American Diplomat Podcast

Amb. Tony Wayne is back to go into depth on the US-Mexico border’s two greatest challenges.  How did drug trafficking become even more sinister than it was before?  And can we improve the immigration crisis ahead of the upcoming US election?  What is at stake and what will it take, diplomatically and otherwise, to solve these issues?

Did you know that $1.5M dollars in trade cross the US/Mexico border every single minute?  Did you know that 5 million US jobs depend on the trade that takes place there?  Ambassador Tony Wayne explains that the border is a living membrane and trust is the crux of managing conflicting interests and mutual challenges.  Lethal synthetic drugs are very small!  How do you intercept them on their way north?  And how do you stop the transfer of deadly weapons to the south?  And human lives – people around the entire world are on the move, and where do many land?…

Many diplomats urge what the vast majority of voters, including American Jews, want – a restrained Israel and a place for Palestinians.  Former Assistant Secretary Eric Schwartz discusses the letter that he and 67 senior foreign policy professionals recently sent to the White House.  Now in the aftermath of the killing of the World Central Kitchen volunteers, will Biden get tough or will the tail continue to wag the dog?  

Pete and Laura close the year with reflections on the diplomatic successes in 2023 that helped create a more peaceful and sustainable world.  Global events have offered up a lot to fear recently, but it wasn’t all bad!  Happy New Year from American Diplomat.

Cybercrime has many names but what, actually, is it?  Jim Lewis, former Foreign Service Officer, now Senior Vice President and Director of the Technology and Public Policy Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, gives us a candid description of cybercrime’s mechanics: who does it, why, how, and what is the impact of these activities on global democracy and security?  What is the role of diplomacy in managing these unprecedented military, intelligence, economic and political threats?  Join us for an close look under the hood of cybercrime.

Admiral Mike LeFever and Roderick Jones's new book End Game First talks about collaborating with diplomats to rebuild Pakistan after the 2005 earthquake. Effective strategy means having a vision for a successful end result, no matter the crisis. What, for example, is Israel's exit plan in Gaza? We are in a geopolitical...