Episodes

Let's face it, 2025, things could have gone a whole lot better. But it was the birth year for SP/FS, and on this special bonus episode, virtually the entire SP/FS Class of '25 storytellers return with reflections on the year past and wishes for 2026. Join us for a special cup of kindness. Guest voices: Steve Herman, Pamela White, Jack & Sarah Seybold, Fred de Sam Lazaro, Warren Acuncius, Julia Irwin, Steve Callahan, Roland Merullo, Betsy Small, Keith Mines, Florence Reed, Mark D. Walker, Jon Ce...

As a young boy, dreaming of becoming an archeologist, Lewis Lucke wanted to visit the Holy Lands to see if the Bible stories he'd read were true. Indeed, his career did lead him overseas, though as a diplomat with USAID--from West Africa to Central America, finally the Middle East, and eventually as a US ambassador. Along the way, he confirmed many times over that there are many stories that you just can't make up. Ambassador Lucke served in the US Foreign Service in Mali, Senegal, Costa Rica...

Another holiday meal means more time at the table with Aunt Deb (who was kind enough to share her own fruitcake recipe--drenched in attitude and bourbon). And yes, she came with questions. But our guests handled her with brilliance and finesse. Featuring long-time USAID veteran Julius Coles; returned Peace Corps volunteer E. Scott Osbourne; US military, State Department, and Institute of Peace veteran Keith Mines: former US diplomat and USAID alumna Noelle Ojo; and Jack and Sarah Seybold, who se...

He calls his enterprise "Million Mile Walker," which is both a pun (his name, after all, is Mark Walker) and a description of a decades-long journey that has taken him all over the world, always searching for ways to improve the lives of people less fortunate than himself. Mark D. Walker was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala (1971-1973) and spent over 40 years helping disadvantaged people in the developing world through agencies such as Food for the Hungry, MAP International, Make-A-Wish I...

As a Peace Corps volunteer and then as a public health specialist, including with USAID, Leah Petit has seen firsthand the impact of global health programs. Not only in lives saved--full stop--but in global stability and security. And when she saw these programs being dismantled and former colleagues' motives questioned, she took action, starting 'Global Development Interrupted,' a podcast and Substack platform that documents the lives and work of those affected when US foreign assistance was cu...

It makes sense that one of Denise Deneaux's early literary heroes was a woman who traveled the world with utter fearlessness. Because later, as a Peace Corps volunteer assigned to Chile during Pinochet’s repressive rule, she dealt with guns, danger, threats, and harassment--once sitting in a police station with her new baby on her lap. Her takeaways: tolerance, resilience, and greater empathy for people everywhere who are repressed. For this episode, Denise reads a letter to her mother that she ...

Out today! Peter Hessler knew from an early age that he wanted to be a writer. He was also vividly aware that he needed something to write about. It turned out that the thing was China, where he was sent as a Peace Corps volunteer. It became the subject of a trio of books and rich material as a 'New Yorker' correspondent. He was among the first groups of Peace Corps volunteers allowed in China, and later recounted their departure. And he knows this much: It is better to be there than to be absen...

Join us at the Thanksgiving table when Aunt Deb brings both her green jello mold (the celery is a must) and, of course, her dubious questions. Over four hearty courses, she has four barbed questions--for former USAID veteran Steve Callahan, returned Peace Corps volunteers Evelyn LaTorre and Sarah Quinn, and Foreign Service Officer Jon Cebra. Their responses (and some pumpkin pie) provide the perfect dessert. Please scroll down to see photos and book links. Stephen Callahan served more than th...

As a young man, Aaron Williams challenged the norms of his peers by aspiring to see beyond his neighborhood and become a Peace Corps volunteer. It was something they did not see coming. But then, Aaron likely even surprised himself when—after two decades of work in the private sector and with USAID—he became the Peace Corps’ 18th Director. Aaron Williams served as the Peace Corps Director from 2009 to 2012. He is currently a Senior Advisor at RTI International. He has enjoyed a long and disti...

MaryAnn Shank is a writer and former teacher who, despite growing up surrounded by the birth of Silicon Valley, found her deepest inspiration among the women of Somalia, half a world away. She has been celebrating strong and passionate women ever since. MaryAnn was the first person in her family to graduate from college, and shortly thereafter became a Peace Corps volunteer in Somalia, where she was a teacher. Later, back in California, she taught and was a librarian. She has written a number...

This is less a bonus episode than it is a bookend. (We recommend you start with Episode #13.) Last time around, Skip Waskin barely survived his first-ever USAID assignment in then-Zaire. Flash forward, and he is now leading USAID's biggest mission in Afghanistan. There are perilous echoes to Zaire, but on a much larger stage with life and death consequences. Skip Waskin on the Kajaki Dam in Afghanistan Aerial view of the Kajaki Dam Skip aboard a helicopter enroute to the Kajaki Dam ...

