The war in Ukraine has propelled the United States and Europe closer on a variety of foreign-policy issues. But do Washington and Brussels agree on how to deal with Beijing’s growing clout...Show more
Latest Episode
Spies of the UAE
Each week on First Person, we conduct a narrative-driven conversation with one person whose experience illuminates something timely and important about our world. Our guests tend to be people who have participated directly in events, either as protagonists or eyewitnesses. We get them to tell their story, not just offer analysis. First Person is hosted by FP deputy editor Sarah Wildman. Sarah is an award-winning journalist whose stories have appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Vox and the New Yorker online. She is the author of Paper Love: Searching for the Girl My Grandfather Left Behind.
HOSTS
Sarah Wildman is an award-winning journalist whose stories have appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Vox and the New Yorker online. She is the author of Paper Love: Searching for the Girl My Grandfather Left Behind.
More Episodes
The Marie Antoinette of Shoes Makes a Comeback
Filmmaker Lauren Greenfield on how Imelda Marcos engineered her second act in the Philippines.
Death of a War Correspondent
Journalist Marie Colvin documented the horrors of war until one of them took her life.
The Other Brexit
CNN correspondent Max Foster on how Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, split from Britain's royal family.
The Filmmaker Who Took On Bolsonaro
An Oscar-nominated documentary examines Brazil’s deep political fault lines.
The President Who Played One on TV
Journalist Franklin Foer on the peculiar rise of Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine and his role in the Trump impeachment ordeal
Advising John McCain
A former foreign-policy advisor looks back at the 2008 U.S. presidential election campaign.
The Rise and Rise of Vladimir Putin
New Yorker staff writer Masha Gessen on how the Russian president is planning to rule for life.
A Fateful Decision That Led to the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
The journalist David Kirkpatrick on how President Jimmy Carter was pressured into letting the Shah of Iran into the United States.
The Persian Puzzle—Iran, Iraq, and the United States
What a trove of leaked Iranian cables tells us about Iran’s influence in Iraq.
The Truth About the U.S. War in Afghanistan
Former Pakistani Ambassador to Washington Husain Haqqani on how the Taliban won.
The Documentaries of 2019
A look back at the documentaries we featured on First Person in the past year.
The Books of 2019
A look back at the books we featured on First Person in the past year.
Corbyn and Anti-Semitism
How allegations of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party became a central issue in Britain’s election campaign.
An American in Mosul
Journalist Mike Giglio provides an eyewitness account of a key battle against the Islamic State.
Iranian Spy Games Revealed
What a trove of leaked Iranian cables tells us about Iran’s influence in Iraq.
The Syrian Filmmaker Who Risked Her Life to Document the Atrocities in Aleppo
Waad al-Kateab’s film focuses on one of the hardest-hit cities in Syria’s ongoing conflict.
The Jerusalem Murder That Set Off a War
An Israeli drama series on HBO about the 2014 murder of a Palestinian teen stirs compassion and controversy.
Lebanon’s Arab Spring?
Protesters are directing their anger at the political elite for years of corruption and mismanagement.
When the U.S. Turns Its Back on Allies
A former U.S. intelligence officer explains what happens to locals who helped the United States when troops leave a conflict zone.
How North African Migrants Ended Up in Permanent Detention
The Irish journalist Sally Hayden has traced the story of many of them.
Why Hong Kongers Are Still Protesting Against Chinese Rule
A democracy activist describes how the demonstrations got underway and where they go from here.
Why for Some Spaniards the Wounds of the Civil War Never Healed
A new film traces the stories of people still seeking justice for Franco's crimes.
Haven America or Fortress America?
Harvard historian Jill Lepore on the long and tortured history of the U.S. immigration debate.
Roots of a Quagmire
On the podcast: America’s first post-9/11 envoy to Afghanistan recounts the early months of the war there.
Other Foreign Policy podcasts:
And Now the Hard Part
From Foreign Policy and the Brookings Institution: Each week we look at one of the world’s toughest problems and suggest a way forward—all in under 30 minutes.
I Spy
Spies don’t talk—it’s the cardinal rule of the business. But here at Foreign Policy, we get them to open up. On I Spy, we hear from the operations people: the spies who steal secrets, who kill adversaries, who turn agents into double agents. Each episode features one spy telling the story of one operation. Want swag? Check out I Spy's merch by clicking here.
Interested in sponsoring First Person? Connect with Foreign Policy’s influential, global audience. Click here to become a sponsor.
To learn more about creating a podcast with us, contact Andrew Sollinger at andrew.sollinger@foreignpolicy.com.
