Startseite Podcasts The Art of Diplomacy

The Art of Diplomacy

Munich Security Conference 5 Folgen Jul 17, 2026

The Art of Diplomacy is a bi-weekly podcast that brings global politics down from the podium and into conversation. Hosted by Florence Gaub and Joshua Yaffa, and created by the Munich Security Conference, it opens up the often opaque world of diplomacy to a broader audience. Through in-depth one-on-one interviews, the podcast explores diplomacy as a craft, featuring experienced practitioners who reflect on what diplomacy really looks like in practice. Recorded in part on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, the podcast offers rare personal insights into the realities behind world politics.

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The End of an Era, The Beginning of Another (with Wolfgang Ischinger) Jul 17, 2026 2699 After a lifetime spent at the center of international diplomacy, Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger joins Florence Gaub and Joshua Yaffa for the season finale of The Art of Diplomacy. From the Dayton Peace Accords to German reunification, from the United Nations during the Yom Kippur War to his years as Germany’s ambassador in Washington and as chairman of the Munich Security Conference, Ischinger refl

Persistence, Power, and the Iran Deal (with Wendy Sherman) Jul 3, 2026 3667 In this episode of The Art of Diplomacy, Joshua Yaffa speaks with Wendy Sherman, former US Deputy Secretary of State and the lead American negotiator of the Iran nuclear agreement. Drawing on decades of experience, from negotiations with North Korea to the marathon talks that produced the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Sherman offers a candid look at what diplomacy requires when trust

Boiling the Frog — Germany, Ukraine, and Escalation (with Wolfgang Schmidt) Jun 19, 2026 4538 In this episode of The Art of Diplomacy, Josh Yaffa speaks with Wolfgang Schmidt, former Head of the German Chancellery and one of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s closest advisers during the first years of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Schmidt offers a rare behind-the-scenes account of how Germany navigated the most consequential foreign policy crisis in Europe since the end of the Cold War. H

Changing Your Mind without Losing Yourself (with Sanna Marin) Jun 5, 2026 2781 In this episode of The Art of Diplomacy, Florence Gaub speaks with former Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin. Leading a country through a pandemic, an energy crisis, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and Finland’s historic accession to NATO, Marin faced a series of decisions that challenged long-held assumptions about security, leadership, and political strategy. In this conversation, she

Diplomacy in the Time of Monsters (with Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein) Mai 22, 2026 2763 In this episode, Joshua Yaffa speaks with Prince Zeid bin Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein, one of the central architects of the modern international human rights system. From helping to establish the International Criminal Court to serving as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Prince Zeid has spent decades confronting the tension between moral ideals and political power. At a moment when int

Diplomacy is Poker, Not Chess (with Benjamin Haddad) Mai 8, 2026 2772 In this third episode of The Art of Diplomacy, co-host Florence Gaub travels to Paris to talk to Benjamin Haddad, French Minister Delegate for European Affairs. Haddad is one of the key figures shaping France’s role in Europe at a moment of geopolitical upheaval. He describes a role that sits at the intersection of European politics, security, and economic strategy, where building coalitions and m

Why Diplomacy Needs a Stage (with Ian Bremmer and Dan Kurtz-Phelan) Apr 24, 2026 3146 In this second episode of The Art of Diplomacy, Florence Gaub is joined by journalist and New Yorker writer Joshua Yaffa to explore diplomacy as it unfolds in real time—at the Munich Security Conference. Together, they reflect on the unique nature of the conference itself: a space where global politics is not only discussed on stage, but shaped and processed in hallways, over coffee, and in countl

Empathy, Discipline, and Staying Neutral (with Rafael Grossi) Apr 10, 2026 2658 In this first episode of The Art of Diplomacy, Florence Gaub speaks with Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency. At the center of some of the most sensitive diplomatic efforts today, Grossi operates in a world where pressure is constant and stakes are existential. In this conversation, he reflects on what it takes to stay focused and effective under these conditi

Teaser: The Art of Diplomacy Apr 2, 2026 111 The Art of Diplomacy takes you inside the world of international politics: through personal conversations with those who practice diplomacy at the highest level. What does it really take to negotiate, manage crises, and find common ground under pressure?