#45 - Nicholas Enrich

#45 - Nicholas Enrich

On February 3, 2025, Elon Musk posted this on X: "We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper. Could gone [sic] to some great parties. Did that instead." It's safe to say that no one needed Musk's savage imagery. It's also worth pointing out that by now--a year later--the barely-trained, Musk-led forces at the Trump Administration's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have directly cost the jobs of over a quarter of a million people worldwide and have, according to several published models, led to nearly 800,000 deaths worldwide, including more than half a million children. We may never know exact numbers, but we do know that these harrowing figures were the result of a toxic mix of cruelty, arrogance, incompetence, ego, and ignorance. We know this, in part, because Nick Enrich, USAID's then-Acting Assistant Administrator of Global Health, had a front-row seat to the devastation and refused to stay quiet about what he saw. His book--'Into the Wood Chipper: A Whistleblower's Account of How the Trump Administration Shredded USAID'--defies belief, but serves as an invaluable document and bears witness to a still unfolding atrocity. 'SoftPower/FulStories' uses first-person stories to explore why U.S. engagement in the world matters. Through conversations with diplomats, aid workers, Peace Corps volunteers, authors and artists, influencers, businesspeople, and more, SP/FS highlights how soft power and foreign aid and assistance strengthen America's security, prosperity, and global standing. But forget politics, policy, or punditry; this is all about the stories.

PS7 - ICE Ghost Shoes 26 (Powerful Stories #7)

"Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable." – Banksy Laura Migliorino is an artist and long-time art instructor based in Minneapolis. She has--from the beginning of her long career in art--believed in the power of memory. Now, as Minnesota thaws out and moves forward after a long, devastating winter, she is already focused on remembering. And when you see that small pair of children's shoes on Central Avenue, or the white Crocs on a streetlight pole on Case Avenue in St. Paul, or the woman's flats on Lake Street--or the 97 other pairs of shoes throughout the state--they will help you to never forget. Laura E. Migliorino was born in Cleveland and grew up in a Chicago suburb. Her BFA is from The Art Institute of Chicago, and her MFA is from the University of Minnesota. She recently retired from Anoka-Ramsey College near Minneapolis, where she taught for 37 years. Migliorino has received Jerome Foundation grants, Minnesota State Arts Board grants, and various exhibition prizes. Migliorino was an Affiliated Fellow at The American Academy in Rome and a Fulbright Scholar at The British Library in 2022. In 2026, Migliorino received funding from FORECAST Public Art and Springboard for the Arts to create ICE Ghost Shoes 26: A Remembrance. The project places 100 pairs of white shoes throughout the state of Minnesota, marking the locations where ICE murdered, abducted, or traumatized Minnesotans. Her work is in the collections of the Walker Art Center, Weisman Museum in Minneapolis, the Minnesota Center for Book Arts, and the Warehouse in Atlanta. She has exhibited for over 30 years, and work has been featured in the Huffington Post, DOMUS Magazine, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The News Hour, and DWELL. She has exhibited in London, Rome, Minneapolis, New York City, Los Angeles, Sardinia, Chicago, and Michigan. She has upcoming exhibitions in the UK and Minneapolis. Her most recent project explores banned books in collaboration with the Hennepin County Library system. "Powerful Stories" is the Minnesota offshoot of SoftPower/FulStories, which uses first-person stories to explore why U.S. engagement in the world matters. Through conversations with diplomats, aid workers, Peace Corps volunteers, authors and artists, influencers, businesspeople, and more, SP/FS highlights how soft power and foreign aid and assistance strengthen America's security, prosperity, and global standing.

#44 - Tina Martin

"Anything worth doing is worth overdoing." - Tina Martin Picture the cheerfulness--and tendency to break into song--of 'The Sound of Music's' Maria or Mary Poppins. Transplant her to Tonga, one of the most isolated island nations in the world. Electricity? No need. Running water? No need. Surround her by adoring children. Is it a Peace Corps adventure five decades removed or a musical just waiting to be written? Meet Tina Martin. (Also in this episode: January 6, 2021's polar opposite--the 'Journals of Peace' at the U.S. Capitol in 1988.) 'SoftPower/FulStories' uses first-person stories to explore why U.S. engagement in the world matters. Through conversations with diplomats, aid workers, Peace Corps volunteers, authors and artists, influencers, businesspeople, and more, SP/FS highlights how soft power and foreign aid and assistance strengthen America's security, prosperity, and global standing. But forget politics, policy, or punditry; this is all about the stories.

#43 - Ambassador John Limbert (Part 2)

Note: This is the second of a two-part episode. We strongly recommend you start with Part 1. John Limbert was among 66 Americans taken hostage in the U.S. Embassy in November 1979, and among 52 who were held 444 days--an historical event that riveted America and the world. Episode 1 took us to the eve of the Iranian revolution. Here, Limbert shares his account of his time as a hostage and some well-earned thoughts on what is happening in Iran right now.

#43 - Ambassador John Limbert (Part 1)

"For lust of knowing what should not be known, We make the golden journey to Samarkand." - James Elroy Flecker Throughout his life, Ambassador John Limbert kept returning to Iran. As a student, as a Peace Corps volunteer, as a husband. He could not seem to stay away. But then, as a U.S. diplomat in Tehran — for a harrowing 444 days — he could not leave. This episode takes us to the verge of the Iran hostage crisis. For all his knowledge and experience, including later serving as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, his is a voice we should be listening to. SoftPower/FulStories uses first-person stories to explore why U.S. engagement in the world matters. Through conversations with diplomats, aid workers, Peace Corps volunteers, authors and artists, influencers, businesspeople, and more, SP/FS highlights how soft power and foreign aid and assistance strengthen America's security, prosperity, and global standing.