Black Diplomats
100 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago -Founded in 2020 and led by Terrell Jermaine Starr, Black Diplomats is the go-to podcast for those who want relatable content on global affairs that doesn’t center the perspectives of white male experts.
Few foreign policy shows are led by Black people or center the opinions, experiences and expertise of people of color. Black Diplomats is one exception. Guests are mostly people of color and people who are indigenous to the regions the episodes focus on.
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Episodes
What is Project 2025?
June 01, 2024 11:00 - 59 minutes - 81.3 MBHave you heard of Project 2025? If not, you better learn fast. It's the GOP's 900-plus page conservative manifesto aimed at dismantling the federal government and the Democratic Party has no answer for it. Here to talk about 2025 is Anne Nelson, who read the entire document and is traveling the country to educate communities about the dangers that lie ahead if Trump wins in November. Host: Terrell Jermaine Starr Guests: Anne Nelson Producer: Mike Hull Support us financially! Venmo: @Bl...
Are Pro-Palestine Protests An Elite College Phenomenon?
May 25, 2024 11:00 - 52 minutes - 72.1 MBDo HBCU students care about what’s happening in Gaza? Of course they do, but there are some distinct social-economic factors that play a role in how Black kids who attend HBCUs are protesting—or, in many cases, not at all. Two-time HBCU president Dr. Walter Kimbrough joins the podcast this week to talk about how he’d handle some of the challenges HBCU presidents face when it comes to student protests regarding Gaza, the right-wing congressional attacks on college presidents over Israel, as...
Black People Care About Foreign Affairs
May 18, 2024 11:00 - 58 minutes - 80.6 MBThis week, Black Diplomats Podcast speaks with Christopher Shell, a fellow in the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment. At Carnegie, Christopher’s work studies how Black Americans feel about foreign policy issues. We talked about how Black folks feel about Ukraine, Gaza and other foreign policy issues, based on his research Host: Terrell Jermaine Starr Guest: Chris Shell Producer: Mike Hull Support us financially! Venmo: @BlackDiplomats CashApp: $BlackDiplomats PayP...
Young Georgians Talk About #TbilisiProtests
May 08, 2024 13:00 - 38 minutes - 52.3 MBToday, I speak with two young Georgians under 30-years-old who have been hitting the streets every day in protest of their ruling government’s introduction of a “foreign agent” law that critics say will restrict the work of organizations and independent media that safeguard free and fair elections and other services that depend on foreign financial support. Read more about the controversial bill here. Ana Lazariashvili, 24 and Giorgi Vachnadze, 28, told Black Diplomats that it has mostly ...
Ukrainians and Palestinians Are Fighting Occupation
May 04, 2024 11:00 - 1 hour - 120 MBThis week, I spoke with two Ukainians who support Palestine and why they feel it is important for their countrymen and women to understand colonialism in other parts of the world. Rita Adel, a humanitarian analyst, and Vladyslav Starodubtsev, a socialist leader and historian, and I talked about Ukrainian socialism, what progressives in the west don’t get about Ukraine and NATO and why Ukrainians aren’t privileged because they are “white.” Host: Terrell Jermaine Starr Guests: Rita Adel and ...
How A Ukrainian Therapist Supports People Sexually Assaulted By Russian Soldiers
April 27, 2024 11:00 - 37 minutes - 69.1 MBWarning: This week’s episode will focus on sexual violence committed by Russian soldiers. Reader, listener and viewer discretion is advised This week, I talk about Ukrainian civilians who survived sexual assault from Russian troops during the war. Ukraine is investigating nearly 300 cases of sexual assault, but that number is likely much higher. Today, I am talking with Nadiia Volchenska, co-founder of the Sylni foundation, which was founded soon after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in...
Why Georgians Are Protesting a Russian 'Foreign Agent' Bill
April 20, 2024 11:00 - 39 minutes - 54.4 MBThis week’s episode is about the ongoing protests in Georgia in response to the country’s ruling political party, Georgia Dream, moving forward with its “foreign agent.” Officially titled “On the Transparency of Foreign Influence," the bill, if passed into law, would require organizations in the country receiving more than 20% of their funding from overseas to register as “foreign agents” or face large fines. Protesters say it is similar to laws spearheaded in Russia by Vladimir Putin. Her...
