Christopher Wurst

Christopher Wurst is the producer and host of the weekly podcast/radio program SoftPower/FulStories, which uses first-person narrative stories to highlight U.S. soft power efforts around the world for the past 60+ years. Previously, he 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 the Senior Advisor for Innovation in the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Cultural and Educational Affairs, he produced and hosted the award-winning podcast 22.33, utilizing storytelling to convey the positive impact of international exchange programs. In 2013, he was nominated as the Cultural Expat of the Year in Slovenia; in 2008, his team won the Global PEPFAR Public Diplomacy Award. He also received numerous Meritorious and Superior Honor Awards. Before joining the Foreign Service, he taught high school history and literature 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. Rex, their beagle-Aussie mix and Good Trouble rally veteran, has chased sticks in 10 different countries.