The World According to Foreign Policy Podcasts

On Foreign Policy’s I Spy podcast, many of the former intelligence operatives we hear from are true believers—people who describe their particular missions as crucial to U.S. security. The show is Foreign Policy’s most popular podcast and has been downloaded millions of times. But the episode that drew the most listens in the past year actually featured a doubter: a CIA veteran who had come to think of spying as a waste of time and resources. Joe Weisberg spent a few years training to be a case officer at the agency and then went on to become a TV writer and producer. His time at the CIA informed some of his plotlines, including in The Americans, a series he created for FX. But it also led him to conclude that spying causes more harm than good in the world. We named the episode “The Skeptic.”

In some ways, it reflects what we aim to do on our podcasts more broadly: tell stories but also pull back, question assumptions, and sometimes raise doubts.

On our show about climate change, Heat of the Moment, we have profiled people who are doing genuinely good work to stem global warming—even as we ask whether their solutions are practical and scalable. On Global Reboot, which looks at the world’s biggest problems, we discuss the need for sweeping policy changes but also analyze why change is so difficult—and often unlikely—in many countries. In all our shows, we think of this as the account and the accounting: the story itself and the act of reflecting on that story.

Foreign Policy produced nine new or ongoing podcasts in the past year. By way of looking back at 2022—our own bit of accounting—we asked producers to choose their favorite episodes. This is what they came up with.

1. The Spycatcher, Part 1 and Part 2

I Spy, Season 4, Episodes 2 and 3

FBI agent Eric O’Neill was just 26 years old when he was asked to catch a suspected spy in the bureau. After months of grueling undercover work, he managed to expose Robert Hanssen as one of the most damaging spies in U.S. history. The two-part story includes all the drama of a spy thriller but also highlights the corrosive side of espionage work: how the mission tests O’Neill’s Catholic faith and nearly destroys his marriage.

2. Negotiating an American Journalist’s Freedom From Myanmar, Part 1 and Part 2

The Negotiators, Season 2, Episodes 1 and 2

Anuj Shrestha Illustration for Foreign Policy

Mickey Bergman makes another appearance on The Negotiators, a spinoff of I Spy featuring diplomats, mediators, and troubleshooters describing their most dramatic negotiations. In 2021, Bergman traveled to Myanmar to negotiate the release of American journalist Danny Fenster from prison. As with all negotiations, getting to the right people—in this case, the head of the military junta—is often the hardest part.

3. Tooze Unplugged

Ones and Tooze, Episode 57

In this live taping of Ones and Tooze at the Caveat theater in New York City, co-hosts Adam Tooze and Cameron Abadi stray from the usual format—two data points that shape the world—with a segment on Adam himself: how he came to be an economic historian and what political and philosophical tenets underpin his writing. They also discuss the malign influence of billionaire Peter Thiel on U.S. politics and the declining importance of Wall Street as a place to hang out your shingle.

4. The High Seas

The Catch, Season 1, Episode 4

This episode tells the story of crew members aboard a Chinese fishing vessel off the coast of Peru who decide to jump from the deck, 17 feet above the water, to flee abusive conditions onboard. The crew members see the shoreline bobbing in the distance, but it’s much farther than their estimates. The Catch looks more broadly at illegal and unregulated fishing on the high seas.

5. Soccer Opens Path to Reconciliation After Rwandan Genocide

The Long Game, Season 2, Episode 9

Eric Eugene Murangwa was a 19-year-old goalkeeper for Rwanda’s most beloved soccer team when the 1994 Rwandan genocide against the Tutsis began. On the first day, troops came to Murangwa’s house, looking for enemies of the state. But one of the soldiers saw an album filled with photos of his time with the team, and Murangwa was saved. The Long Game focuses on athletes who have shown courage and conviction not just on the field but off as well.