Is the pursuit of profit in Venezuela and Africa consistent with the democratic ideals that have marked US diplomacy? This is the question Ambs Pete Romero and Charlie Ray recently asked ASU students in the first fall semester meeting of the Diplomat Lounge. How do we, as diplomats, evaluate competing priorities? The real question is, who are we, as a democracy?

What is this partnership, a return to diplomacy, of a sort? No more blowing up vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific? And who calls himself "the coolest dictator in the world"? Join our great friend Amb. Pete Romero, former Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, who calls it like he sees it.

Hardly. Relative prosperity, overcome by political violence and economic desperation, followed by an earthquake, leaves the Haitian people with what? Amb. Ken Merten was there for much of Haiti's recent history. Listen while he tells us what Haiti was decades ago, and what challenges the Haitian people now face.

What do the number 8 dictator, a democratic leader with wartime past, and an African civil war all have in common? Amb. Tracey Jacobson. By what methods, both time-tested and totally on-the-fly, did she succeed in tricky moments? Tune in and find out.

Kyrgyzstan: A charred White House (they have one, too), riots and pogroms, plus a problematic human rights award. Why doesn't the need for diplomacy ever stop? Our very own Amb. Dan Rosenblum saw it all while overseeing aid in Central Asia and shares the experience through his eyes, his heart and his professional lens.

Multiple choice: Energy is (1) how we heat our homes, (2) a tool of malign influence, (3) an instrument of statecraft? And what about all those increasingly necessary critical minerals? Amb. Geoffrey Pyatt, top energy diplomat, helps us understand that diplomacy matters more than ever and that all diplomacy is based on human trust. And the glass is half full. Listen and understand why.

Former Assistant Secretary of State Susan Thornton joins us with tales of negotiations to disarm North Korea's nuclear arsenal – What could go wrong? Could anything go right? After chairs have been thrown, after the all-night negotiations, what was really hidden inside the secret mountain? And that's just the first negotiation of three, bringing us up to today. Susan was there for all of it.