at UPS, former Economics Officer Laura Lane helps reduce corruption at borders, in turn helping small and midsize businesses prosper, while advancing global rights for women and reducing poverty throughout...

December 14, 2018

When You Shouldn't Follow the Rules

Economics Officer Laura Lane served in Rwanda during its period of genocide in the 1990s and learned when you should, and when you should not, follow the rules. Here is the audio track of her TED talk on the subject, bookended with comments from Pete.

December 6, 2018

Secretary of State James Baker Reflects on Bush and Our Times

James Baker, Secretary of State under George H.W. Bush, remembers President Bush and puts today's foreign policy events in perspective as he receives the Walter and Lenore Annenberg Award for Excellence in Diplomacy. "A golden age for humanity," he calls our times, and recalls a day when "we all sang from the...

November 29, 2018

The Dictator Hit Parade

Ambassador Joe Sullivan has known a lot of dictators. Who are they? What are they like? How do they do it? "All I want to do is make this a prosperous, democratic country," is a good thing to say to Americans, these charming men have found.

November 23, 2018

President vs. Strongman: No Peace in Angola

Diamonds, Petroleum, widespread human suffering and a decades-long civil war. Ambassador Joe Sullivan talks about the U.S. role as monitor of the peace and demobilization process: "It was time to choose, and choosing was not between the angel and the devil; we had to chose the less bad option."

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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.

Learn more

Read Pete’s paper “Living Up to the American Idea,” published in the Foreign Service Journal’s September 2020 issue.
Pete testifies before Congress on the need for diversity in the Foreign Service. To read Pete’s full testimony, click here.
U.S. Ambassador (Ret.) Peter Romero speaks during Saturday’s “Foreign Service Day” at George Mason University.
Roles of Chief Diplomats
U.S. Diplomats Talk Brazilian Politics at Ford School
Peter Romero’s article “The Making Of Plan Colombia” as featured in the Jan/Feb 2018 Issue of “The Foreign Service Journal”
“The Hill: Here’s our plan to bring diversity and fairness to the Foreign Service” Co-authored by Peter Romero.
A good brief summary of the life of a US Foreign Service family.

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