Breaking Down Putin's Weird Obsession with Ukrainian 'History'
April 13, 2024 11:00 - 1 hour - 85.5 MB#ukraine #russia #putin #warinukraine #blackdiplomats #ukrainianhistory #history #harvard Terrell J. Starr spoke with Havard Professor of Ukrainian History Serhii Plokhii about Putin’s obsession with fake Ukrainian history, Ukrainian resistance against Russian colonialism, Stepan Bandara, fighting Kremlin disinformation and more. Host: Terrell Jermaine Starr Guest: Serhii Plokhii Producer: Mike Hull Support us financially! Venmo: @BlackDiplomats CashApp: $BlackDiplomats PayPal: htt...
Ukraine's Fight for Crimea
April 06, 2024 11:00 - 45 minutes - 62.4 MB#crimea #crimeantatars #ukraine #russia #ukrainianhistory #history Terrell spoke with Tamila Tasheva, the Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea about liberating Crimea, human rights violations on the peninsula, Crimean history and what people get wrong about what’s happening there. Host: Terrell Jermaine Starr Guest: Tamila Tasheva Producer: Mike Hull Support us financially! Venmo: @BlackDiplomats CashApp: $BlackDiplomats PayPal: ...
Fighting Putin's Disinformation with Maria Adveeva
March 30, 2024 11:00 - 1 hour - 101 MB#ukraine #russia #putin #zelensky #warinukraine #blackdiplomats Terrell J. Starr spoke with Ukrainian security expert Maria Avdeeva about Russia’s ongoing missile attacks against civilian targets, Germany’s reluctance to send Taurus missiles, why Russia doesn’t want peace, her own work documenting war crimes and so much more. Host: Terrell Jermaine Starr Guest:. Maria Adveeva Producer: Mike Hull Support us financially! Venmo: @BlackDiplomats CashApp: $BlackDiplomats PayPal: https://...
Ukraine’s Nobel Peace Prize Winner Talks Solidarity With Palestine, Africa
March 23, 2024 10:45 - 29 minutes - 54.7 MB#ukraine #blackdiplomats #foreignpolicy #un #unitednations #nobelprize Terrell Jermaine Starr speaks with Ukraine’s first Nobel Peace Prize Winner Oleksandra Matviichuk about her work as a war crimes documentor, the broken United Nations system, why it’s not possible to have peace with Russia and building solidarity with Africans and Palestinians. Host: Terrell Jermaine Starr Guest:. Oleksandra Matviichuk Producer: Mike Hull Support us financially! Venmo: @BlackDiplomats CashApp: ...
Putin’s Bluffing About Nukes
March 16, 2024 13:00 - 1 hour - 92.1 MBI spoke with Christopher Shell and Nola Haynes about Vladimir Putin’s nuclear threats, why Black people should care about foreign policy, Andrew Tate’s arrest, uncommitted voter movement and more. Host: Terrell Jermaine Starr Guests: Christopher Shell is a fellow at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Nola Haynes is a national security and foreign affairs analyst. Producer: Mike Hull Support us financially! Venmo: @BlackDiplomats CashApp: $BlackDiplomats PayPal: https://p...
Ukraine, Trump, and Building Solidarity with Africans
March 10, 2024 05:01 - 52 minutes - 71.8 MB#ukraine #russianinvasion #foreignpolicy #trump #nato This week, Terrell Starr and Ukrainian journalist Olga Tokariuk discuss how Ukrainians are reacting to the possibility of Trump winning the U.S. election, her curiosity over Black support for Trump, NATO’s relationship with its Eastern European members and her trip to South Africa that convinced her Ukraine needs to build solidarity ties with Africa. Host: Terrell Jermaine Starr Guest: Olga Tokariuk Producer: Mike Hull Check us out...
MAGA’s White Nationalism Is Blocking Ukraine Military Aid. Plus Thoughts on Navalny’s Death and African Refugees Who Fled Ukraine
February 24, 2024 13:00 - 59 minutes - 81.2 MBTerrell 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. Starr Guest: Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon (Book her here) Producer: Mike Hull Support us financially on Venmo:...
Black Women Defending Democracy and Thoughts on Navalny's Death - Black Diplomats w/ Gaslit Nation
February 22, 2024 13:00 - 52 minutes - 72.1 MBGreetings, 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...
Palestine In Context
October 25, 2023 13:00 - 40 minutes - 56 MBThis 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 resurf...
Liberating Iran featuring Priscillia Kounkou Hoveyda
September 09, 2023 06:00 - 54 minutes - 25.2 MBThe 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 abou...
Liberating Iran featuring Yegi & Jason Rezaian
September 02, 2023 05:30 - 1 hour - 98.1 MBThe 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 ...
Liberating Iran featuring Nahid Siamdoust
August 19, 2023 13:15 - 36 minutes - 50.4 MBThe 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 ...
