Terrell J. Starr and guest Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon discuss the second year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the African students who faced discrimination while fleeing the war, House Speaker’s Mike Johnson’s refusal to bring the U.S. Senate’s bill to the floor for a vote, how MAGA’s racism is blocking Ukraine military aid and Alexei Navalny’s death.Host: Terrell J. StarrGuest: Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon (Book her here)Producer: Mike HullSupport us financially on Venmo: @BlackDiplomats, CashApp: $BlackDiplomats, PayPal: https://paypal.me/blackdiplomatspod and Patreon: patreon.com/blackdiplomats  Time Stamps00:00: Welcome03:32: Mental Health Check-in04:08: Two-Year Mark of SECOND Russian Invasion of Ukraine08:57: African Students Who Fled the War 23:25: Mike Johnson Refuses Vote on Ukraine Aid44:20: Navalny’s DeathHow stalled U.S. aid for Ukraine exemplifies GOP’s softening stance on Russia (PBS)Foreign students fled Ukraine as war broke out. Some remain in limbo, while others fear deportation (CNN)More than 14 million people fled homes in Ukraine since Russia invasion: UN (Al Jazeera)Navalny's body returned to mother, spokeswoman says (BBC)

Greetings, everyone.  This week, I was a guest on Andrea Chalupa’s Gaslit Nation podcast, where we discussed Alexei Navalny’s death and how we should all be reflecting on it. This recording is from her most recent episode. We also talked about how New York State Attorney General Tish James and Fulton County  District Attorney Fani Willis are defending American democracy from Donald Trump’s attacks on our democratic institutions. Thanks for listening!Show notes:DEFIANT Fani Willis HITS BACK At Misconduct Claims In HEATED Testimony: ‘IT IS A LIE!’--Roland Martin Unfiltered (YouTube)Fani Willis’ testimony evokes long-standing frustrations for Black women leaders (AP)What we know about Alexei Navalny's death in Arctic prison (Reuters)Body of Alexei Navalny to be held for two weeks for 'chemical analysis', family told (BBC)We need to have a talk about Alexei Navalny (The Washington Post)

This week, we’re replaying our May 10 show about Palestine. We’re pretty sure you’re aware of the terrorist attacks Hamas committed against Israeli civilians October 7 and Israel’s response. What is making matters worse is the massive disinformation that is going around on social media. Twitter is a cesspool of disinformation, where even the best and most seasoned reporters are being tripped up by false accounts and videos.Black Diplomats wants to fight against the disinformation by resurfacing the May 10 episode we aired about Palestine.It features Palestinian human rights lawyer Diana Buttu and independent journalist Sharif Abdel Kouddous. We were talking about the then one-year anniversary of Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing, but we got into Israel’s apartheid government and why the West tolerates it.We hope this will add some much-needed context about what’s happening now. Thank you for listening and please stay safe.News articles:A timeline of Israel and Palestine’s complicated history (VOX)This Gaza war didn’t come out of nowhere (VOX)We cannot stand by and watch Israel commit atrocities (The Washington Post)Muslim members of Congress face spikes in death threats (NBC)Verified Accounts on Musk’s X Spread 74 Percent of Israel-Hamas War Misinformation (Rolling Stone)Who was behind the Gaza hospital blast – visual investigation (Channel 4)

The fifth and final episode of “Liberating Iran” features Priscillia Kounkou Hoveyda. She talks about being Black in Iran and the racism she and other Black Iranians face under Tehran’s brutal theocracy. This episode is one of the few pieces of reporting that deals with the lives of Black Iranians in any meaningful way. There is pretty much no reporting on Black Iranians, but this episode does address some aspects of how they are experiencing the uprisings in Iran.You can learn more about Priscillia’s work at the Collective for Black Iranians, which may very well be the only place where you can learn about Black Iranians. Please support Black Diplomats! Give us 5 star ratings on Spotify, iTunes or wherever you listen to us. Also support our work financially on CashApp at $BlackDiplomats, Venmo @BlackDiplomats and on PayPal at paypal.me/BlackDiplomats. 

