This is the first episode of a three-part special series on sanctions—a 101 course on how sanctions work and how policymakers should use them. This episode, Jen talks with her special cohost for this series, Jarrett Blanc, about what sanctions are and how they work. Over the next two days, we’ll release two more episodes—tomorrow Jen and Jarrett talk to former U.S. treasury secretary Jack Lew about how policymakers think about sanctions, and on Wednesday they’ll talk to sanctions lawyer Greta Lichtenbaum about how she helps her clients navigate sanctions policies. To make sure you don’t miss anything, subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Jarrett Blanc is a senior fellow in the Geoeconomics and Strategy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He was previously the deputy lead coordinator and State Department coordinator for Iran nuclear implementation at the U.S. Department of State under President Obama, responsible for the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran’s nuclear program, including Iranian and U.S. commitments on sanctions. We want to hear from you! Write to us at [email protected], or call us at 202-939-2247. Leave us a voicemail and we might use your question on a future episode. You can also talk to us on Twitter using #DiploPod. And follow Jen on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JRPsaki Go Deeper: More about Jarrett Blanc: http://carnegieendowment.org/experts/1343 Read Jarrett’s op-ed on Russia sanctions: http://ceip.org/p-77414 Listen to Jarrett talk about Iran sanctions: http://ceip.org/p-77016 Follow Jarrett on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JarrettBlanc