If you thought Netflix's hit series The Diplomat was pure fiction, think again…

According to creator Deborah Cahn the show was inspired by a real-life diplomat that she has described as "a superhero in a pant suit" — Ambassador Beth Jones.

We tracked down Ambassador Jones and her husband Don to ask what it's really like to work in places like Kabul, Cairo, Baghdad and Kazakhstan and it turns out the truth is sometimes stranger than fiction.

Recommendations:

Hamish: "Anchored in the region" — What the new Australia–Indonesia security treaty really means, article by Natalie Sambhi

Geraldine: Saturday Extra's Diplomacy mini-series from 2021, featuring interview with former diplomats:

• John McCarthy
• Sue Boyd
• Geoff Raby
• US Consul General Sharon Hudson Dean (Kylie Morris hosted)
• The late Martin Indyk

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