The fourth episode of “Liberating Iran” features Yegi Rezaian, who tells us about her life as a reporter in Iran and her efforts to free her husband Jason, with whom she was falsely imprisoned after he was accused of being a U.S. spy in July 0f 2024.Please go and buy his book, “Prisoner: My 544 Days in an Iranian Prison―Solitary Confinement, a Sham Trial, High-Stakes Diplomacy, and the Extraordinary Efforts It Took to Get Me Out”This is the fourth of five episodes that will publish each Saturday, with the final show airing September 9. Next week’s episode, the fifth and last of the series, will feature Priscillia Kounkou-Hoveyda., who’ll talk about being Black in Iran and how news around the protests have left Black Iranians voiceless.Please support Black Diplomats! Give us 5 star ratings on Spotify, iTunes or wherever you listen to us. Also support our work financially on CashApp at $BlackDiplomats, Venmo @BlackDiplomats and on PayPal at paypal.me/BlackDiplomats. Articles of note#FreeJason: The inside story of The Post’s role in global efforts to free Jason Rezaian from IranAxis of Immigration TedTalk by Yegi Rezaian

The third episode of “Liberating Iran” features Nahid Siamdoust, who takes us through the history of Iranian feminism and the decades of female musical expression that defines today’s protests in Iran. Please go and buy her book, “Soundtrack of the Revolution: The Politics of Music in Iran.”This is the third of five episodes that will publish each Saturday, with the final show airing September 2. Next week’s episode, the fourth of the series, will feature Yegi and Jason Rezaian , who’ll talk about the role of media in Iran. Jason’s story is well know, so Yegi will be the primary subject of the episode and discuss her behind-the-scenes role and helping to secure Jason’s freedom from Iranian imprisonment and how this impacted her life personally. Please support Black Diplomats! Give us 5 star ratings on Spotify, iTunes or wherever you listen to us. Also support our work financially on CashApp at $BlackDiplomats, Venmo @BlackDiplomats and on PayPal at paypal.me/BlackDiplomats. Some links to stories used in episodeShe’s a Professional Iranian Singer But is Banned from Singing on Stage in Her Country (Center for Human Rights in Iran)What the Success of Women-Led Protests Tell Us About Iran’s Future (TIME)The History of Women's Rights in Iran (Brut America)

The second episode of “Liberating Iran” deals with the 1953 CIA coup that overthrew Iran's leadership and how that event provides better context for Washington’s relationship with Tehran—not the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover. Historian Pouya Alimagham helps us understand how devastating the West’s role in undermining has been to fostering better relations with Tehran’s leadership and why Americans have been fed a false narrative on Iranian people and its history.Please go and buy Pouya’s book, “Contesting the Iranian Revolution: The Green Uprisings.”This is the second of five episodes that will publish each Saturday, with the final show airing September 2. Next week’s episode will feature Nahid Siamdoust, who’ll talk about the role of women in Iranian history and the role music has played in the current protests.Please support Black Diplomats! Give us 5 star ratings on Spotify, iTunes or wherever you listen to us. Also support our work financially on CashApp at $BlackDiplomats, Venmo @BlackDiplomats and on PayPal at paypal.me/BlackDiplomats. Notable links to stories used in episode:CIA involvement in 1953 Iranian coup (CNN)U.S. Secretly Gave Aid to Iraq Early in Its War Against Iran (NYT)Iran is surrounded by US military bases and facilities. Here's a snapshot (ABC)

The first episode of “Liberating Iran” drops today. Assal Rad breaks down the Iran Deal and the political history between the U.S. and Iran that explains why relations between the two nations are so frayed. Please go and buy Assal’s book “State of Resistance: Politics, Culture & Identity in Modern Iran." This is the first of five episodes that will publish each Saturday, starting August 5 and ending September 2. Next week’s episode will feature historian Pouya Alimagham who’ll break down the West’s efforts to undermine Iran’s democracy and why so many Americans have bought into false narratives about Tehran’s leadership.Please support Black Diplomats! Give us 5 star ratings on Spotify, iTunes or wherever you listen to us. Also support our work financially on CashApp at $BlackDiplomats, Venmo @BlackDiplomats and on PayPal at paypal.me/BlackDiplomats. Notable links to stories used in episodeFact-Checking Donald Trump’s Reasons For Leaving Iran Deal. (Washington Post)Chris Cuomo Interview with Benjamin Netanyahu  (CNN)Is Maximum Pressure Working Against Iran? (NBC)

Coming July 29:A five-part series about Iran through the eyes of Iranians - protest, history, music, Black Iranian struggle, what the U.S. always gets wrong, and how we can get it right this time.Join host Terrell J. Starr as he unlearns years of media hype to find out the real history of Iran.

