Diplomatic Immunity

Season 4, Episode 5: In the current series of Diplomatic Immunity, ISD Director of Programs and Research Dr. Kelly McFarland looks back at the first year of the Biden administration's foreign policy and looks forward to the next.

He is joined by Jodi Vittori to discuss corruption and democratic erosion around the world, and the Biden Administration's response.

Jodi Vitorri is Professor of Practice and co-chair of the Global Politics and Security (GPS) concentration in the Master of Science in Foreign Service Program at Georgetown. She is an expert on the linkages of corruption, state fragility, illicit finance, and U.S. national security. Previously, she was a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Air Force, and an Assistant Professor and military faculty at the US Air Force Academy and the National Defense University.

Correction: Jodi referred to frequent protests for better governance and against highly corrupt individuals who had led a coup in South Sudan. These events took place in Sudan.

Episode recorded: January 28, 2022

Image: Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken participates in a virtual discussion with young democratic leaders from around the world as part of the Summit for Democracy, from the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. on December 8, 2021. [State Department photo by Freddie Everett/ Public Domain].

Hosted by Kelly McFarland. Produced by Alistair Somerville and Kelly McFarland. Audio editing by Aaron Jones. Production assistance by Kit Evans and Eleanor Shiori Hughes.

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to [email protected].

Season 4, Episode 4: In the current series of Diplomatic Immunity, ISD Director of Programs and Research Dr. Kelly McFarland looks back at the first year of the Biden administration's foreign policy and looks forward to the next.

He is joined by Ambassador Roya Rahmani to discuss America and the West's military withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. Their conversation covered humanitarian aid, corruption, and ways forward for Afghan women.

Roya Rahmani is a former Afghan diplomat who served as Afghanistan's first female ambassador to the United States and non-resident ambassador to Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic from December 2018 to July 2021. She is currently a Distinguished Fellow at the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security. Before entering government, she worked for several nonprofits that primarily focused on women's rights and education.

Episode recorded: February 8, 2022

Image: Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken participates in a meet and greet with U.S. Mission Afghanistan personnel in Kabul, Afghanistan on April 15, 2021. [Photo by Ron Przysucha/ Public Domain]

Hosted by Kelly McFarland. Produced by Alistair Somerville and Kelly McFarland. Audio editing by Aaron Jones. Production assistance by Kit Evans and Eleanor Shiori Hughes.

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to [email protected].

Season 4, Episode 3: In the current series of Diplomatic Immunity, ISD Director of Programs and Research Dr. Kelly McFarland looks back at the first year of the Biden administration's foreign policy and looks forward to the next.

He is joined by Ambassador Eunice Reddick to talk about U.S. policy towards Africa. They discuss the important role the continent plays in global affairs, the impact of COVID-19 and vaccine rollout across Africa, political instability and the opportunities presented by a rapidly growing population of young people across the continent.

During her more than 35 years of diplomatic service, Ambassador Reddick held ambassadorial assignments representing the U.S. in Niger, Sao Tome and Principe, and Gabon. She also served as Charge d'Affaires -- the acting chief of mission -- at the U.S. Embassies in Mauritania and Burundi. At the State Department, she served as director of the offices responsible for U.S. relations with countries in East and West Africa and Southeast Asia. Ambassador Reddick also held positions covering U.S. cooperation with development-focused international organizations and U.S. assistance for refugees in Africa. In addition to Africa diplomatic assignments, Ambassador Reddick covered political issues at the American Institute in Taiwan and the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.

Ambassador Reddick was previously a Dean and Virginia Rusk Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy and Diplomat-in-Residence at Howard University, advising students and career-seekers in Washington, DC, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia on State Department careers and foreign policy issues.

Episode recorded: February 10, 2022.

Image: Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken participates in the U.S.-Kenya Strategic Dialogue with Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs Raychelle Omamo, in Nairobi, Kenya, on November 17, 2021. [State Department Photo by Ron Przysucha/ Public]

Hosted by Kelly McFarland. Produced by Alistair Somerville and Kelly McFarland. Audio editing by Aaron Jones. Production assistance by Kit Evans and Eleanor Shiori Hughes.