Skip Waskin's long career at USAID involved leading some of the Agency's largest and most important missions, including Russia and Afghanistan. But these illustrious roles almost eluded him — because he almost didn't make it past his very first assignment, as an embassy intern and a beginner contractor in a country formerly known as Zaire. Skip worked for USAID for more than three decades, including as Mission Director in Russia and Afghanistan; Deputy Mission Director in Karachi, Pakistan; a...

Steve Herman had a notion — already as a child, discovering the magical "SW" button on his grandmother's radio — that broadcasting somehow lay in his future. He began his career early and settled into a long tenure as a foreign correspondent and bureau chief with the Voice of America (VOA), eventually landing a position in the White House. Here, he outlines the history of the storied US soft power juggernaut along with a wealth of firsthand stories. Steven L Herman was the Voice of America’s ...

Reverend Jennifer Butler sensed as a young person that she might need to leave her community and her known world in order to find herself. She did. And then she did. And in finding herself, she has also found ways to help countless others. Rev. Jennifer Butler has spent the last three decades strengthening and rebuilding the progressive faith movement. She has dedicated her life to helping individuals and communities ground themselves in liberative spirituality that empowers them to speak out...

This episode is inspirational. Nothing has come easy for Michael Varga. In the Peace Corps, he had the toughest assignment in an already difficult country. As a diplomat, he faced huge challenges. And now, in retirement, battling cancer, he is dealing with brutal obstacles. But as an artist--which he also is--he meets the world with unwavering wonder and kindness. In work, as in life, he remains an inspiration. You can read Michael's most recent article, "From Diplomat to Dissenter," HERE. To...

Journalist Fred de Sam Lazaro created the Under-Told Stories Project more than three decades ago, bringing stories from some of the most remote parts of the world into the living rooms of PBS NewsHour viewers and classrooms of journalism students. He has reported from more than 60 countries and numerous US communities, always seeking the small, "under-told" story that compellingly illustrates larger themes. Here, he shares some favorites, weighs in on US soft power, and gives a peek behind the c...

Ben East is a writer. His work shows him to be an astute student of soft power. There is a clear through line running between his time as a Peace Corps volunteer in Malawi, his experiences as a U.S. diplomat, and his work as a writer and editor. His career has been decidedly exceptional--which, it should be noted, is the opposite of mediocre. For more information about Ben, visit his website HERE or follow him on social media at @beneastofeden. Ben East Ben & John East, 1976 Ben w...

Flo Reed believes--no, she knows--that when people work together, they can overcome challenges and create significant change. Her work in Central America in the Peace Corps allowed her to see the threats that small farmers faced and gain insight into how to confront them, leading eventually to her founding of Sustainable Harvest International. Since then, SHI has helped thousands of rural farming families restore degraded land, increase food security, and build more sustainable livelihoods. T...

Dr. Julia Irwin is the leading scholar writing about the history and impact of US disaster relief. In this fascinating conversation, she shares some entertaining and little-known stories to outline the evolution of American aid and the implications of American disengagement from disaster efforts around the world. (Note: This episode is a companion piece to SP/FS #8 with Warren Acuncius.) Julia Irwin is the T. Harry Williams Professor of History at Louisiana State University. She earned her Ph...

Warren Acuncius has seen a lot. His work for USAID as a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) leader took him all over the world. He saw the aftermath of cataclysmic tragedies and suffering on a scale that most cannot imagine. But he also saw what can be accomplished when humans--from different countries and backgrounds--come together to give each other aid and comfort. It turns out that both earthquakes--and people--can move mountains. Warren's speech at the US Air Force Academy's Nationa...

Before Alexa West became the quintessential Solo Girl traveler, inspiring a new generation of women to confidently explore the world on their own, she was a solo girl (Peace Corps) volunteer--still helping women, but from a very foreign village in remote Bulgaria. It was a vital stop on the journey to becoming a truly badass traveler. For more information about Alexa and her work, check out her website or follow her on Instagram. Alexa West Alexa as a Peace Corps volunteer with friend...

In this short companion piece to novelist Roland Merullo's regular SP/FS episode, he discusses his deeply unique--and even more deeply remote--Peace Corps role, in perhaps the most remote location ever assigned. Postage stamps commemorating the Peace Corps in Micronesia Show Credits: SP/FS Producer & Host: Christopher Wurst Opening Voices: Dmitri Wurst, Elena Wurst, Kjara Wurst, Christopher Wurst Show Artwork: Kate Furby Voice of Dubious Aunt Deb: Cathy Zielske Cold Open...

In the waning years of the Soviet Union, the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) mounted massive exhibitions about American culture throughout the USSR--with everything from fully equipped American kitchens to a car display featuring a little red Corvette. Roland Merullo managed one such exhibition, "Design USA," and had plenty of stories about it. Roland Merullo's books are enjoyed worldwide. They blend close observations of regular life with humor and spiritual insight. Many are set in Revere, Mass...

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 most vulnerable places in the world. For more information about Betsy, check out her website here. Betsy Small Getting started in Sierra Leone, 1984 A day at the Tikonkor Primary School, 1985 With Ms. Sando's daughter and namesake, Bondu Betsy Visiting the villa...