Good evening from Kyiv!Today’s show is all about the ongoing and ever-changing newscycle revolving around the aftermath of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s failed mutiny of the Russia’s Ministry of Defense. I break down the aftermath of how Russian President Vladimir Putin is responding to everything and the need to not try and predict what’s coming next.The following segment deals with Ukraine’s top intel chief’s claim that Russia mined the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and there is a real chance they might blow it up. Today’s show will feature Dina Urich, Head of department of temporarily occupied and unoccupied territories and a Board Member at Helping to Leave, an organization that has helped more than 20,000 people flee Russian captivity. Thank you all for tuning into this week’s episode of Black Diplomats. Please give us 5 star ratings on Spotify, iTunes or wherever you listen to us. Also support our work financially on CashApp at $BlackDiplomats, Venmo @BlackDiplomats and on PayPal at paypal.me/BlackDiplomats. 

This week on Black Diplomats, I start off with news about the Kakhova dam explosion in the Kherson region that has claimed at least 5 lives and is causing a massive ecocide in the area.  For on the ground coverage, please read these articles that break down what is going on:The New York Times: U.S. Official Says Spy Satellites Detected Explosion Just Before Dam CollapseThe Moscow Times: Norwegian Seismologists Detect Explosion Signals From Ukraine DamThe Kyiv Independent: Zelensky: 'Russia needs to bear full responsibility for ecocide'Please support Black Diplomats! Give us 5 star ratings on Spotify, iTunes or wherever you listen to us. Also support our work financially on CashApp at $BlackDiplomats, Venmo @BlackDiplomats and on PayPal at paypal.me/BlackDiplomats. My featured guest this week is Nerdeen Kiswani, a Palestinian organizer from New York City and close friend of Fatima Muhammed, the CUNY law graduate student who delivered the student address at this year's graduation. As you all know by now, Fatima’s speech was unfairly criticized for its strong stance against white supremacy and Israel’s apartheid against Palestinians. Of course, it’s all bullshit and untrue. You can listen to it here. The time stamp is 1:16:54-1:28:30.Nerdeen, who delivered CUNY Law School graduation address, also drew criticism and accusations of antisemitism for her remarks, which challenged the very white supremacy and Israeli apartheid Fatima did recently. We spoke about that, why everyone should stand up for Palestine and more. Enjoy.Here is Nerdeen’s full biography: Nerdeen Kiswani is a Palestinian organizer from New York City. She is the founder and chair of Within Our Lifetime - United for Palestine, a community organization revitalizing the revolutionary spirit of the Palestinians in exile in pursuit of liberation. Nerdeen has spoken for the Palestinian cause at events and conferences worldwide and has organized rallies with tens of thousands of attendees in support of Palestine.Nerdeen recently graduated from the CUNY school of Law and has organized successful campaigns on and off campus to pass a resolution by the student government and faculty of CUNY Law to cut all ties and divest from all israeli...

On this episode of Black Diplomats we're doing something different.Terrell is on his way back to Ukraine so he sat down with BD producer Michael Hull to talk about his plans for the summer, some special projects we have coming up, and what the media needs to do to help the world survive the 2024 election cycle.Plus - what does Terrell do for his mental health? Can't have a Black Diplomats interview with asking the guest what they're doing to stay healthy!Please give us 5 star ratings on Spotify, iTunes or wherever you listen to us. And remember to support Black Diplomats by giving to Terrell on PayPal at://paypal.me/blackdiplomats, CashApp: $BlackDiplomats and venmo at account.venmo.com/u/blackdiplomats. Thank you for listening!

What are we to believe nowadays?It’s a question most of us have asked since social media platforms began competing with traditional media outlets in the 2010s. Everyone has the power to push out information and that is actually a good thing. We saw the power of citizen journalism during the Ferguson Uprisings and how they helped to push out culturally competent narratives when local and national media failed to do so.But what happens when people abuse, say, Twitter to spend lies that most folks don’t have the education or bandwidth to cross check? Or worse, you can have a billionaire like Elon Musk take over that platform and he can all but sanction disinformation simply because he owns it and the U.S. government has few legal tools to stop him—at least for now.This episode of Black Diplomats will feature one of the United States’ top disinformation experts, Shireen Mitchell, President of Stop Online Violence Against Women. Shireen has been a leading voice on online disinformation against women for  over a decade. She has  published numerous studies on the impact unchecked harassment has had on women, particularly women of color. She was one of the first scholars to warn about misogyny online against Black women and the impact it has had on women of color at large. During our discussion, we talked about how she was one of the first online disinformation experts to draw parallels between unchecked misogyny against Black and Russian disinformation campaigns that dogged the 2026 Presidential Election. Then we unpacked how European regulators monitor social media platforms in ways that the U.S. refuses to do and why that is. Then we deep dive into mainstream media’s failure to learn from past mistakes of platforming liars all in the name of ratings. And, yes, we are talking about that debacle of a CNN Trump town hall! And boy did he turn it into a superspreader disinformation event. What harm will that event and those that follow have on U.S. media literacy and the rest of the world. That and much more on this week’s episode of Black Diplomats.Please remember to support Black Diplomats by giving to us on PayPal at://paypal.me/blackdiplomats, CashApp: $BlackDiplomats and venmo at account.venmo.com/u/blackdiplomats. The links are also available in the show notes as well. Also rate us on itunes, Spotify and on every platform on which you listen to Black Diplomats podcast.

