The country of Georgia is one of the former Soviet states still fighting for autonomy from the Kremlin. With the ongoing Russian military occupation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, it’s not just an academic discussion.

Today on Black Diplomats we have Dr. Sergi Kapanadze, a professor and politician in the Georgian opposition party. Kapanadze explains why his party has decided not to take their seats in Parliament, their allegations of voter fraud in the last election, and how the United States can help untie this knot.

With hopes of joining the EU and drawing their economy closer to Europe, many in Georgia are fearful they could slide the other direction, ending up looking more like Belarus than Austria. Kapanadze doesn’t believe most members of the ruling Georgian Dream party want a more authoritarian government. He’s not so sure about Georgia prime minister Irakli Garibashvili.

Host Terrell Starr spent two years in Georgia during his time in the Peace Corps, so the fate of the country has a personal stake for him. You can hear his love for the Georgian people all through this conversation.

Thank you for listening!

Matt Duss is one of the good ones.

A foreign policy advisor for Sen. Bernie Sanders, Duss is one of the folks in Washington trying to lead our government away from neoliberalism. After a career in progressive think tanks and left-leaning media, Duss started working for Bernie Sanders shortly after Trump was elected. They’ve got a lot done by D.C. standards, including the first invoking of the War Powers Resolution, to end U.S. assistance in the war in Yemen.

Host Terrell Starr has plenty of questions, starting with a mental health check. Duss is a congressional staffer, after all. They talk about the attempted insurrection in January, how a congressperson like Sanders can impact foreign policy, and what Duss would like to see from the Biden administration.

Duss is well known in DC as a thorn in the side of traditional corporate Democrats who are willing to support dictators if the trade deal is right. He’s taken plenty of barbs from both sides of the aisle for standing up for the human rights of Palestinians, among other things. Given Biden’s history as among the most old school of the centrist Dems, Terrell asks Duss if he thinks Sanders more progressive foreign policy has a chance of influencing the administration. He seems optimistic!

Thank you for listening.

On this episode of Black Diplomats, host Terrell Starr convenes a panel of experts to talk about the recent decision by Amnesty International to revoke the “prisoner of conscious” status from Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Starr wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post about the decision this week, criticizing the simplified discourse in the West.

In order to bring some nuance to the conversation Starr hosts Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon, Dr. Rano Turaeva-Hoehne, and Irina Kuznetsova, three women who follow Russian politics with a keen eye to the racial dynamics of the region. They break down Navalny’s racist statements, how his attitudes fit into the context of Russian imperialism, and what they think opposition parties need to do to move forward.

And don’t miss the hilarious sidebar on babushka culture. There has to be a bench.

Thank you for listening!

This is the episode of Black Diplomats where Rep. Karen Bass starts the soft diplomacy on Terrell, trying to talk him into joining the State Department!

Bass represents California’s 37th district in Los Angeles, and is a fierce advocate for all the good things. As Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa she has regular contact with folks from the Continent and a lot of good ideas for how we can improve our behavior on their behalf. She’s involved in the Represent America Abroad Act to diversify our diplomatic corps, and the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to bring incremental change to American policing. Terrell asks her if the bill goes far enough, and she provides the kind of candid answer you don’t usually get from politicians.

As they get deeper into her roots, we find out that being a foreign policy wonk is nothing new to Karen Bass. She cut her teeth protesting against the Vietnam War and was dedicated to the anti-apartheid movement in the ‘80s. Her critical analysis of white supremacy in the global context is honed to a razor’s edge, and on display in this episode.

Near the end of their conversation Bass breaks down America’s history of supporting bad actors in Africa, and then flips it - suggesting Terrell should help diversify the State Department by signing up for service!

He is a Black Diplomat, right?

Thanks for listening!

Today on Black Diplomats we’re honored to host Alicia Garza, one of the three co-founders of the Black Lives Matter Global Network, and Shaw San Liu, Executive Director at the Chinese Progressive Association. They’ve known each other for many years, after meeting as on-the-ground organizers from their respective communities who were looking to find solutions to common problems.

