Yacht trips, golf junkets, and private receptions with Oprah. These are rare events even in elevated diplomatic careers. Yet William…
Diamonds, Coal, and the Dutch Queen—NBC’s First Female Broadcaster Escapes The Netherlands in 1940
Reporting live from a shortwave radio station near the German border at the beginning of World War II, NBC’s first…
Fake Eyeglasses and an Elaborate Ruse: Escaping Iran During the 1979 Hostage Crisis
With forged passport in hand, Kathleen Stafford donned fake eyeglasses and pulled her long hair back. If this plan worked,…
Public Diplomacy in Cyprus: Reaching Across the Green Line
Marked by broken glass, sand bags, and abandoned buildings, the Green Line dividing Nicosia is a place out of time.…
Thanksgiving: How U.S. Diplomats Celebrate an American Tradition Around the World
Gobble, gobble! Thanksgiving is a unique American holiday — one that U.S. embassies, foreign service families, and American expats of…
Fundraising for Presidential Campaigns — and Serving as U.S. Ambassador to Spain
Approximately a third of U.S. ambassadors have been politically appointees over the last 50 years, including some of our very…
Spy vs. Spy: The Yin-he Incident and U.S.-China Intelligence Rivalry
Was the intelligence correct? Was the U.S. being set up? These were questions facing John Tkacik when the United States…
A Problem in Palau: Negotiating Free Association Status with the Micronesian Islands
In a Hawaiian hotel room sat a U.S. ambassador and officials from Palau, peering over details of a treaty to…
Freezing in the Dark: the First Years of the USAID Mission in Ukraine
Using candles for light, huddling into the warmest room, tapping into government telephone lines to make calls—these were the conditions…
USAID and American “Whole-of-Government” Efforts in Afghanistan, 2004-2005
USAID had to cooperate closely with the U.S. military and others in a “whole-of-government” effort to stabilize and develop Afghanistan…