Terrell J. Starr opens up this week’s episode of Black Diplomas with his thoughts on Great Britain’s likely shipment of long range missiles to Ukraine, weapons Kyiv have long requested. He also talks about the disinformation fog that will precede the upcoming Ukrainian offensive. From there he talks with Sudanese human rights scholar Mutasim Ali about the violence in Sudan. Terrell concludes the show with Palestinian human rights lawyer Diana Buttu and independent journalist Sharif Abdel Kouddous about the one-year anniversary of Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing and why Israel is an apartheid state.Music: “Dreams” by Ink Prod. 

Producer’s Note: We need your financial support!Please give us 5 star ratings on Spotify, iTunes or wherever you listen to us. Also support our work financially on CashApp at $BlackDiplomats,Venmo @BlackDiplomats and on PayPal at paypal.me/BlackDiplomats. This week on Black Diplomats, where everyone can be a diplomat, I breakdown Russian President Vladimir Putin’s no-so-certain in-person attendance at this year’s BRICS Summit in South Africa’s, GOP House Leader Kevin McCarthy’s brave reassurance of the Republican support for Ukraine and the bullshit “journalism” claiming Vice President Kamala Harris is a liability for Joe Biden in 2024. And we have very special guest Rula Jebreal, who will talk about all things Palestine and Israel.Read this New Voice of Ukraine report about South Africa’s anxiousness about Putin attending BRICS in person. Also read this Washington Post analysis about House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s strong support for Ukraine. Watch Roy Wood Jr’s White House Correspondents Dinner stand up in full. It was great. His words about VP Harris start at 17:00. Show Outline:01:36: Putin’s South Africa BRICS Problem And Ukraine’s Africa Diplomacy Challenges 14:24: House Speaker McCarthy Speaks Up For Ukraine19:24: What Is VP Harris Up To?29:09: Feature Interview with Rula  Jabreal Intro, intermission and outro music by Detroit independent artist Ink Prod.About Rula Jebreal Rula Jebreal is a Visiting Professor at The University of Miami, where she teaches Communications. Jebreal served on the G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council, a body  relaunched by French President Emmanuel Macron. She is an award-winning Journalist, author and foreign policy expert who has received accolades for her groundbreaking work in Italy, the United States and across the Middle East.In May 2017, Jebreal was enlisted to introduce former President Barak Obama at his first European public appearance since leaving office, at which he gave the keynote speech on food security and climate change, at the Global Innovation Summit. Jebreal is an on-air foreign policy expert she appears frequently on CNN, MSNBC Bloomberg, HBO and NBC, she has written many op-eds for the New York Times and The Washington Post and Foreign Policy, NewsWeek and Time.Jebreal Wrote extensively about authoritarian regimes and predicted Trump’s victory in an article for the Washington post in 2015 called Trump is America’s Berlusconi.

Today’s show is a great one!I had the pleasure of discussing what it means for Black Lives Matter organizers and Ukrainian activists to fight systems of oppression together. LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, and Maryna Prykhodko, a board member at Razom, one of the biggest Ukrainian-American organizations in the United States, helped me have that discussion. We also talked about Russia’s chairmanship of the U.N. security council and if they should be tossed from the body altogether. We also talk about the “Tennessee Three" and how it reveals the cracks in U.S. democracy. Read about Russia’s chairmanship of the U.N. Security Council at The New York Times and the backlash from other member states. And here is a good explainer about what went down in Tennessee with the three lawmakers—two of whom were expelled but later voted to their positions—that got national attention.

