Diplomatic Immunity

King Charles visited the White House — and it went exactly as planned. But did it actually matter?
In this episode of Diplomatic Immunity, we break down King Charles's state visit to the United States, what it reveals about how the British government has learned to work with Trump, and why the royal charm offensive doesn't necessarily translate into real policy wins for the UK.
We also cover:
Trump's upcoming visit to China and what's at stake
The latest from the US-Iran conflict
The growing political crisis facing Keir Starmer back home
The special relationship is alive — but is it useful?
Produced by Freddie Mallinson and Mislav Majcan. Recorded on 13 May, 2026.
 
Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
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In this episode of Diplomatic Immunity, our host Kelly McFarland sits down with Dr. Amy Greenberg, professor at Penn State and author of A Wicked War: Polk, Clay, Lincoln, and the 1846 U.S. Invasion of Mexico, to explore one of the most consequential — and least remembered — wars in American history.
We trace the origins of the Mexican-American War from the Texas Revolution and the annexation debate, through James K. Polk's deliberate provocation of conflict, to the rogue diplomacy of Nicholas Trist, whose defiance of presidential orders ultimately shaped the modern American Southwest.
Topics covered:
How US settlers in northern Mexico set the stage for Texas independence
Why Texas remained unannexed for nearly a decade
James K. Polk: the first "dark horse" president and the architect of Manifest Destiny
The deliberate start of war — and Polk's lies to Congress
Abraham Lincoln's spot resolutions and the rising anti-war movement
The forgotten figure John Hardin and his connection to Lincoln's rise
The US occupation of Mexico City and the "All of Mexico" movement
Nicholas Trist's defiant negotiation of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Why there is no monument in Washington, DC to this war — and why America forgot it
📚 A Wicked War: Polk, Clay, Lincoln and the 1846 U. S. Invasion of Mexico: https://www.amazon.com/Wicked-War-Lin...
Produced by Freddie Mallinson and Mislav Majcan. Recorded on 7 May, 2026.
Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Follow and Support our work: 
https://isd.georgetown.edu/
https://www.instagram.com/gudiplomacy/
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https://twitter.com/GUDiplomacy
🔔 Subscribe for more in-depth conversations on diplomacy, foreign policy, and international relations. #ForeignPolicy #Diplomacy #History

In this episode of Diplomatic Immunity, host Kelly McFarland sits down with presidential historian Lindsay Chervinsky, executive director of the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon, to explore one of the most consequential partnerships in American foreign policy history: James Monroe and his Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams.
 
They dig into the origins of the Monroe Doctrine, why Adams famously turned down a British alliance offer, and what it actually meant to declare the Western Hemisphere off-limits to European imperial expansion in 1823. From the Adams-Onís Treaty to the Greek War of Independence, this conversation reveals just how much of early American foreign policy was shaped by Adams' extraordinary global experience — and why his vision remains remarkably relevant today.
 
Topics covered:
The Monroe-Adams partnership and the post-War of 1812 landscape
The Adams-Onís Treaty and the acquisition of Florida
The origins and three components of the Monroe Doctrine
Why did Adams reject the British alliance offer Adams' famous July 4th address: "America does not go abroad in search of monsters to destroy"
John Quincy Adams' presidency and his forward-thinking approach to Latin American alliances
Why the Monroe Doctrine keeps coming back — and why context matters
 
Produced by Freddie Mallinson and Mislav Majcan. Recorded on 20 April, 2026.
 
Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
 
For more, visit our website, and follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram @gudiplomacy
 
🔔 Subscribe for more in-depth conversations on diplomacy, foreign policy, and international relations. 
 
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In this episode, Kelly and Tristan break down two major stories shaping the world right now - Iran and Hungary.
Topics covered:
U.S.-Iran nuclear talks collapse — why a deal may leave America worse off than before the war
The U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports and the China wildcard
Viktor Orbán voted out after 16 years — what it means for the EU and Ukraine
Is the global backlash against right-wing populism growing?
Produced by Freddie Mallinson and Mislav Majcan. Recorded on 14 April, 2026.
Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
For more, visit our website, and follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram @gudiplomacy
🔔 Subscribe for more in-depth conversations on diplomacy, foreign policy, and international relations.
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In this episode of Diplomatic Immunity, host Kelly McFarland sits down with Dr. Tyson Reeder, assistant professor of history at Brigham Young University and author of Serpent in Eden: Foreign Meddling and Partisan Politics in James Madison's America (Oxford University Press, 2024 — winner of the 2025 George Washington Prize). Together, they explore the presidency of James Madison as part of our 2026 Road to 250 series, examining key turning points in American foreign policy.
Topics covered:
Who was James Madison and how did he shape early American foreign policy?
The Embargo of 1807 — Madison's brainchild and spectacular failure
The causes of the War of 1812: Impressment, westward expansion, and partisan politics
How foreign powers like Britain and France manipulated American domestic politics
The war's inconclusive end and what the U.S. actually gained
The road from Madison to the Monroe Doctrine
How this destructive cycle of foreign meddling nearly left the founding charters in ashes 
Produced by Freddie Mallinson and Mislav Majcan. Recorded on 3 March, 2026. 
Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
For more, visit our website, and follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram @gudiplomacy
🔔 Subscribe for more in-depth conversations on diplomacy, foreign policy, and international relations.
🎙️ Check out our previous episode: Road to 250: Thomas Jefferson's foreign policy with Frank Cogliano
Book mentioned: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B07KGG8HSB
#ForeignPolicy #JamesMadison #AmericanHistory #Warof1812 #Diplomacy #History