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to [email protected].

Season 4, Episode 2: In the second episode of a new series, ISD Director of Programs and Research Dr. Kelly McFarland looks back at the first year of the Biden administration's foreign policy and looks forward to the next.

He is joined by Ambassador (ret.) John Heffern to discuss U.S. policy toward Europe, including the Ukraine-Russia crisis. Ambassador Heffern is a former senior Foreign Service Officer who served as Acting Assistant Secretary for Europe and Eurasian Affairs, and was U.S. Ambassador to Armenia from 2011-2014. He is now the Distinguished Resident Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship and Diplomacy, whose work includes connecting U.S.-based organizations and their fellows with partners overseas in the governmental and non-governmental sectors.

Episode recorded: February 3, 2022

Image: Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken meets with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Brussels, Belgium, on April 13, 2021. [State Department Photo by Ron Przysucha/ Public Domain].

Hosted by Kelly McFarland. Produced by Alistair Somerville and Kelly McFarland. Audio editing by Aaron Jones. Production assistance by Kit Evans and Eleanor Shiori Hughes.

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to [email protected].

He is joined by Ambassador Lino Gutierrez to discuss U.S. policy toward Latin America. Ambassador Gutierrez is a former senior Foreign Service Officer whose final assignment was as U.S. ambassador to Argentina. During his tenure in Argentina, Ambassador Gutiérrez signed agreements on container security, narcotics cooperation, counter-terrorism, money laundering, proliferation security, and environmental cooperation. He is now a member of the ISD Board of Advisers, and until recently was the Executive Director of the Una Chapman Cox Foundation, which funds one of our flagship programs, the Diverse Diplomacy Leaders Speaker Series.

Episode recorded: January 25, 2022

Image: Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken participates in an Embassy Meet and Greet at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, Mexico, on October 8, 2021. [Photo by Ron Przysucha/ Public Domain]

Hosted by Kelly McFarland. Produced by Alistair Somerville and Kelly McFarland. Audio editing by Aaron Jones. Production assistance by Kit Evans and Eleanor Shiori Hughes.

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to [email protected].

The book takes a deep dive into how the Web has changed what type of history we view online, and how we view it as users. He also takes a look at what might lie ahead. What does all of this mean for historians and historical studies? Is it creating a world full of students and citizens with a greater historical knowledge? What possible connection does it have to future foreign policy making?

In addition to his work at the Wilson Center and the Foreign Policy Research Institute, Jason is a contributor to TIME and CNN; a past editorial board member of the Washington Post's "Made By History" section; and a presidential counselor of the National WWII Museum. ​ In 2020, he founded the History Club on Clubhouse, which he hosts regularly. The club has more than 100,000 members and averages 2,500 participants per week.

Episode recorded: January 19, 2022.

Produced by Alistair Somerville and Kelly McFarland.

Episode image: Watching Darkness Fall cover [MacMillan Publishers]

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to [email protected].

The book tells the story of U.S. diplomacy in the 1930s through a historical examination of 4 U.S. ambassadors to European countries during the 1930s, and their respective experiences, perspectives, reports to Washington, and relationships with President Roosevelt: William Dodd, U.S. Ambassador to Adolf Hitler's Germany from 1933 to 1937; William Bullitt, ambassador to the Soviet Union and France during this period; Breckinridge Long, ambassador to Italy from 33 to 36; and Joseph Kennedy, ambassador to the United Kingdom) from 1938 to 1940.

David has been an author, attorney, political advisor and diplomat who served as U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg from 2016 to 2017. He was previously Director of Policy Planning at the State Department from 2013 to 2016 under Secretary of State John Kerry, and before that as the Director of Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review under Secretary Hillary Clinton. He is a recipient of multiple high level awards from the Department of State, and spent many years working in the U.S. Senate.

Episode recorded: December 10, 2021.

Produced by Alistair Somerville and Kelly McFarland. Editing support by Optimum Audio.

Episode image: Watching Darkness Fall cover [MacMillan Publishers]

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to [email protected].