Black Diplomats is back, baby! We have a new show format that’ll make the episode easier to follow, so let us know what you think about it. Today, my special guests, Nola Haynes and Earl Carr, will discuss the worsening Chinese-U.S. relationship, with a focus on the Chinese nationals arrested in Manhattan for running police outposts without proper jurisdiction and the GOP’s attack on TikTok. Then we discuss Andrew Tate and how the manosphere is taking misogyny global. From there, we ask how the hell did a 21-year-old gamer with a Discord account get access to war secrets about the invasion of Ukraine? We also have a new segment called, Trap House Foreign Policy, where me and my guests discuss what inspired us to get into foreign policy. The segment is inspired by my late uncles Randy and Cricket, who sold drugs for a living and how I grew to view them as the first diplomats I met. And if you’re like me, you’re likely getting tired of people talking about what VP Kamala Harris ain’t doing. One report after another seems to complain that no one knows what she does. Well, I have a new weekly segment that will highlight what she is up to, as well as what me and my guests think of the media coverage of her performance.Recommended readingRead The New York Times article about the two Chinese nationals who were arrested for conspiring to act as agents for the Chinese government and for illegally running a Chinese police outpost to intimidate Chinese dissidents living in the U.S. Check out this very detailed Washington Post report about the Discord leaker who leaked top secret files connected to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Watch this VICE NEWS feature on Andrew Tate and the global impact of his misogyny. And for those who want to know what VP Kamala Harris is up to this week, she will be in Miami Friday, April 21 to discuss climate change. She was also in Reno, Nevada Tuesday, April 18 talking about reproductive health. She was also in Los Angeles discussing “clean energy economies.” Also, please read Errin Haines reflections of Kamala’s trip to Africa.

This week Russia was pushed out of the regional capital of Kherson, bringing Ukraine another dramatic step closer to ending the war on their terms. Much of the oblast is still under Russian control, but capturing the city and surrounding territories is a major victory for Ukraine. This is only the latest in a string of victories and there is no indication Russia will be able to go back on the offensive.To help us understand what’s happening on the ground we have Maria Zolkina, Head of Regional Security and Conflict Studies at Democratic Initiatives Foundation in Kyiv. She talks about the liberation of Kherson, some of the potential dangers remaining in the area, the potential for a push into Crimea and how the West can continue to help Ukraine in the fight.Thank you for listening!

The effective borders of Ukraine are in constant motion, with Russian forces in retreat. The massive Kerch Bridge connecting Russian and Crimea was severely damaged by a truck bomb this week, and there have been several missile strikes in civilian neighborhoods in Ukraine. While war is raging on the ground, Ukrainian officials are trying to get more support from Europe and the US. They have officially applied for NATO membership, and while no one is expecting it to happen anytime soon, the declaration of intent has been heard on both sides of the front line.On this week’s episode of Black Diplomats host Terrell Starr talks to Solomiia Bobrovska. She is a member of the Parliament of Ukraine, Secretary of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Deputy Head of the Ukrainian Delegation to NATO. She is a powerful spokesperson for Ukrainian civilians who are now the targets of bombing campaigns.Bobrovska is also a savvy political actor who understands the implications of the application better than most. It’s important to understand the logic of the decision, and consider the unpredictable outcomes with a cool head, but that’s hard to do with Russia bombing apartment buildings. Follow Solomiia Bobrovska on Twitter for more:https://twitter.com/bobrovskaThank you for listening!

Russia is losing their war in Ukraine. They’ve been pushed back on the ground, and Ukraine is re-arming with Western help. Even Russia’s global allies are voicing concern. With losses piling up, the Kremlin decided to start calling on their national reserve - trained soldiers who are not on active duty. But the conscription effort has been poorly managed and many Russians are worried it’s cover for a general draft.All of this has led to an exodus of fighting-age men from Russia, and long lines at the border. Several European countries have closed their doors to Russians fleeing military service but Georgia remains open. With a long history of colonization by their Eastern neighbor, many people in Georgia are on edge.On this weeks episode of Black Diplomats host Terrell Starr talks to Khatia Dekanoidze, the head of opposition parties in Georgia, and Nodar Rukhadze, activist and co-founder of the Shame Movement, a civil society organization. They are leading the call for heavier surveillance of Russian visitors and a new visa policy to enforce restrictions on travel. Thanks for listening!

In this episode of Black Diplomats host Terrell Starr talks to Andriy Kononenko, a close personal friend and fighter in Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Force. Andriy is a language professional and co-founder of NovaMova, a language school with outposts in Kyiv and all over Eastern Europe. He is an example of how the Russian invasion has forced average Ukrainians to call on their resources and reserves in ways they never expected.Terrell and Andriy discuss the hectic first days of the invasion, and how the war has developed for Andriy. With his parents trapped behind enemy lines and his wife and kids in the United States, Andriy’s life is nothing like it was. But as long as Ukrainian sovereignty is under threat he is determined to keep up the fight.Thank you for listening.

