Christopher Turner speaks with Clifford Brown, a former USAID Foreign Service officer with 27 years of experience, about the agency’s impact, dismantlement, and future of foreign aid.

Drawing from his book, Inside USAID: An Odyssey of Foreign Assistance, Brown discusses USAID’s role in humanitarian assistance, global health, U.S. foreign policy, and American soft power—including its response to Ebola and support for anti-apartheid movements. The conversation also explores the political motivations behind USAID’s closure and the global consequences of scaling back U.S. foreign aid.

Topics include: USAID, foreign aid, international development, humanitarian assistance, U.S. foreign policy, soft power, global health, the Peace Corps, Ebola response, anti-apartheid efforts, and the future of American leadership abroad.

#USAID #ForeignAid #USForeignPolicy #HumanitarianAid #Polypolitics

Mentioned in this episode:

New episodes of the PolyPolitics Podcast are released on the first and third Friday of every month

A Quick PolyPolitics Update PolyPolitics isn’t going anywhere! We’re simply changing up our release schedule. Moving forward, new episodes of the PolyPolitics Podcast will be released on the first and third Friday of every month. You can still expect the same in-depth conversations with Christopher Turner, moving beyond the clips and headlines to bring you the full story. Thanks for following along, and we’ll see you on the first and third Friday of every month!

Christopher Turner sits down with Amjad Tadros, an award-winning investigative journalist and former CBS Middle East producer, for a fascinating conversation about reporting from the front lines of history.

Amjad reflects on his extraordinary career covering some of the defining events of the modern Middle East, including the aftermath of 9/11, the Iraq War, and the Arab Spring. Drawing from his memoir, The Fixer: A Journalist's Accidental Journey Through the Middle East, he shares what it was like to work as a local journalist for an American news organization, the realities of reporting in conflict zones, and the ethical challenges of telling stories that shape global understanding.

This episode offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at international journalism, war reporting, and the human stories behind the headlines.

Topics covered:

• Reporting from the Middle East during times of conflict
• Behind the scenes of 9/11, the Iraq War, and the Arab Spring
• The role of local journalists and "fixers"
• Ethics, bias, and truth in international reporting
• The stories that never make the headlines

Mentioned in this episode:

New episodes of the PolyPolitics Podcast are released on the first and third Friday of every month

A Quick PolyPolitics Update PolyPolitics isn’t going anywhere! We’re simply changing up our release schedule. Moving forward, new episodes of the PolyPolitics Podcast will be released on the first and third Friday of every month. You can still expect the same in-depth conversations with Christopher Turner, moving beyond the clips and headlines to bring you the full story. Thanks for following along, and we’ll see you on the first and third Friday of every month!

How do economics shape the outcome of modern conflicts? Christopher Turner sits down with Dr. Anita Kellogg, Assistant Professor at the National Defense University, to examine the economic dimensions of warfare through the lens of the conflict involving Iran.

Dr. Kellogg explains how economic statecraft has become a central tool of national security, exploring the impact of conflict on global trade, energy markets, and supply chains. The conversation also covers the strategic importance of rare earth minerals, the challenges of rebuilding domestic manufacturing, the effects of tariffs, and the evolving geopolitical competition involving China and Russia.

Whether you're interested in international relations, national security, or global economics, this discussion offers valuable insight into how economic decisions influence military strategy and everyday life.

• The economic consequences of conflict involving Iran
• Economic statecraft and modern warfare
• Global trade and supply chain security
• Rare earth minerals and critical resource competition
• U.S.-China trade tensions and tariffs
• Domestic manufacturing and industrial policy
• National security, environmental policy, and workforce challenges
• The long-term economic effects of ongoing conflict

Mentioned in this episode:

New episodes of the PolyPolitics Podcast are released on the first and third Friday of every month

A Quick PolyPolitics Update PolyPolitics isn’t going anywhere! We’re simply changing up our release schedule. Moving forward, new episodes of the PolyPolitics Podcast will be released on the first and third Friday of every month. You can still expect the same in-depth conversations with Christopher Turner, moving beyond the clips and headlines to bring you the full story. Thanks for following along, and we’ll see you on the first and third Friday of every month!