The Delegates Lounge
Join us in The Delegates Lounge, an independent podcast on world affairs based in New York City at the United Nations, the hub of global insights in plain sight. We hope you’ll come back often to listen in on some fascinating conversations hosted by J. Alex Tarquinio, a veteran journalist who writes essays for Foreign Policy from her office across the hallway from the UN Security Council chamber. We’ll wade into the rising tide of global threats to peace and security in our discussions with the denizens of high-level diplomacy, as well as assorted scholars, scientists, soldiers, spies, and other influencers. From time to time, we’ll hit the road for sit downs with the world’s movers and shakers, whether it be at NATO’s 75th Anniversary Summit in Washington, D.C. or to parts as yet unknown. This podcast is solely a production of The Delegates Lounge LLC, which was co-founded by the host and her husband and executive producer, Frank Radford. As we’re a small team, we can’t respond to every message, but we promise to read your messages if you contact us at: info@thedelegateslounge.com Or on X, formerly (and still affectionately) known as Twitter: @alextarquinio of @delegateslounge
Episodes
Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and candidate to become the next secretary-general of the United Nations, recently dropped by The Delegates Lounge podcast (technically, recorded in UNHQ's East Lounge). He was in New York for the start of the review conference of the parties to the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons (NPT), which ended on May 22, 2026. The previou...
From the office of the United Nations Security Council president, we sit down with Slovenian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon to unpack how a small state navigates big political storms.
The conversation addresses Gaza’s fragile ceasefire and Russia's war in Ukraine—where her recent visit revealed the human cost of the war. The discussion delves into European defense resilience and the legal thicket around ...
J. Alex Tarquinio, your host and a journalist based at the United Nations in New York, guides you through what to expect on the show. Launched in 2024 with her husband and executive producer, Frank Radford, the podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and now in video on Instagram Reels and our new YouTube channel!
Comments or questions? Email us at info@thedelegateslounge.com.
Want to watch the episode? Check out our video interview on our NEW YouTube channel!
While in New York for the 80th Session of the General Assembly, Estonia’s foreign minister sat down with The Delegates Lounge podcast at Estonia's Mission to the United Nations. He had recently addressed an emergency session of the UN Security Council on the threats of Russia's air incursions into NATO airspace.
Our conversation examines wh...
Romania’s Foreign Minister Oana Toiu sat down with The Delegates Lounge podcast on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly. From an official Romanian office overlooking the East River, she spoke candidly about Eastern European security and the calculations that went into Romania's decision making when a Russian drone recently transited their territorial airspace for around 50 minutes.
The UN General Assembly has now ...
Want to watch the episode? Check out our video interview on our NEW YouTube channel!
Drama unfolds at the United Nations this week, as the 80th session of the UN General Assembly gets underway with leaders from more than 150 countries gathering in New York. At The Delegates Lounge podcast, we're beginning our coverage of what is known as either the "high-level week" of the General Assembly, or, more simply, "UNGA...
The Trump administration made an about-face on sanctions after the Alaska Summit between United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 15. Washington now appears reluctant to bolster sanctions as a means of coercing the Russian leader to the peace table, in part, because Putin's regime portrays Russia as an economic juggernaut weathering Western sanctions with ease. Our guest in this episo...
Join us for our talk with Eloy Alfaro de Alba, Panama’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations. Ambassador de Alba is serving in the monthly rotating presidency of the Security Council for the Month of August, and for this exchange, we sat down with him in the Security Council President’s office. From time to time, you may hear the roar of seaplanes landing on New York’s East River right outside of the expansive picture win...
Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan's envoy to the United Nations, joins us in The Delegates Lounge as his country holds the rotating monthly presidency of the UN Security Council.
July is typically a sleepy period here at the UN. But not this year! That’s because a UN General Assembly conference to discuss Palestinian statehood, originally scheduled for June, will now land at the end of this month. The ambassador articul...
Nataliya Gumenyuk takes us behind the headlines to reveal the stark reality of Ukraine's resistance to Russian aggression. Having embedded with drone operators near the frontlines, she offers rare insight into evolving military tactics. "Before, drones were supplementary," she says, "but now they're used instead of artillery."
A Ukrainian journalist based in Kyiv, she describes The Reckoning Project, wh...
Welcome to the third edition of "Dining with Diplomats," a series that explores the intersection of food, culture, and diplomacy. In this edition, we'll journey across Europe to discover the diverse celebrations marking the summer solstice.
Swedish Consul General in New York Erik Ullenhag takes us through the significance of the Midsummer holiday in Sweden, where the celebration rivals Christmas in importance. After e...
Welcome to the third edition of "Undercurrents," an ongoing series in The Delegates Lounge podcast about the oceans and seas that unite us, and sometimes, divide us.
In this episode, we're continuing our conversation with Michelle Wiese Bockmann, a former longtime analyst with Lloyd's List, one of the world’s oldest continuously running journals that has provided shipping news from London for centuries.
Beneath,...
Welcome to the second edition of "Undercurrents," an ongoing series in The Delegates Lounge podcast about the oceans and seas that unite us, and sometimes, divide us.
In this episode, we're joined by Michelle Wiese Bockmann, a former longtime analyst with Lloyd's List, one of the world’s oldest continuously running journals that has provided shipping news from London for centuries.
Michelle expounds on the explo...
Welcome to the first edition of "Undercurrents," a new ongoing series in The Delegates Lounge podcast about the oceans and seas that unite us, and sometimes, divide us.
In this episode, we're joined by Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur. He explains what's happening beneath the surface of maritime confrontations in the Baltic Sea.
Rising tensions have transformed this crucial waterway into a geopolitical fla...
In pursuit of economic understanding, we speak with Jason Furman, the Harvard economist who co-teaches the university’s core course in the discipline, “Principles of Economics,” Harvard’s most popular course.
The conversation tackles President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff announcement that sent markets nosediving, that is, until the president hit the pause button. The Harvard economist methodically dismantle...
The Delegates Lounge podcast commences our third season in a timely conversation with Victor Cha, the well-known Korea watcher who is both president of the Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a foreign policy think tank based in Washington, D.C. He served in an advisory role to the secretary of defense in the Joe Biden administration and served on t...
As President Donald Trump's self-proclaimed "Liberation Day" approaches on April 2nd, bringing with it a wave of new tariffs, we're joined by an expert who can help us parse rhetoric from reality.
Moody's Chief Economist Mark Zandi explores the potential economic impact of broad-based tariffs on American consumers, farmers, and business owners. As chief economist, he oversees Moody’s global economic forecas...
In this episode, we explore the seismic shifts reshaping global diplomacy with Richard Gowan, the International Crisis Group's UN expert and our first-ever return guest, or "friend of the pod."
Recorded at UN headquarters while Trump and Putin conducted a phone call to discuss the war in Ukraine, our conversation captures a pivotal moment in international relations. The timing couldn't be more significa...
As the world marked the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Monday, competing resolutions at the United Nations brought tensions within the international community to the forefront. This episode dives deep into the diplomatic maneuvering and dueling agendas, revealing the complexities that reshape alliances and influence decisions made at the United Nations. As our host explains, the anniversary this wee...
Get ready to explore the turbulent waters of transatlantic relations with our guest, French political scientist Célia Belin. Discover how the Trump administration's controversial actions, including remarks from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance, have sent ripples across Europe, particularly in response to the tensions over Ukraine. With President Macron at the helm, rallying European leaders to counter...
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