
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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