society
Hosted by Christopher Wurst · society · EN-US
Epic weekly tales from every corner of the globe. Forget politics, academia, or the office, these are "soft, powerful stories" told by those who lived them. Is what happens in Kinshasa really important in Kansas? Should an Idahoan care about the problems of an Indonesian? (The answer is yes, but...) SP/FS gives the human story center stage. People can debate the virtues of global soft power, but no one--from Osaka to Omaha to Ouagadougou--can deny the magic of these encounters. Each episode begins and ends in the United States—with a foreign adventure in between.
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Contact path
Verified email
Booking probability
34%
Guest openness
Selective
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Signup to Generate a PitchEpic weekly tales from every corner of the globe. Forget politics, academia, or the office, these are "soft, powerful stories" told by those who lived them. Is what happens in Kinshasa really important in Kansas? Should an Idahoan care about the problems of an Indonesian? (The answer is yes, but...) SP/FS gives the human story center stage.
SoftPower/FulStories is hosted by Christopher Wurst. The show has published 90 episodes to date.
Recent episodes include "#63 - Robert Gerber" (30 October 2026, 33 minutes), "#61 - John Donnelly" (16 October 2026, 43 minutes), and "#59 - Hannah Peterson" (2 October 2026, 39 minutes).
SoftPower/FulStories publishes roughly weekly, with episodes averaging 36 minutes across 90 episodes.
Booking probability for SoftPower/FulStories is 34%, and the host is rated Selective on guests. SoftPower/FulStories requires a Pod Score of 80 or higher. SoftPower/FulStories's contact route on record: verified email.
Christopher Wurst hosts SoftPower/FulStories, a society podcast with 90 episodes published.
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Episode #63
This episode is less about soft power, and more about diplomacy and the incredible power of relationships--and how the time to cultivate those relationships is before something catastrophic happens. Robert Gerber was...
Episode #61
In 2003, President George W. Bush announced the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which the world would come to know as PEPFAR—arguably the most successful foreign assistance program in history. How did that...
Episode #59
When Hannah Peterson’s college friends were going off to jobs in business and finance, she chose a slightly different path. That is to say, she chose to go to work in a garbage dump—a literal garbage dump—in Nicaragua...
Episode #58
When Derek Lowstuter joined the Peace Corps, he found the transition from Colorado to Ethiopia very easy... at least as far as the altitude went. Everything else? Way different. Becoming part of a community there came...
Episode #57
Lisa Cazacu may have waited a long time to follow her Peace Corps dream, but once she started, there was zero hesitation. She jumped right into life in Romania. She was a regular at the nearby outdoor market, weaving...
Episode #56
Karl Stoltz continues to bring people together, after nearly four decades as a public diplomacy expert. As Co-President of the Public Diplomacy Council of America, he pays close attention to the many soft power tools...
Episode #55
There's no doubt that Jason Carter is following in some big footsteps. His great-grandmother, for instance, joined the Peace Corps at age 66 and believed passionately in the importance of service. Or his grandfather...
Episode #54
"When you learn, teach. When you get, give." - Maya Angelou Growing up in a Haitian-American family in Queens, NY, Jennifer Erie hoped the Peace Corps might send her to West Africa to learn more about her ancestors'...
Episode #53
“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples.” – Mother Teresa A routine trip to northern Thailand changed the course of Peace Corps volunteer Paul Strasburg’s life...
Episode #52
"Do not get lost in a sea of despair." - John Lewis During her 18 years with USAID--mostly in Africa--Keisha Effiom worked in environments that most people will never fully understand, but was always deeply committed to...
Episode #51
"A ship in harbor is safe. But that's not what ships are for." - John A. Shedd When George Clooney decides to embark on a humanitarian mission to the frontlines of a deadly war in Sudan, it would normally take months of...
Episode #50
"People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel." - Maya Angelou Growing up, Maria Brewer knew what it felt like to be othered, to be treated as an...
SoftPower/FulStories
(This episode originally aired on January 23, 2026.) In case you missed it: 'SoftPower/FulStories' uses first-person stories to explore why U.S. engagement in the world matters. Through conversations with diplomats, aid...
Episode #49
"People generally see what they look for and hear what they listen for." - Harper Lee Joe Lurie, the Executive Director Emeritus of the University of California, Berkeley's International House, has a story, a proverb...
SoftPower/FulStories
(This episode originally aired on October 31, 2025.) In case you missed it: Rev. Jen Butler served as CEO of Faith in Public Life from 2005 to 2022. Highlights of her work as CEO include mobilizing a multi-state faith...
Episode #48
The key to good diplomacy, according to Elizabeth Kennedy Trudeau, is showing up. And, as a very good diplomat, she always showed up. To places beautiful and places troubled. Places dangerous and places divided. Places...
SoftPower/FulStories
(This episode originally aired on November 21, 2025.) In case you missed it: July 18th, 2026 marks Nelson Mandela’s 108th birthday and International Nelson Mandela Day. Aaron Williams headed USAID in South Africa, where...
SoftPower/FulStories
Sit back and enjoy this SP/FS collaboration with the Museum of the Peace Corps Experience, where we recreate a Peace Corps story slam, originally performed at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in 2025...
Episode #47
Forget the idea of going "full circle," I feel like the life and career of Baktash Ahadi is doing laps. As an Afghan refugee, finding his way in the United States, the massive reverberations from 9/11 hit Baktash from...
SoftPower/FulStories
(This episode originally aired on September 12, 2025.) In case you missed it: Betsy Small grew up aware of both her privileged place in the world and her family's rapid rise from poverty and persecution. Both left a...
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