Eileen Barber - Impact and Impermanence and What It Takes to Keep Aid Working
In this episode, I speak with Eileen Barber about her career in international development and the transformative years she spent in Colombia helping farmers improve their livelihoods. We explore the power of foreign aid programmes rooted in strong community engagement, and why it's just as important to communicate their impact back home to sustain political and public support. Eileen reflects on how shifts in U.S. political leadership disrupted this work and how she navigated a pivot toward more private-sector-oriented development. We discuss the evolving landscape of aid, and the resilience and adaptability required to keep making a difference in a changing world.Connect with Eileen on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/eileen-barber-9377916.Instagram: @at.the.coalfaceAnd don’t forget to subscribe to At the Coalface for new episodes every two weeks.Help us produce more episodes by becoming a supporter. Your subscription will go towards paying our hosting and production costs. Supporters get the opportunity to join behind the scenes during recordings, updates about the podcast, and my deep gratitude!Support the show
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Athanasia Shinas - Where Service Meets Self: A Senior Military Logistician on Purpose and Leadership
In this episode, I sit down with Athanasia Shinas just hours after her graduation from The Fletcher School to reflect on her remarkable 28-year career as a senior military logistics officer. What begins as a conversation about career choices, from a childhood love of archaeology to joining ROTC, evolves into a deeply personal exploration of leadership, service, and growth. Athanasia shares how she fell in love with the mission, the challenges of commanding through complexity, and the importance of understanding what truly motivates people. We explore the power of the ladder of inference, what setbacks teach us, and learning to live with loss.Connect with Athanasia on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/athanasia-shinas-79672a65.Instagram: @at.the.coalfaceAnd don’t forget to subscribe to At the Coalface for new episodes every two weeks.Help us produce more episodes by becoming a supporter. Your subscription will go towards paying our hosting and production costs. Supporters get the opportunity to join behind the scenes during recordings, updates about the podcast, and my deep gratitude!Support the show
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1:02:51
Jorge Tuddón - The Diplomat’s Detour: on Stories, Spirit, and Starting Over
In this episode, former Mexican diplomat Jorge Tuddón shares his journey into the foreign service and reflects on the unexpected influences, what he calls “angels”, that shaped his career path. He recounts the emotional weight and richness of serving as a mobile consular officer across the U.S., where he encountered the powerful and often untold stories of Mexicans abroad. Jorge also opens up about his pivot away from public service, choosing instead a more independent and creative path, one rooted in self-expression and personal growth. It's a conversation about identity, transition, and listening to the quiet signals that guide our lives.Connect with Jorge on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/jtuddon. Jorge's media outlet is The Wireless Cable.Instagram: @at.the.coalfaceAnd don’t forget to subscribe to At the Coalface for new episodes every two weeks.Help us produce more episodes by becoming a supporter. Your subscription will go towards paying our hosting and production costs. Supporters get the opportunity to join behind the scenes during recordings, updates about the podcast, and my deep gratitude!Support the show
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1:02:20
Theo R. - Trauma and Power in Africa’s Great Lakes
In this episode, Theo offers a deeply informed perspective on the conflict unfolding in the Great Lakes region of Africa. He unpacks the forces shaping the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda’s role in it, drawing connections between colonial legacies, economic interests, and the personal influence of political leaders.With the region still carrying the unhealed trauma of genocide and war, Theo reflects on what’s truly at stake. What kind of leadership is needed to break the cycle of violence and chart a path toward healing, justice, and stability?In our conversation, Theo refers to the book The Wounded Healer by Henri Nouwen.Instagram: @at.the.coalfaceAnd don’t forget to subscribe to At the Coalface for new episodes every two weeks.Help us produce more episodes by becoming a supporter. Your subscription will go towards paying our hosting and production costs. Supporters get the opportunity to join behind the scenes during recordings, updates about the podcast, and my deep gratitude!Support the show
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1:17:32
Derreck Kayongo - From Soap to Soul: on Legacy and Leadership
In this episode, I speak with Derreck Kayongo, founder of the Global Soap Project, which recycles hotel soap for communities in Africa without access to basic sanitation. In a conversation that moves between the idealistic and the deeply personal, we explore the trauma that fuelled his entrepreneurial drive and the lessons he's learned as a change-maker. We talk about how embodying a brand—through clothes, words, and gestures—can inspire a movement. Derreck also opens up about confronting the shadows in his inner closet, and how the spectre of legacy continues to shape his path.Connect with Derreck on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/derreckkayongo and on Instagram @derreckkayongo.Derreck mentioned the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.Instagram: @at.the.coalfaceAnd don’t forget to subscribe to At the Coalface for new episodes every two weeks.Help us produce more episodes by becoming a supporter. Your subscription will go towards paying our hosting and production costs. Supporters get the opportunity to join behind the scenes during recordings, updates about the podcast, and my deep gratitude!Support the show
At the Coalface is a series of conversations hosted by Phil Rose.Phil’s guests share stories about their life beyond the headlines of international affairs. They look for lessons learned about making an impact in the world as practitioners in diplomacy, international organisations, NGOs, journalism and the private sector.Many of Phil’s guests are connected by their common experience of taking time away from work to attend Fletcher School's Global Master of Arts Programme.
New Zealand