On today’s episode of Black Diplomats host Terrell Starr talks to three people who are dealing with the war in Ukraine on very personal terms. Most of the news about the war is concentrated on borders, troop losses, and the nuclear threat. Our guests in this episode are focused on protecting loved ones and rebuilding their communities.After spending many years in Ukraine, Starr has deep relationships in the country. These stories are not academic. These are the personal stories of war that remind us of the real stakes.This episode is the first in a new series, and a new style for us that presents long-form journalism in a crafted audio environment. Welcome back to Black Diplomats, thank you for listening!

Inna Sovsun is a member of Parliament in Ukraine and a university professor.Sovsun is in an opposition party so she’s usually working against the established leadership in her country. But one thing she’s very clear on: politics can wait until they’ve kicked Putin’s troops off their land.From a NATO no-fly zone, to the history of anarchism and mutual aid in Ukraine, and what she thinks when she hears about Russian culture, this conversation covers the hottest buttons in the war. Terrell has been on the ground in Ukraine from the beginning of the invasion so he’s tuned in to the important conversations among average people and leaders like Sovsun.The war is not going to plan for the Russian army. No one knows what will happen next, but we’ll be there to cover it.For more information go to our website at blackdiplomats.net.Thank you for listening.

Black Diplomats host Terrell Starr is in Ukraine covering the Russian invasion.This week he spoke with Oleg Volsky, the mayor of Zhovkva, a town about 40 minutes north of Lviv. Volsky was in the town square talking to constituents when he sat with Terrell for a short interview.As mayor of the town Volsky has several concerns, including helping the vulnerable members of his community, and preparing to defend it with those who are able. They've also got refugees from other parts of Ukraine to care for. Zhovkva is in western Ukraine so the fighting hasn't come to their town yet, but Volsky believes it's possible."I have two guns and I am preparing for this war," Volsky says. "Today we are very proud for our country."For more information follow Terrell on Twitter @Russian_Starr or check out our website at blackdiplomats.net.Thank you for listening!

War has come to Ukraine.Black Diplomats has been on the ground in Ukraine from the beginning of the show two years ago. We've talked to journalists, diplomats, policy experts, military strategists, and others about exactly this scenario. We heard for months that the Ukrainian military was prepared for a Russian invasion and that the citizens of Ukraine would stand and fight. All of it turned out to be true.Today we’re taking a break from the politics to focus on the real cost of war. Irina Klimova was being treated for Hodgkin’s lymphoma when the war started and it became clear her doctors needed her bed to treat incoming soldiers. Now she has moved to Lithuania with her mother and her 5 year-old son Ivan, leaving her husband behind to comply with the draft laws.While the media replays speeches from sanctimonious world leaders, the people of Ukraine are suffering everyday. Terrell has been reporting from the war zone, but his personal efforts have focused on helping friends, including Irina. If you’re new to Black Diplomats this is a great way to get to know us. Terrell is a recognized expert on nuclear and foreign policy in the post-Soviet countries, and we spend most of our time talking about the global chess match. But today is about the people caught in the middle.For more information go to our website blackdiplomats.net or dig into past episodes. Thank you for listening.

With so much hysteria and propaganda going around the world about Ukraine it’s important to find journalists on the ground that we can trust. Whether it’s Kremlin backed mouthpieces like Russia Today or anything coming out of the US State Department it’s clear the concerns of the innocent majority are not being addressed. It is especially hard to find independent Ukrainian voices working in English, and their ability to translate between three languages is invaluable to interested folks in the West.Today on Black Diplomats host Terrell Starr welcomes Ukrainian journalists Toma Istomina and Romeo Kokriatski. Istomina is the deputy chief editor of the Kyiv Independent, a new journalism venture that was formed by the team from the Kyiv Post after they were summarily fired for resisting oversight by an oligarch. Kokriatski is the managing editor of the New Voice of Ukraine and host of the podcast Ukraine Without Hype.Please support their work by checking out the links mentioned in the episode at our website blackdiplomats.net.Thank you for listening!

Black Diplomats host Terrell Starr is in Ukraine, despite President Biden’s warning that Americans should leave. He’s reporting on the ground, but also spending time with loved ones and friends. Like everyone else in the country he’s keeping an eye on the Russian troops at the border but trying not to let the situation get to him.With so much focus on what Russia is doing in Eastern Ukraine, it’s easy to forget why they’re doing it. Today on Black Diplomats we have two keen observers of the Russian model of colonialism - journalist Maksym Eristavi and historian Alexander Etkind. They cover the history of Ukrainian/Russian relations going back to Catherine the Great, compare the American “frontier” with Russias takeover of Siberia, and talk about Putin’s sense of a Slavic peoples that is distinct from other Europeans.Thank you for listening!

