Described by one reporter as “a biblical famine in the 20th century,” the 1983-1985 Ethiopian famine was a humanitarian crisis…
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…
How Soviet Astronauts Met Stars in America
Two Soviet astronauts—a general and a scientist—come to visit the United States. They ride roller coasters at Disneyland, donkeys at…
Remembering Bob Hawke, Australia’s Colorful Prime Minister
Bob Hawke was an Australian original. One of the country’s most powerful political figures, he was observed by generations of…
George H.W. Bush, American Diplomat
George H.W. Bush was a diplomat before he became the 41st president of the United States. Bush served as U.S.…
Conflict, Cooperation, and Corruption: USAID in Kenya in the 1990s
U.S. policy toward Kenya during the long presidency of Daniel arap Moi (1978-2002) fluctuated between a close Cold War embrace,…
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…
Rich in Oil and Rich in Corruption — Nigeria in the Early 1970s
Oil boomed. Revenue skyrocketed. So did political corruption, economic dependency, and environmental degradation. The dramatic spike in oil production in…
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…
Stirrings of Islamic Militancy in Nigeria: An Ambassador’s Recollections
When Thomas Pickering was Ambassador to Nigeria in 1980-83, he witnessed the stirrings of Islamic militancy and other transformations of…