A Diplomat

A Diplomat

From What It's Like To Be... with Dan Heath by Dan Heath

March 24, 2026 · 35 min · Season 1 · Episode 67

About this episode

The episode features a conversation with retired diplomat John Johnson about his experiences in crisis situations and the evolving role of diplomats.

Defusing a crisis after an ambassador hinted at a preemptive strike on Russia, delivering demarches in multiple languages, and surviving the frantic evacuation of the Kabul embassy with John Johnson, a retired diplomat who spent more than twenty years in the US Foreign Service. Do diplomats still send "cables" in the 21st century? And what does "not/not" mean? WANT MORE EPISODE SUGGESTIONS? Grab our What It's Like To Be... "starter pack". It's a curated Spotify playlist with some essenti...

People in this episode

Host: Dan Heath

Guest: John Johnson

Topics covered

  • diplomacy
  • crisis management
  • US Foreign Service
  • international relations
  • evacuation

Keywords

  • diplomat
  • cables
  • demarches
  • Kabul embassy
  • preemptive strike
  • US Foreign Service
  • crisis
  • evacuation

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Russia, Kabul

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