Everyday Ambassador

On March 1, 1954, the United States detonated the largest nuclear weapon it ever tested at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The fallout poisoned a Japanese fishing crew, irradiated inhabited atolls, and triggered a diplomatic crisis — one the US resolved by paying $2 million and calling it closed, without ever answering the underlying legal questions. Historian and lawyer Mary X. Mitchell joi...

Seth Shelden  is General Counsel and United Nations Liaison for ICAN (the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons), the Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization spearheading efforts to abolish nuclear weapons through the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).  This episode is in two parts. The first was recorded live during the NPT Review Conference. The second is a retrospec...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit anneliseriles.substack.com Thank you for tuning into my first monthly AMA! We covered the collapse of the NPT Review Conference and what it means for nuclear security— plus my dispatches from Tokyo, an update on the Nagasaki house, and a full clinic on the listening move in peacemaking, and a preview of next month's peace-making move, S...

This month, we’re exploring listening as a form of peace-building. So I’m re-releasing an episode from the archives that changed how I think about this work. I recorded this before Everyday Ambassadors existed as a Substack, which means a lot of you haven’t heard it. But it might be the most essential conversation I’ve ever had about listening as a superpower. Katharine Hayhoe is a climate scienti...

In this episode of Everyday Ambassador , I speak with political scientist Sharon Weiner about one of the most consequential choices in modern governance: the decision to use nuclear weapons. Weiner has worked across the nuclear policy ecosystem—from the White House and Congress to Los Alamos National Laboratory—and has spent decades grappling with a question that first troubled her as a child grow...

Thank you Betina Cunado , Beverly Kohler , R Slone , and many others for tuning into my live video with Julien Hoez ! We covered a lot of ground! Iran, NATO, the UN, the future of the Transatlantic Alliance, France’s plans for a European nuclear umbrella, and much more. Have any questions? Ask them here and we’ll be sure to get back to you. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this w...

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anneliseriles.substack.com/subscribe

Hey Friends, This month, we’re exploring friendship as a tool for rebuilding democracy and peace. So I’m dusting off something from our archives—an episode I recorded before Everyday Ambassador existed as a Substack. A lot of you have never heard it, and honestly? It might be one of the most practical conversations I’ve ever had about what friendship actually requires. In this episode, I sit down...

Hibakusha leader and physician Masao Tomonaga joins Everyday Ambassador to share a lifetime shaped by the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. Drawing on decades of medical research, he explains how radiation exposure led to leukemia, cancer, and lasting psychological trauma among survivors. The conversation offers a rare firsthand account of nuclear weapons’ human consequences—and a sober reflection on th...

For the first time in nuclear history, 7 of 9 nuclear-armed states have authoritarian leaders. Meanwhile, Democrats and Republicans agree: we must build more nuclear weapons. A veteran policy insider and an international law professor ask the uncomfortable questions—How did we get here? Why is the nuclear priesthood silent? And what can everyday citizens do when democracy itself is under threat? T...

Historian and activist Vince Intondi joins Everyday Ambassador to explore the deep connections between nuclear weapons, race, and social justice in the United States. Drawing on decades of research, Intondi traces how Black leaders, clergy, artists, and organizers have challenged nuclear violence from Hiroshima to the present day. The conversation examines why disarmament has always been a civil r...

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Frank von Hippel—physicist, diplomat, policy-maker, architect of disarmament treaties, and co-founder of Princeton’s Program on Science and Global Security. One of the most influential voices in the history of nuclear arms control, von Hippel worked hand-in-hand with Soviet scientists to reduce the nuclear arsenals of both countries. He’s sounding the alarm abo...

Annelise Riles speaks with historian Elisabeth Roehrlich about the origins, evolution, and modern challenges of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Together they explore how the IAEA balances its dual mandate to promote civilian nuclear technologies while preventing the spread of nuclear weapons, and why its work remains both technical and deeply political. Roehrlich offers historical insight...

Dear Friends, Are you one of kind? Seeking to connect with brilliant, engaged people around the world for inspiration, new ideas, and a whole-hearted approach to issues like the economy and trade, disarmament and borders, or the impact of AI and digital platforms? Join us at Everyday Ambassador Salons! Every first Friday of the month, we’re building a “cohort that thinks otherwise” and having fun...

For most Americans, nuclear weapons live in the abstract: Cold War history, distant threats, geopolitical chess pieces. But for New Mexicans, the legacy of the atomic age is not theoretical, it’s lived, inherited, and ongoing. In this episode of Everyday Ambassador, we speak with Jay Coghlan , executive director of Nuclear Watch New Mexico , about the deep and often invisible impacts that eight de...

Annelise Riles speaks with Brazilian scholar Fernando Brancoli about the October 2025 police raid in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas—the deadliest in Brazil’s history. Brancoli explains how global arms markets, political dynamics, and historical inequalities have blurred the lines between policing and warfare. They explore how local and global struggles for peace are increasingly intertwined. This is a p...

Everyday Ambassador welcomes cultural anthropologist Miranda Hallett for a deep dive into El Salvador’s past and present. She explains the legacy of dispossession, U.S. intervention, the rise of MS-13, and President Bukele’s authoritarian turn. Hallett also shares stories of Salvadoran migrants in the U.S. building community and practicing “fugitive citizenship,” finding hope and democracy in the...

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In this episode of Everyday Ambassador , Annelise Riles speaks with historian Naoko Shimazu about the 1955 Bandung Conference. The gathering of newly independent Asian and African nations marked the rise of the non-aligned movement and showed how informal diplomacy—conversations, relationships, and pageantry—can reshape the world. Their discussion explores what Bandung teaches us about building br...

On the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Mayor Shiro Suzuki joins Everyday Ambassador to share his personal story as the son of Hibakusha and his mission to create a world without nuclear weapons. He discusses the work of Mayors for Peace, the power of cultural connection, and why even the smallest steps toward peace matter. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this...

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anneliseriles.substack.com/subscribe

Journalist and NewsGuard Executive Editor Jim Warren joins Everyday Ambassador to explain how misinformation spreads online—and what’s being done to stop it. From fake health cures to AI-generated propaganda, Jim shares what NewsGuard’s team of reporters has uncovered across thousands of websites, podcasts, and social media posts. He also discusses the challenges of media literacy and what schools...

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This week on Everyday Ambassador , I spoke with Zsofia Banuta, co-founder of Unhack Democracy , a grassroots organization working to protect democratic institutions across Central and Eastern Europe. Don’t miss our live follow-up event on May 8th on Substack with Zsofia and her co-founder Elliot Goat, where they’ll answer your questions and share more about their work. This is a public episode. If...

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anneliseriles.substack.com/subscribe