What do the number 8 dictator, a democratic leader with wartime past, and an African civil war all have in common? Amb. Tracey Jacobson. By what methods, both time-tested and totally on-the-fly, did she succeed in tricky moments? Tune in and find out.

Kyrgyzstan: A charred White House (they have one, too), riots and pogroms, plus a problematic human rights award. Why doesn't the need for diplomacy ever stop? Our very own Amb. Dan Rosenblum saw it all while overseeing aid in Central Asia and shares the experience through his eyes, his heart and his professional lens.

Multiple choice: Energy is (1) how we heat our homes, (2) a tool of malign influence, (3) an instrument of statecraft? And what about all those increasingly necessary critical minerals? Amb. Geoffrey Pyatt, top energy diplomat, helps us understand that diplomacy matters more than ever and that all diplomacy is based on human trust. And the glass is half full. Listen and understand why.

Former Assistant Secretary of State Susan Thornton joins us with tales of negotiations to disarm North Korea's nuclear arsenal – What could go wrong? Could anything go right? After chairs have been thrown, after the all-night negotiations, what was really hidden inside the secret mountain? And that's just the first negotiation of three, bringing us up to today. Susan was there for all of it.

In the second of our short series on Afghanistan five years after the US exit, Ken Handelman, former senior civil servant in the Department of Defense, reflects on the beauty, the weirdness and the tragedy of our 20 years in that country. What three institutions' failings led him to believe that it was time to leave? Listen and find out.

Bill Burns says it best: "This is exactly the moment when you need to attract the best in our society to lives in public service, whether it's in the State Department, the US military or elsewhere. I am a passionate believer in that." We are, too! Uncle Sam needs you. (This is a repost from 2019, with a message that has never mattered more than it does today.)

How did Soviet-era bureaucratic stamps and a personal relationship between highly placed Afghan frenemies impact the outcome of US involvement in Afghanistan? Amb. John Bass shares the part of the story you have never heard before as we reflect on our exit five years later.