Michael McFaul is a seasoned Diplomat who was Ambassador to Russia under President Obama. This is a man who has been in the room for negotiations with Putin and he has a lot to say about the current situation in Ukraine.Black Diplomats host Terrell Starr has been following McFaul’s career and reading his work for years. As the conversation develops it becomes clear that the respect and admiration goes both ways. McFaul opens the conversation about Russian-style colonialism and how that mindset overlaps with Western imperialism by referencing Starr’s frequent comments on the subject.As the situation in Ukraine continues to grow there is a sense that these two really understand the stakes.To learn more about Ambassador McFaul you should give him a follow on Twitter.Thank you for listening!

As Russian troops continue the build up on Ukraine’s border some people are suggesting Germany toughen their rhetoric and policies. But even Ukrainian President Zelensky has asked the Biden administration to tone it down, so what’s the move?The history of these nations is as hard as it gets, with a brutal invasion of the Soviet Union by Germany during WWII leaving millions of dead soldiers and civilians between them, followed by a long occupation of East Germany by the Kremlin. These experiences still weigh heavy on the world and on the relationship between the two countries.To get a better sense of the domestic conversation in Germany, Black Diplomats host Terrell Starr welcomes Sarah Pagung from the German Council on Foreign Relations and Janis Kluge from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin, Germany.If peace is going to be maintained it may be up to the new German administration to turn down the heat because the gun runners in Washington are doing what they do best: stoking the market.Thanks for listening!

As Ukraine celebrates its long holiday season, all eyes are on the East. Putin has built up a massive force on the border between Russia and Ukraine but so far no one knows what he plans to do with it.The US media are talking about a possible invasion of Ukraine by Russia, apparently forgetting there was already an invasion during the takeover of Crimea in 2014. What they’re not doing is interviewing Ukrainians, of course.On today’s episode of Black Diplomats host Terrell Starr talks to Polina Sinovets, an international relations specialist at Odessa I.I. Mechnikov National University, and Mykola Bielieskov, a Research Fellow at the National Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of Ukraine.They cover the lack of international support for armed resistance, relations with NATO, and Ukraine’s military readiness for an attack by the Kremlin. It’s a heavy episode about subjects with serious consequences so we’re glad to have locals walk us through the details.Thank you for listening!

There have been nationwide protests in Kazakhstan recently and the Western media did what they always do: show a few pictures of destruction and ignore the cause of the people in the streets. With Russian troops coming in to ‘maintain order’ and a ban on the widely used mobile internet it’s very hard to tell what is going to happen next.This week on Black Diplomats Terrell talks to two experts who are from the Kazakh region and know firsthand the frustrations that are driving the largely peaceful protests. Dr Diana T. Kudaibergenova is a lecturer and author who specializes in Central Asia, and Dr. Asel Doolotkeldieva teaches graduate courses in Political Science at the OSCE Academy in Bishkek.They’re both keen observers of the post-Soviet struggles in the region and perfect guests for Black Diplomats.Thank you for listening!

It has been one year since the attempted coup on January 6, 2021, when supporters of former president Trump broke into Congress and tried to take control of the seat of government. The folks responsible for the chaos have worked hard to change the narrative any way they can - blaming Black Lives Matter, or in some cases claiming it was nothing more than a bunch of tourists out for a holiday.To commemorate this awful anniversary Terrell is talking to photojournalist Ira Lupu, who was in the crowd at the capital that day. Lupu is from Ukraine so she has seen authoritarian nationalists and what they do to government. She has no illusions about what would have come next. Lupu remembers watching the day get violent and her feelings as everything spun out of control. In the face of the misinformation going around in rightwing circles, we believe it’s important to provide this firsthand testimony from someone with a powerful global perspective.Thank you for listening!

2021 was a beast.There was an insurrection, a global pandemic, vaccine inequality, rich people went to space (sort of). Bad people lived while good people died. It was a lot.Pam Keith joins Terrell in this episode of Black Diplomats for a debrief. Of course they talk about their mental health and how they’re surviving it all. Other big topics include Putin increasing tensions in Ukraine, all the myriad ways Democrats have failed us again, and what kind of madness we can look forward to in ‘22.Happy New Year everyone. Probably best to keep your seatbelt on for now.

