If your going to keep the tag line “we’re talking “ then say it like you mean it, or cut it out. It sounds like your rambling through script that you don’t care about. Please fix it. Also, the interviews are starting to fade and become boring. Maybe time to spice up the format and content a little.

Love the show, but the interrupting “uh huh” is so distracting. Please try to stop. All else, is great.

First off, I would like to say that i absolutely enjoy this podcast. Great conversations, very interesting topics, and great hosts. The only thing I don’t like is Laura’s habit of acknowledging the interviewee a bit too much by (perhaps unconsciously) interrupting with “uhmm”, “mmhmm”, “yep”, and so on. I find it very distracting, and to be honest, a bit annoying. I hope the producers take this as constructive criticism. I think she is an excellent interviewer, she makes great points, asks great questions, and makes great contributions to the conversations. Again, I love this podcast, congratulations, and I wish them both the best!

I want to love this podcast. Ambassador Romero is so interesting to listen to. I think with a more qualified cohost it would be perfect.

I first started listening to this podcast a few years ago. The interview and stories expressed made me interested in being a foreign service officer, and it kept me interested throughout the gruelling application process. I’m happy to report that I am now a foreign service officer preparing to head out for my first overseas post! I still listen and love this podcast even now!

This podcast has great guests and substantively interesting content. I have been in the Foreign Service for nearly nine years and have cringed many times at some of the really fundamental things about the FS one of the hosts Ms. Bennett has demonstrated a profound lack of awareness about. That wouldn’t be so bad, because every day is a school day for all of us, but many episodes are difficult to listen to because she says “mm hmm” every couple of seconds and interrupts or talks over the guests constantly. Please do not introduce an ambassador by his/her first name to a public audience, even if privately you are friends. And please, don’t ask a question of a high-level (or any!) guest and then keep repeatedly talking over them as they try to answer. What the guest is saying is the point of the episode, and it’s the hosts’ job to elicit that. And then let us listen a little. Recommend familiarization with podcast format which does not lend to all these verbal affirmations and sounds cutting in every few seconds like a regular conversation does. Kudos for excellent topics and tough subjects with relevance both historical and present-day. Great to have one host who was an FSO and gets the culture and how to comport himself.

The guests and topics are interesting and insightful but AMB Romero and Ms. Bennett are difficult to listen to. As a duo, they seem to lack chemistry and neither seem to understand the podcast format. They frequently interrupt their guests or speak over them and Ms. Bennett says “mmm hmm” every few seconds.

Interesting stories from the guests but please stop interrupting them while they speak, hosts. It gets frustrating to listen to when every sentence is followed by a monologue or question.

Wondering about an out reach program to all high schools in the USA to create a starting line for work in the Foreign Service or other types of state craft. So students could begin to to develop vision, for what the path to a career like that looks like?

I’m an aspiring FSO and I’m always inspired and excited about a future in diplomacy. Also imagining myself in all of these stories, thank you for bringing these stories to the public!

This is a great podcast. As an aspiring FSO, I have enjoyed hearing about the experiences of both newer and more experienced FSOs. I think the recent trend towards featuring a more diverse range of FSOs on the podcast is a positive development but reckon there is still room for growth. Might there be an opportunity to feature FSOs from underrepresented groups like Asian-Americans or the LGBTQ as well?

An insight on diplomacy?! What?! This is so cool! I’ve always wanted to know more details and finally were getting to hear about the many facets of diplomacy. Thank you for this content!!!!

Where else are you going to hear this kind of content? Cannot recommend enough.

Great content and conversation - but maybe less uh hum and mm hms from the hosts while guest is speaking.

Great show, interesting topics, fantastic guests...just wish the hosts would let the guests talk a little more and stop interrupting them!

The guests on this podcast are diplomats with a wide range of experiences in the US Foreign Service. The stories and details they tell provide an unparalleled context and details that are fantastic as course material for undergraduates in political science and foreign policy, or anyone interested in foreign affairs. There is also a current events component here as the hosts and the guests tie in their experiences and historical details with what is happening now, this providing a helpful and nuanced level of understanding. Finally, for those who are currently serving the FS, this is a great additional “informal” mentoring from some of the top US diplomats. Highly recommend as it is both educational and entertaining at the same time!

I started with the episode in Islamabad as I found relatable being a Pakistani living in US The diplomat didn’t even know the first female prime minister of the Country as he mentioned Fatima Jinnah being prime minister but she has never held that post. Also the way he talked about Pakistan not having enough universities for women or not feeling safe was very not true. It’s what the media shows but if you lived there and worked in the cultural office then you should have known more.

Just read Career Diplomacy by Harry Kopp.. This podcast is a great addition to understanding how the Foreign Service works.

Helpful interviews that provide a good grasp of what American diplomats do. Sound quality is good and consistent. The senior American diplomat, Ambassador (retired) Pete Romero provides good grounding and context. Most guests on the podcast have in-depth, lengthy experience, with the recent exception of a young officer who barely made it past their two entry level tours--not clear how they made it on the show with so little professional experience as an American diplomat

Just what we've been waiting for a delightful mix of good storytelling spring boarded off of policy highly recommended for anyone in interested in understanding what life is like for foreign service officers in trying to preform their complicated assignments. Bravo !! Looking forward to the next podcast

A much needed series on what diplomats do to protect and defend US interests overseas!

Amazing

Superb content!

This series of podcasts is terrific. Very informative and entertaining! I plan to recommend that all Foreign Service Officers who are participants in my training classes should listen to them. I will also suggest that participants in the Payne and Wrangel Fellowship programs (programs funded by USAID and the State department to attract outstanding young people to the Foreign service) should listen to them as well. I particularly enjoyed the conversation with Gina Winstanley, who, as an African American woman, had interesting, informative, and insiring stories to share about her experiences in the Middle East. I am looking forward to future podcasts.

First hand accounts of what it is like to serve as a foreign diplomat for the United States and all the situations they face representing our country abroad. A fascinating listen for anyone who wonders what it is like to navigate the world of international politics.

Very enjoyable even though I have no idea about politics or diplomacy. Thanks for the education!

Great storytelling and behind the scenes insights of our representatives abroad. It gives you a real life sense of what it's like live the life of a diplomat.

Very interesting insights into foreign relations by some of our senior diplomats.

Gina Winstaley is a pleasure to listen to but also clearly a woman of great courage who manages, under a variety of stresses and challenges, to keep not only her poise but also her sense of humor.

So interesting!! I had no idea what American Diplomats really do!

Real conversations about personal experiences in diplomacy / international relations make this feel like more than an abstract disdcussion. Easy to listen to.. perfect for a weekend cup of coffee for someone who is interested in understanding America's evolving role in international relations.

Podcast was interesting and informative. Looking forward to future podcasts!

Fascinating stories that provide a sense of how we operated as a nation in the past.

What a great idea for a podcuast. We see embassies in movies and on TV, but this series is an inside look at what goes on and the people who work and serve in them.

Great set of podcasts. Very listenable, informative and filled with human stories that make diplomacy come alive.

A real”must” for anyone who lives to travel or cares about foreign policy and the world we live in. Great “behind-the-scenes” discussions about life in the US diplomatic corps.

Timely, smart and fun!