Episodes

"A ship in harbor is safe. But that's not what ships are for." - John A. Shedd When George Clooney decides to embark on a humanitarian mission to the frontlines of a deadly war in Sudan, it would normally take months of meticulous coordination to keep an A-list celebrity safe in a conflict zone. Matt Brown--our storyteller this week--had three days. Which is crazy. Thankfully, as a returned Peace Corps volunteer and seasoned journalist, he knew his way around Africa. But still--three days?! ...

"People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel." - Maya Angelou Growing up, Maria Brewer knew what it felt like to be othered, to be treated as an outsider. The memories of those feelings never left, and she spent her diplomatic career--which included two ambassadorships--looking for inclusivity and ways to get to 'yes.' In fact, we suspect that it was her aversion to the word 'no' that fueled her spectacular career. ...

(This episode originally aired on January 23, 2026.) In case you missed it: 'SoftPower/FulStories' uses first-person stories to explore why U.S. engagement in the world matters. Through conversations with diplomats, aid workers, Peace Corps volunteers, authors and artists, influencers, businesspeople, and more, SP/FS highlights how soft power and foreign aid and assistance strengthen America's security, prosperity, and global standing. But forget politics, policy, or punditry; this is all abou...

"People generally see what they look for and hear what they listen for." - Harper Lee Joe Lurie, the Executive Director Emeritus of the University of California, Berkeley's International House, has a story, a proverb, or an eyewitness account for seemingly every occasion. Here's one from Ukraine: "You don't really see the world if you only look through your own window." From an early age, Joe has not only sought out new windows with different views, but has also made it his life's work to ope...

(This episode originally aired on October 31, 2025.) In case you missed it: Rev. Jen Butler served as CEO of Faith in Public Life from 2005 to 2022. Highlights of her work as CEO include mobilizing a multi-state faith strategy to secure passage of the Affordable Care Act and defeating Republican efforts in 2017 to gut the bill. Faith in Democracy recently launched a new initiative titled “Leadership Accelerator Hungary 2026,” hoping to promote democracy through faith in the country. 'SoftPower...

The key to good diplomacy, according to Elizabeth Kennedy Trudeau, is showing up. And, as a very good diplomat, she always showed up. To places beautiful and places troubled. Places dangerous and places divided. Places important to the United States. The other key to good diplomacy is how you show up. And that leads us to this week's episode... Elizabeth Kennedy Trudeau is the Bradford M. Freeman managing director of global policy at the Bush Institute. In this role, Trudeau leverages her dec...

(This episode originally aired on November 21, 2025.) In case you missed it: July 18th, 2026 marks Nelson Mandela’s 108th birthday and International Nelson Mandela Day. Aaron Williams headed USAID in South Africa, where he worked directly with Nelson Mandela and his administration as the country underwent democratic transformation. Williams served as the Peace Corps Director from 2009 to 2012. He is currently a Senior Advisor at RTI International. He is a member of the Council on Foreign R...

Sit back and enjoy this SP/FS collaboration with the Museum of the Peace Corps Experience, where we recreate a Peace Corps story slam, originally performed at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in 2025. Featured storytellers: Will Dreyer, Katie Hamann, Jody Olsen, Jim Rupert, Corey Quinlan Taylor, Ursula Wright, and BJ Whetstine--and featuring Museum Director Zack Klim. For more information on the museum's great work, visit museumofthepeacecorpsexperience.org Museum of the Peace Cor...

Forget the idea of going "full circle"; the life and career of Baktash Ahadi is doing laps. As an Afghan refugee, finding his way in the United States, the massive reverberations from 9/11 hit Baktash from all sides, and started him on a journey of service and empathy that led him to the Peace Corps, back to Afghanistan as a civilian interpretor with U.S. special operations, an instructor at the Foreign Service Institute, training outgoing U.S. diplomats on their way to Afghanistan, and finally ...

(This episode originally aired on September 12, 2025.) In case you missed it: Betsy Small grew up aware of both her privileged place in the world and her family's rapid rise from poverty and persecution. Both left a mark, resulting in decades of empathy and action — at home and in some of the world's most vulnerable places. Following the release of Betsy’s podcast episode, her book, 'Before Before: A Story of Discovery and Loss in Sierra Leone,' became a Forward INDIE finalist and received...

July 1, 2025, marked the inglorious (and highly dubious) end of USAID. To mark its passing, we asked Dr. Sara Sullivan, a USAID alumna who has been speaking out from the very beginning of the end, to the "Average American," to deliver a eulogy on behalf of the agency. As usual, she did not mince words. Dr. Sullivan is a seasoned international development expert with over 20 years of experience specializing in strategic communications and 16 years of work with USAID across three continents. Be...

On February 3, 2025, Elon Musk posted this on X: "We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper. Could gone [sic] to some great parties. Did that instead." It's safe to say that no one needed Musk's savage imagery. It's also worth pointing out that by now--a year later--the barely-trained, Musk-led forces at the Trump Administration's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have directly cost the jobs of over a quarter of a million people worldwide and have, according to several...

"Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable." – Banksy Laura Migliorino is an artist and long-time art instructor based in Minneapolis. She has--from the beginning of her long career in art--believed in the power of memory. Now, as Minnesota thaws out and moves forward after a long, devastating winter, she is already focused on remembering. And when you see that small pair of children's shoes on Central Avenue, or the white Crocs on a streetlight pole on Case Avenue in St. P...

"Anything worth doing is worth overdoing." - Tina Martin Picture the cheerfulness--and tendency to break into song--of 'The Sound of Music's' Maria or Mary Poppins. Transplant her to Tonga, one of the world's most isolated island nations. Electricity? No need. Running water? No need. Surround her by adoring children. Is it a Peace Corps adventure five decades removed or a musical just waiting to be written? Meet Tina Martin. Despite moving around a lot, Tina Martin considers South Carolina...

Note: This is the second of a two-part episode. We strongly recommend you start with Part 1. John Limbert was among 66 Americans taken hostage in the U.S. Embassy in November 1979, and among 52 who were held 444 days--an historical event that riveted America and the world. Episode 1 took us to the eve of the Iranian revolution. Here, Limbert shares his account of his time as a hostage and some well-earned thoughts on what is happening in Iran right now. John Limbert's 34-year career in the...

"For lust of knowing what should not be known, We make the golden journey to Samarkand." - James Elroy Flecker Throughout his life, Ambassador John Limbert kept returning to Iran. As a student, as a Peace Corps volunteer, as a husband. He could not seem to stay away. But then, as a U.S. diplomat in Tehran — for a harrowing 444 days — he could not leave. This episode takes us to the verge of the Iran hostage crisis. For all his knowledge and experience, including later serving as the Deputy As...

As a young American girl living in Colombia, with little understanding of what it meant to be from the United States, Andrea Cristancho had a firsthand brush with grassroots U.S. soft power — and it may have changed her life. One thing is certain: When, years later, the roles were reversed, and she was the American helping to implement development programs overseas, the impact was every bit as profound. Andrea Cristancho has spent over a decade working in international development and diploma...

As a young Peace Corps volunteer in Romania, Sean Cotter saw the reverence given to poets and philosophers and suspected he had found his people. But in the beginning, he couldn't even understand a child's spoken words. Flash forward to the present, where Sean, as the world's preeminent translator of Romanian literature into English, now helps shine a light on a place — and a people — he has loved for a very long time. A two-time National Endowment for the Arts Fellow, Sean Cotter is the tran...

“I am interested in what it takes to be the happy endings that our elders have been waiting for.” – Kao Kalia Yang Kao Kalia Yang is a Hmong American teacher, speaker, and writer. Her work crosses genres and audiences. She is the award-winning author of the memoirs, The Latehomecomer, The Song Poet, Somewhere in the Unknown World, and Where Rivers Part. Yang co-edited the groundbreaking book, What God is Honored Here?: Writings on Miscarriage and Infant Loss By and For Native Women and Women of...

Note: This is the second of a two-part episode. We strongly recommend you start with Part 1. Paul E. White's stories cannot be contained in a single episode. In fact, this is the second of a two-part episode in which neither progresses past his very first assignment, in Laos in the 1960s. From there, he went on to become a legend in the USAID ranks--and it's easy to see why. In this episode, we meet Paul as a newly minted USAID refugee relief and rehabilitation officer, continuing to do devel...

Paul E. White's stories cannot be contained in a single episode. In fact, this is the first of a two-part episode in which neither progresses past his very first assignment, in Laos in the 1960s. From there, he went on to become a legend in the USAID ranks--and it's easy to see why. In this episode, we meet Paul as a brand new International Voluntary Services teacher doing development work in the middle of a hot war zone. Paul E. White served in senior roles within U.S. foreign assistance pro...

This is an episode about answering the call--whether it comes from a widowed father, a Maasai student, or a couple of guys named John F. Kennedy and Sargent Shriver. Diane Raleigh not only answered the call but also found herself needed in each situation. Again and again, stepping up for those in need. Answer the call, step up, repeat. Dr. Diane L. Raleigh is a clinical psychologist in private practice for 44 years. For the last fifteen years, she has been the Director of Olmoti Community, pr...

"You can't help people from a distance." - Sergio Viera de Mello When it comes to overseas experiences, Keith Mines has seen a lot, from a remarkable set of vantage points: from LDS missionary work to active-duty assignments as a soldier to various leadership roles as a diplomat, and finally serving at the United States Institute of Peace. Through it all, he never stopped fighting for the little guy, and he never stopped showing up--which, when all is said and done, truly is the secret of suc...

If you are a six-foot-six white guy in Liberia, you are going to stick out--and Glenn Ivers did stand out. But, if you add to that infectious enthusiasm, humor, and maybe throw in a new soccer pitch, you might become unforgettable. That describes Glenn, then and now. Glenn Ivers is a lifelong resident of Syracuse, New York, and a graduate of Colgate University. He served in the Peace Corps in Liberia from 1974-1976, and traveled throughout West Africa. His professional Life included working a...