Chris Thomas remembers well where he came from and how he got to where he is. As a young Peace Corps volunteer in rural Sierra Leone, he quickly understood that the people who had so warmly welcomed him into the village were rapidly teaching him valuable lessons about life and community. It's fair to say that Chris has spent the rest of his life paying those lessons forward and helping to unleash human ingenuity all over the world.

'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 about the stories.

Hamse Warfa's remarkable life has taken him from war-torn Somalia to currently-torn Minnesota. A small list of his stops between these two locations includes refugee camps in Kenya, Harvard, the Minnesota State Government, and the U.S. Department of State, as the highest-ranking Somali-American Presidential appointee ever. He did not regularly receive formal education until he entered high school in the United States, yet he now possesses a Bachelor's degree, and Masters of Science, and a PhD. Currently, he's the CEO of World Savvy, an educational non-profit. Oh, and he's the author of two (going on three) books and the co-founder of a blockchain technology company. He is, by any estimation, remarkable.

Unlike many SP/FS programs, this one is particularly of the moment. I was born and raised in Minnesota; it is my hometown. What is happening there right now is as chilling as it is unprecedented. And, though I live away from there now, I spend every day feeling Minnesota--as, I hope, you do too.

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.

SP/FS is proud to share the new episode of Global Development Interrupted, a podcast and Substack page we follow enthusiastically. You may remember that GDI's founder and host, Leah Petit, was featured on SP/FS #18 (go find it if you haven't yet listened — she's great), talking about her long career in global health work. GDI shares the voices of people whose work was upended when USAID was dismantled and foreign aid was cut, revealing what the loss means for America and progress worldwide. Leah's experience, wit, and stellar guest choices make GDI a must-listen here at SP/FS HQ. Even when that guest is SP/FS creator Christopher Wurst...

For more info, go to: https://globaldevinterrupted.substack.com/

He left the U.S. as Allan J. Wind, but by the time his Peace Corps stint in Ecuador ended, he had been rechristened as "Dr. Alonzo" - which is what his driver's license now says. From being an unlikely radio star, to a health minister's good luck charm, to a series of NGO roles worldwide, and eventually to Gaza in the midst of a war, Allen J. Alonzo Wind has had an incredible journey.

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.

Jody Olsen called her Peace Corps memoir 'A Million Miles' - and while the distance from her traditional Mormon upbringing in Utah and a rural Tunisian health clinic may not have been a literal million miles, it likely felt like even more. But those miles brought countless lessons, all of which she put to good use when, after decades of leadership roles within the Peace Corps, she became its 20th Director.

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.

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 Cebra, Michael Varga, Noelle Ojo, Lewis Lucke, Denise Deneaux, Ben East, Evelyn LaTorre, Skip Waskin, Aunt Deb (aka Cathy Zielske), and Carl Henn.

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.

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 there are many stories that you just can't make up.

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.

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 served as Peace Corps volunteers together in Brazil.

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.