The Diplomacy Podcast

Guest: Marc Grossman, former U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs and ambassador to TurkeyThe world looks very different at the end of 2025 compared to the beginning of the year. How did diplomacy contribute to that difference, and what were the major diplomatic successes and failures?On this episode of “The Diplomacy Podcast,” we discuss the Trump administration’s diplomacy, its highs and lows, and their impact on the world. My guest is Marc Grossman, former U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs, assistant secretary for European affairs, director-general of the Foreign Service and ambassador to Turkey. He spent 32 years in the Foreign Service.Having served as the State Department’s third-ranking official under Secretary of State Colin Powell, Grossman talks about what he learned during their daily 5 p.m. meetings. He also discusses the recent loss of expertise in the department, as a result of mass firings.As always, my guest’s opinions don’t necessarily represent my own views.Watch or listen to the episode above, or on one of these platforms: YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nicholaskralev.substack.com

Guest: Charles A. Ray, former U.S. ambassador to Cambodia and Zimbabwe and former deputy assistant secretary of defense.The U.S. military and the Foreign Service are two parts of the same national-security apparatus, but that may be where their similarities end. Their cultures, missions and approaches to those missions are very different — and often exactly the opposite.On this episode of “The Diplomacy Podcast,” we discuss those differences with someone who has experienced both — first as a soldier in the U.S. Army for 20 years, and then as a career diplomat for three decades.My guest is Charles A. Ray, a former U.S. ambassador to Cambodia and Zimbabwe, and former deputy assistant secretary of defense. He now teaches at the Washington International Diplomatic Academy and chairs the Africa program of the Foreign Policy Research Institute.Ray also talks about the U.S. strikes that have killed dozens of civilians on boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific, which the Trump administration claims are smuggling drugs to the United States, though it hasn’t provided proof.As always, my guest’s opinions don’t necessarily represent my own views.Watch or listen to the episode above, or on one of these platforms: YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts.To support the podcast with a donation, click here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nicholaskralev.substack.com

The Trump administration has won much praise for brokering a deal between Israel and Hamas to stop the war in Gaza. The ceasefire has proven very fragile, and three senior U.S. officials are currently in Israel to bolster it, following Trump’s visit there last week.On this episode of “The Diplomacy Podcast,” we discuss the deal’s chances of full success, and what it means for the future of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. My guest is Danielle Pletka, distinguished senior fellow in foreign policy and defense studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank.“By itself, architecturally, it’s a great deal,” Pletka says. “Execution-wise, there is nothing to it. But of course, that’s not Donald Trump’s problem. That’s the problem with every single deal that’s ever taken place in the Middle East that has involved the Palestinians, that has involved terrorist organizations, which is, execution doesn’t happen. The ceasefire is already falling apart. I suspect that the rest of this goes in fits and starts — fundamentally nowhere.”She also believes that the deal would not have happened had Israel not bombed a site in Qatar where it thought Hamas leaders had gathered. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nicholaskralev.substack.com

Guest: Michael O'Hanlon, chair in defense and strategy at the Brookings Institution.Understanding the relationship between diplomacy and military force is essential in designing and implementing national security policy. At a time of domestic deployments of armed service members and a breakdown of the traditional interagency policy process created after World War II, what are the dynamics in that relationship?On this episode of “The Diplomacy Podcast,” we discuss the state of the U.S. defense posture more than seven months into the second Trump administration. My guest is Michael O’Hanlon, director of foreign policy research and chair in defense and strategy at the Brookings Institution. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nicholaskralev.substack.com

Guest: Elizabeth Saunders, professor of political science at Columbia University.The U.S. Supreme Court surprised many constitutional lawyers last summer, when it granted presidents “absolute immunity” for their official acts. How has that ruling affected foreign-policy decisions in the first six months of the second Trump administration?On this episode of “The Diplomacy Podcast,” we discuss the impact of the high court’s decision on the checks and constraints on executive power that have long existed in the U.S. democratic system.My guest is Elizabeth Saunders, professor of political science at Columbia University. Having studied the gradual weakening of those checks over decades, she concludes that the 2024 ruling “essentially unbounds the presidency from the constraints of the law.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nicholaskralev.substack.com

What do the collapse of U.S. policymaking and gutting the NSC mean for Americans' safety?The Trump White House has slashed the staff of the National Security Council, whose role is to coordinate policymaking, by more than half. Deliberation of policy options barely exists, and it’s not clear who — if anyone — advises the president.On this episode of "The Diplomacy Podcast," we discuss the recent NSC purge and its implications for Americans’ safety and security, with Ambassador Cindy Courville, a former NSC senior director for African affairs. She was also the first U.S. ambassador to the African Union.She offers insight into how the "interagency process," which is essential in a democracy but has been largely abandoned, helped presidents make difficult and highly consequential decisions for decades.Courville, who worked in the George W. Bush White House as a civil servant detailed from the Defense Intelligence Agency, also talks about what the loss of significant national security expertise means in practice. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nicholaskralev.substack.com

Guest: Janice Jacobs, former U.S. assistant secretary of state for consular affairs and ambassador to Senegal.The Trump administration has launched an unprecedented attack on international students. Harvard students face particular peril as the university fights the administration’s campaign to take away its ability to enroll foreign citizens.We explain how student visas work and clarify what students and their families should keep in mind as they deal with the current challenges. My guest is Ambassador Janice Jacobs, our resident consular expert at the Washington International Diplomatic Academy. She served as assistant secretary of state for consular affairs from 2008 to 2014. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nicholaskralev.substack.com