The USSR dissolved 30 years ago this week, so Terrell sat down with two people in a former Soviet colony who are living through the aftermath.Olga Tokariuk and Illia Ponomarenko are journalists in Ukraine where Russian troops are currently occupying Crimea. With the threat of a larger invasion always literally on the eastern horizon, people in Ukraine have learned to prepare for the worst while continuing to build the country they want to live in.Subjects include the current build up of troops by Putin's regime, little-known reasons for the fall of the Soviet Union, and what they're looking forward to in 2022.Merry Christmas from Black Diplomats!

Black Diplomats is back with Alexa Kellogg-Kurmanova, a PhD student in anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley.Terrell met Alexa at the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies conference in New Orleans and they hit it off immediately. Kellogg-Kurmanova is a queer Black woman from Chicago, and her husband is a trans man from Kyrgyzstan. She speaks Russian and has spent a lot of time in East European communities, both in Central Asia and the US.They go deep on how Kellogg-Kurmanova was introduced to the Russian language and babushka culture, and what it means to be your authentic self when you're thousands of miles from home.This is part two of a two-part conversation, check out last week’s post for part 1.

Welcome back!Black Diplomats is back from our hiatus with an update from Terrell about plans for the show and an all new interview.Our guest today is Alexa Kellogg-Kurmanova, a PhD student in anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley.Terrell met Alexa at the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies conference in New Orleans and they hit it off immediately. Kellogg-Kurmanova is a queer Black woman from Chicago, and her husband is a trans man from Kyrgyzstan. She speaks Russian and has spent a lot of time in East European communities, both in Central Asia and the US.They go deep on how Kellogg-Kurmanova was introduced to the Russian language and babushka culture, and what it means to be your authentic self when you're thousands of miles from home.This is part one of a two-part conversation.

Hello everyone, Mike here, the producer of Black Diplomats. We have a couple of short announcements this week, so I thought I’d jump on your feed for the update.Terrell is dealing with a family emergency right now, so our regular episodes are postponed for a couple weeks. Please keep him in your thoughts.In more lighthearted news, we recently received a grant from the Ploughshares Fund to do a series on the Iran nuclear deal and the nuclear program in North Korea. Ploughshares has supported a lot of great people and a lot of great causes over the years, and we are genuinely proud to be welcomed into their community. We’re working on those episodes now, look forward to hearing them later this year.Thank you for listening!

On this week’s episode of Black Diplomats we’re sharing an interview Terrell did on The Power Vertical, a podcast about Russian politics hosted by Brian Whitmore.They talk about Terrell’s op-ed in The Washington Post on Alexi Navalny, how race works in the former Soviet states, and what the US has to do to weaken Russian government interference in our society. How can we deal with urgent issues like race, without letting the Kremlin dictate the terms?Whitmore also asks about Terrell’s upcoming memoir, A Black Man on the Steppe. This episode is a chance to hear Terrell chop it up with a fellow Atlantic Council colleague. This is what it sounds like at the smartest table in the bar.The Power Vertical is an excellent podcast and blog for keeping up with Russian politics from an insiders perspective. Like Terrell, Whitmore has spend a lot of time in the former Soviet states and has a lot of friends in the region. These guys know their stuff.Thank you for listening!

Terrell appeared on the excellent show Pod Save the World, a podcast by Tommy Vietor and Ben Rhodes, two long serving members of the Obama administration. Rhodes introduces Terrell by pointing out that he isn’t just talking about changing policy, he’s helping change the whole mindset of American power. These guys get it.Rhodes talks about being in rooms where Obama was the only one who isn’t white, and asks Terrell about the importance of diversity in those rooms. Terrell points out that it isn’t just about skin color, it’s also about listening to folks who want to dismantle the whole neo-liberal structure and rethink how we move in the world. The conversation goes from there, into elections, Russia, white supremacy, and how the Black Lives Matter movement has emboldened new voices that deserve to be heard.This is a powerful episode and a great example of why Terrell’s perspective is having a real impact on the conversation.Thank you for listening!

This week on Black Diplomats we’re playing a recent episode of the Press the Button podcast from the Ploughshares Fund that features Terrell Starr talking about American nuclear policy, what “healing” means for our politics, and how white supremacy colors our views of our adversaries. It’s a great episode of the PTB podcast, and a fun opportunity to hear Terrell sit on the other side of the table as a guest.An engaging podcast on nuclear policy and national security, Press the Button is co-hosted by defense experts Tom Collina and Michelle Dover of Ploughshares Fund, a global security foundation. This weekly podcast features top officials and experts discussing the latest developments on Iran, North Korea, nuclear weapons, military budgets and foreign policy. Press the Button offers diverse views on one of the most important issues of our time: preventing nuclear war. A new episode of Press the Button is available every Tuesday.