The Diplomacy Podcast

Almost 20 years ago, an American journalist packed his bags, moved to Europe and decided he would never go back. Today, he argues that the old continent has a problem few Europeans recognize: it can’t overcome its unhealthy dependence on the United States. That American is Dave Keating, Brussels correspondent for France 24, the French international news network, and author of the book “ The Owned...

Guest: Marc Grossman, former U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs and ambassador to Turkey The world looks very different at the end of 2025 compared to the beginning of the year. How did diplomacy contribute to that difference, and what were the major diplomatic successes and failures? On this episode of “The Diplomacy Podcast,” we discuss the Trump administration’s diplomacy, its h...

Guest: Kate Byrnes, former U.S. ambassador to North Macedonia and deputy chief of mission in Greece The Institute of International Education reported last month that new enrollments of foreign students at U.S. colleges and universities decreased by 17 percent this fall compared to the same time last year. On this episode of “The Diplomacy Podcast,” we discuss what that means for the future of U.S....

Guest: Charles A. Ray , former U.S. ambassador to Cambodia and Zimbabwe and former deputy assistant secretary of defense. The U.S. military and the Foreign Service are two parts of the same national-security apparatus, but that may be where their similarities end. Their cultures, missions and approaches to those missions are very different — and often exactly the opposite. On this episode of “The...

Guest: Tom Countryman, former U.S. assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation The Trump administration has done an excellent job inundating us with all kinds of news, pronouncements and orders. But lately, I’ve found myself wondering what sleeper threats to U.S. and global security are not making headlines. So I asked an expert. On this episode of “The Diplomacy P...

The Trump administration has won much praise for brokering a deal between Israel and Hamas to stop the war in Gaza. The ceasefire has proven very fragile, and three senior U.S. officials are currently in Israel to bolster it, following Trump’s visit there last week. On this episode of “The Diplomacy Podcast,” we discuss the deal’s chances of full success, and what it means for the future of the de...

Educated everyday people, not members of the elite or foreign-policy experts, share their views. The United States still receives more attention by the world’s media than any other country, and the average citizen on every continent is fairly well informed about what happens in Washington. What do they think about the Trump administration’s actions in the last nine months, and how are they affecte...

Guest: Michael O'Hanlon , chair in defense and strategy at the Brookings Institution. Understanding the relationship between diplomacy and military force is essential in designing and implementing national security policy. At a time of domestic deployments of armed service members and a breakdown of the traditional interagency policy process created after World War II, what are the dynamics in tha...

Guest: Gabrielius Landsbergis , former foreign minister of Lithuania. The relationship between the United States and Europe has been quite shaken in the last seven month — from diverging worldviews to disagreements about Russia to punishing tariffs. How do things look from Europe? On this episode of “The Diplomacy Podcast,” we discuss the impact of the Trump administration’s policies and actions o...

Guest: Elizabeth Saunders, professor of political science at Columbia University. The U.S. Supreme Court surprised many constitutional lawyers last summer, when it granted presidents “absolute immunity” for their official acts. How has that ruling affected foreign-policy decisions in the first six months of the second Trump administration? On this episode of “The Diplomacy Podcast,” we discuss the...

Guest: Chas Freeman, former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia and assistant secretary of defense. No other country in history has achieved the level of soft power the United States enjoyed for decades, with a peak in the early 1990s. Even more significant was the potent combination of military, economic and soft power, as I noted last month. That combination enabled Washington to organize and manage...

What do the collapse of U.S. policymaking and gutting the NSC mean for Americans' safety? The Trump White House has slashed the staff of the National Security Council, whose role is to coordinate policymaking, by more than half. Deliberation of policy options barely exists, and it’s not clear who — if anyone — advises the president. On this episode of "The Diplomacy Podcast," we discuss the recent...

Rare insight from one of the architects of U.S. post-Cold War policy in Europe. As the Russia-Ukraine conflict risks becoming the latest forgotten war, a major reason is the deadlock in diplomatic efforts to end it. On this episode of "The Diplomacy Podcast," we discuss the state of diplomacy five months into the second Trump administration with Ambassador Daniel Fried, a 40-year Foreign Service v...

Guest: Janice Jacobs, former U.S. assistant secretary of state for consular affairs and ambassador to Senegal. The Trump administration has launched an unprecedented attack on international students. Harvard students face particular peril as the university fights the administration’s campaign to take away its ability to enroll foreign citizens. We explain how student visas work and clarify what st...