#51 - Matt Brown

"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?!

Matt Brown is an award-winning journalist and communications specialist. He has written for Time magazine, the Daily Telegraph, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Travel Africa, among other publications, and he has contributed to the Rough Guide to Kenya. His work for wire services, including the Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse, has appeared in newspapers around the world. He was the East Africa bureau chief for the National newspaper of Abu Dhabi, reporting from war zones in countries that included Somalia, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

As a communications specialist for the Enough Project, he led three trips to South Sudan with George Clooney, helping to produce videos and a Dateline NBC special to raise awareness about human rights abuses. A former Peace Corps volunteer in Guinea, he has lived and worked in Africa for 10 years. He is the author of Star's War: George Clooney on the Frontlines of a Deadly African Conflict. He has three children and lives with his wife in fire-prone California, where he works on emergency communications.

Matt Brown & George Clooney in South Sudan

Matt Brown (far left) next to reporter Ann Curry and the Dateline NBC crew in South Sudan

Clooney near the Sudan-South Sudan border at the site of recent fighting

Brown and Clooney with then-UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter, and Carter Center staff, arounf the time of the referendum creating an independent South Sudan

SHOW CREDITS

SP/FS Producer & Host: Christopher Wurst

Opening Voices: Dmitri Wurst, Elena Wurst, Kjara Wurst, Christopher Wurst

Voice of Dubious Aunt Deb: Cathy Zielske

Cold Open Music: BWM – The Brina Band

Dubious Aunt Deb Music: Cass County Beauty Queen – Alan Singley

Episode Music:

Spook Castle – Lobo Loco

The Talons of Adventure, The Antlers of Romance – Doctor Turtle

To Meet Again – Lobo Loco

Vittoro – Blue Dot Sessions

In Paler Skies – Blue Dot Sessions

Oriel – Blue Dot Sessions

Interview date: January 13, 2026