Host Terrell Starr asks them about the recent spate of racist violence against Asian people, the way divisions are sown in communities of color for economic reasons, how COVID has impacted their work, and what it will take to reimagine safety in our society to include everyone.

This is a very powerful episode of Black Diplomats about building bridges across racial boundaries to create a better world for us all.

Thank you for listening!

On this week’s episode of Black Diplomats, host Terrell Starr does what very few American journalists do - talk to Iranians about Iran.

Iran is surrounded by nuclear armed adversaries and American military bases. It is reasonable for them to feel threatened, but that’s a perspective we rarely hear in the U.S. media, because we keep being force fed the same crewcut white boys going on about the mullahs.

Today we have two Iranians and a nuclear policy analyst on to provide some context to the conversation.

Negar Mortazavi is an Iranian-American journalist, columnist for The Independent, and host of the Iran Podcast. Ellie Geranmayeh is a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations who advises governments and companies on developments with the Iran nuclear deal. They both have deep personal and family ties to Iran that inform their understanding of these nuanced issues.

Michelle Dover is the host of the Ploughshares Fund podcast and a nuclear non-proliferation expert who has followed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action from its first draft.

They get into the details of the JCPOA, the current status of the deal after Trump pulled the US out, Biden’t plans, and what peace in the Middle East could look like. This is a great episode that fills a lot of gaps left by the standard American reporting.

Thank you for listening!

Pam Keith has a unique perspective from growing up in Turkey, Morocco, Syria, Brazil, and several U.S. cities, as the daughter of Ambassador Kenton Keith. She was an Officer in the Navy and a lawyer with some of the largest firms in the nation, before running for Congress from the 18th district in Florida.

Host Terrell Starr has lots of questions! Their conversation went for more than two hours, so we’ve broken it up into two parts.

Part one went out earlier this week. In part two they talk about living abroad, how foreign service changed their perspective on America, and Keith’s plans for becoming the Stacey Abrams of Florida.

This episode of Black Diplomats is a deep dive on the state of America, with two seasoned analysts who have no fear.

Thank you for listening!

Pam Keith has a unique perspective from growing up in Turkey, Morocco, Syria, Brazil, and several U.S. cities, as the daughter of Ambassador Kenton Keith. She was an Officer in the Navy and a lawyer with some of the largest firms in the nation, before running for Congress from the 18th district in Florida.

Host Terrell Starr has lots of questions! Their conversation went for more than two hours, so we’ve broken it up into two parts.

In part one, they start by talking about the white supremacist insurrection on January 6th, and why Keith thinks there were so many members of the armed forces in the crowd. Starr also asks about the impeachment process, and the chance of a conviction. Keith believes the process of impeachment has outlived its usefulness, and has some thoughts on what could replace it.

This episode of Black Diplomats is a deep dive on the state of America, with two seasoned analysts who have no fear.

Thank you for listening!

Malcolm Nance is a security specialist, intelligence analyst, author, military vet, and much more. He’s also a Black man in America, and a Black Diplomat overseas. On today’s episode host Terrell Starr asks Nance-stradamus to break down the missteps of the Trump administration, and what Biden will have to do to repair the damage. As two people who have a deep understanding of the history of global affairs, they put modern conflicts with places like Russia and Iran into historical context. Some of our allies don’t get off too easy either - here's looking at you Saudi Arabia.

Thank you for listening!

Terrell appeared on the excellent show Pod Save the World, a podcast by Tommy Vietor and Ben Rhodes, two long serving members of the Obama administration. Rhodes introduces Terrell by pointing out that he isn’t just talking about changing policy, he’s helping change the whole mindset of American power. These guys get it.

Rhodes talks about being in rooms where Obama was the only one who isn’t white, and asks Terrell about the importance of diversity in those rooms. Terrell points out that it isn’t just about skin color, it’s also about listening to folks who want to dismantle the whole neo-liberal structure and rethink how we move in the world. The conversation goes from there, into elections, Russia, white supremacy, and how the Black Lives Matter movement has emboldened new voices that deserve to be heard.

This is a powerful episode and a great example of why Terrell’s perspective is having a real impact on the conversation.

Thank you for listening!