About this podcast

Everything you need to understand about the SoftPower/FulStories podcast is in the name. Producer and host Christopher Wurst trades on more than two decades of overseas experience as a US diplomat to explore the breadth and diversity of America's SOFT POWER efforts around the globe for the past half century.

Each episode features POWERFUL STORIES from fascinating and remarkable guests--ambassadors and artists; historians and health care heroes; fearless Peace Corps alumni, aid workers, authors, and global influencers--whose unique work and poignant stories highlight the often unsung connections and collaborations happening around the world.

FUL(L) STORIES... in the form of first-person narratives from disparate times and places. Stories about flying past the limits of one's comfort zone, about learning that there are different ways to approach problems (as opposed to right ways and wrong ways), and about why having friends in far-flung places is not merely nice, it's essential. It's about mutual understanding, foreign assistance, and diplomacy, sure--but it is just as much about people finding themselves when they are far, far from home.

But it all comes down to the STORIES:

Stories of connection. Stories of challenge. Stories of heartbreak. Stories of adventure. Stories of friendship. Stories of growth. Stories of frustration. Humorous stories. Scary stories. Success stories. Bizarre stories. Profound Stories.

What if America's greatest export was not money, or medicine, or food? What if America's greatest gift is stories?

About the Host

Christopher Wurst

Christopher Wurst served more than two decades as a U.S. Diplomat, primarily as a Cultural and Press Attaché, in seven countries across four continents--including Ireland, Italy, Slovenia, Zambia, India, Pakistan, and Guatemala. As Senior Advisor for Innovation in the U.S. State Department's Bureau for Educational and Cultural Affairs, he produced and hosted the award-winning podcast '22.33,' featuring first-person narrative stories from international exchange program participants. Before joining the Foreign Service, he taught high school history and English in Minneapolis and South Africa. He was a guest writer for the TV comedy show 'Mystery Science Theater 3000,' where he also made his national television debut as a Moleman from outer space. As a photographer, he has had exhibitions in four countries. He currently splits his time between the United States and Slovenia, where his wife, Kjara, is a choreographer.