Liberating Iran featuring Pouya Alimagham
August 12, 2023 06:00 - 44 minutes - 61.4 MBThe 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 bo...
Liberating Iran featuring Assal Rad
August 05, 2023 05:30 - 48 minutes - 66.3 MBThe 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 do...
Black Diplomats presents: Liberating Iran
July 17, 2023 13:00 - 4 minutes - 5.51 MBComing 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.
WTF IS GOING ON IN RUSSIA?
June 26, 2023 13:00 - 40 minutes - 55 MBGood 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...
Kakhova dam explosion and Fatima Muhammed at CUNY
June 11, 2023 13:00 - 53 minutes - 73.3 MBThis 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 Collapse The Moscow Times: Norwegian Seismologists Detect Explosion Signals From Ukraine Dam The Kyiv Independent: Zelensky: '...
Terrell Goes Back to Ukraine
May 28, 2023 13:00 - 37 minutes - 51.2 MBOn 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 o...
The State of Disinformation with Shireen Mitchell
May 20, 2023 05:00 - 53 minutes - 73.8 MBWhat 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 mos...
War in Ukraine, Sudan, and remembering Shireen Abu Akleh
May 11, 2023 04:15 - 1 hour - 118 MBTerrell 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 K...
Fighting Fascism in Israel, Europe, Russia, and the U.S.
May 03, 2023 07:00 - 1 hour - 114 MBProducer’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 rea...
Fighting Russian Colonialism and Western White Supremacy
April 26, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 95.9 MBToday’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 al...
Black Diplomats is back, baby!
April 19, 2023 07:00 - 1 hour - 36.4 MBBlack 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 ho...
Ukraine Take Kherson
November 13, 2022 13:00 - 29 minutes - 40.3 MBThis 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 Regi...
Ukraine Offensive and NATO Membership with Solomiia Bobrovska
October 10, 2022 13:00 - 27 minutes - 38 MBThe 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...
Russians Flee to Georgia on "Vacation"
October 02, 2022 13:00 - 23 minutes - 31.9 MBRussia 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 l...
War With Friends part 2
September 25, 2022 13:00 - 47 minutes - 65.6 MBIn 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 invasio...
War with Friends
September 17, 2022 13:00 - 36 minutes - 49.9 MBOn 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...
War in Ukraine with Inna Sovsun
April 03, 2022 05:00 - 51 minutes - 70.1 MBInna 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 ...
War in Ukraine with Mayor Oleg Volsky
March 21, 2022 13:00 - 11 minutes - 15.5 MBBlack 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...
The Human Toll of War in Ukraine
March 16, 2022 13:00 - 55 minutes - 76.9 MBWar 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. Iri...
English Language Media in Ukraine
February 20, 2022 13:00 - 59 minutes - 82.2 MBWith 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 t...
Russian Colonialism
February 13, 2022 13:00 - 1 hour - 89.1 MBBlack 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 th...
Ambassador Michael McFaul on Ukraine/Russia Relations
February 04, 2022 13:00 - 52 minutes - 72.2 MBMichael 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 min...
German-Russian Relations and the impact on Ukraine
January 28, 2022 13:00 - 55 minutes - 76.5 MBAs 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 exper...
Ukrainian Security
January 23, 2022 13:00 - 54 minutes - 75 MBAs 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 ...
Crisis in Kazakhstan
January 15, 2022 06:00 - 1 hour - 88.4 MBThere 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 p...
American Insurrection
January 06, 2022 13:00 - 45 minutes - 62 MBIt 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...
2021 Wrap Up with Pam Keith
January 01, 2022 13:00 - 1 hour - 98.8 MB2021 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 i...
Fall of the USSR
December 25, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 98.4 MBThe 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 ...
Black & Queer in Central Asia (aka Twerking in Kyrgyzstan) Part 2
December 18, 2021 06:00 - 31 minutes - 43.1 MBBlack 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 de...
Black & Queer in Central Asia (aka Twerking in Kyrgyzstan)
December 11, 2021 13:00 - 43 minutes - 60.1 MBWelcome 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 Kyrgyzst...
How American Exceptionalism Robs Haiti
August 14, 2021 13:00 - 43 minutes - 99 MBHaiti has been hit with another earthquake just weeks after the assassination of their President. As the world struggles to find ways to help one thing has become clear: the condescending Euro-centric model of aid has very little to offer. On this week’s episode of Black Diplomats host Terrell Starr welcomes Emma Ashford to talk about how the world community has failed Haiti, and what we’re supposed to do now. This conversation isn’t just about the dollars and cents, they get into deep phil...