Season 3, Episode 7: Jen Psaki, the White House Press Secretary, joins ISD Director of Programs and Research Kelly McFarland and Council of Foreign Relations Fellow Jennifer Davis for the final episode of season 3. They discuss a specific problem that the press secretary faces every day: disinformation from foreign adversaries who seek to undermine American democracy. Psaki was well-placed to speak to this issue, due to her experience of a highly personalized disinformation campaign from Russian-backed actors during her time as State Department spokesperson from 2013 to 2015. In addition to the particular impact of disinformation on women in the public eye, she discusses positive strategies to counter disinformation, the role of productive partnerships, and how to build trust from the podium.

Featured articles:

The New Weapon of Choice: Technology and Information Operations Today, ISD New Global Commons Working Group Report (October 2020)

Democracy under Siege, Freedom House (February 2021)

Episode recorded: November 17, 2021.

Produced by Alistair Somerville, Kelly McFarland, and Jennifer Davis. Thanks to Amanda Finney at the White House for her help with this episode.

Episode image: White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki speaks to reporters during a daily briefing on Wednesday, August 27, 2021 in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House. [White House/Yash Mori/Flickr]

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to [email protected].

Season 3, Episode 6: ISD Director of Programs and Research Kelly McFarland talks to Rebecca Katz, professor and director of the Center for Global Health Science and Security, who holds joint appointments in Georgetown University Medical Center and the School of Foreign Service, and Matt Boyce, PhD student in the Global Infectious Diseases program at Georgetown, about the COVID-19 pandemic and cities' responses. They discuss the public health and medical responses to COVID-19, vaccine development, the HIV and Malaria pandemics, and the ways in which city, state, and local governments have responded. Rebecca also draws on over 15 years experience working on infectious disease at the State Department.

The Rise of Metropolitanism: The International Order and Sub-National Actors, ISD New Global Commons Working Group Report (September 2019)

The New Weapon of Choice: Technology and Information Operations Today, ISD New Global Commons Working Group Report (October 2020)

Matt Boyce and Rebecca Katz (eds.), Inoculating Cities: Case Studies of Urban Pandemic Preparedness (Elsevier, 2021)

Rebecca Katz, "Case 342 - Global Governance of Disease," ISD Case Studies Library (2017)

Episode recorded: October 28, 2021.

Episode image: Train guard [Liam Burnett-Blue/Unsplash].

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Produced by Alistair Somerville and Kelly McFarland.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to [email protected].

Season 3, Episode 5: For our next installment on global commons issues, ISD Director of Programs and Research Kelly McFarland talks to Beth Ferris, research professor in the Institute for the Study of International Migration at Georgetown and non-resident senior fellow in Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution, about the impact of environmental change on migration. They discuss the ways in which climate change is driving internal displacement and international migration, the need for new vocabulary to describe this phenomenon and the people who experience it, and recent events in Afghanistan and other migration hot spots. Beth also provides a forecast on what she's hoping for from the forthcoming COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

We also hear from Jeremy Mathis, professor the Science, Technology, and International Affairs program and the Center for Security Studies in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown, and Bibi La Luz Gonzalez of Eat Better Wa'ik—an anti-hunger NGO in Guatemala.

Listen to previous episodes with Bibi and Jeremy on our website, or by searching for Diplomatic Immunity in your podcast app.

New Challenges to Human Security: Environmental Change and Human Mobility, ISD New Global Commons Working Group (April 2017)

The New Arctic: Navigating the Realities, Possibilities, and Problems, ISD New Global Commons Working Group Report (July 2018)

Peace Through Food: Ending the Hunger-Instability Nexus, ISD New Global Commons Working Group Report (August 2021)

Groundswell: Preparing for Internal Climate Migration, The World Bank (March 2018)

Report on the Impact of Climate Change on Migration, The White House (October 2021)

Episode recorded: Interview with Beth Ferris: Friday, October 22, 2021; Interview with Bibi La Luz Gonzalez: Friday, September 24th, 2021; Interview with Jeremy Mathis: Monday, September 20th, 2021.

Episode image: Peace Through Food (Institute for the Study of Diplomacy)

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Produced by Alistair Somerville and Kelly McFarland. Production Assistance by Emily Linn.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to [email protected].