Not Local

Zeke speaks with Dr. Erica Groshen, the former Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about data integrity, independence within the government, and how statistics can help us understand and make decisions about our world. Get full access to Not Local at notlocal.substack.com/subscribe

A brief word on the importance of hope and optimism about the future of human beings.Plan International (Focused on education for children after disasters)CAMFED (Provides educational opportunities, particularly for girls internationally) Get full access to Not Local at notlocal.substack.com/subscribe

Zeke speaks with Substack writer Amir Pars about his experience leaving Iran, growing up in Sweden, how his perspective on the Middle East has changed, and the difficulty Western cultures have grappling with issues in the Middle East. Get full access to Not Local at notlocal.substack.com/subscribe

Zeke speaks with Dr. Aaron Zelin about the Syrian Civil War, the new government of Syria, the philosophy of Al-Qaeda, the scale of the problem of Islamic extremism, and how it is often misunderstood in the global West.Dr. Zelin has a Ph.D. from King’s College in the UK and has published numerous books on the topic of Jihadism; you can check them out here. Dr. Zelin has testified on the topic of online recruitment for extremist groups before the U.S. House of Representatives and is the Gloria and Ken Levy Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Get full access to Not Local at notlocal.substack.com/subscribe

Zeke explores the limitations of power in the International community, and how moral values can be put into conflict with one another. Get full access to Not Local at notlocal.substack.com/subscribe

Zeke speaks with Ambassador Roderick Moore about recent U.S. Foreign policy decisions regarding Venezuela, Greenland, and parallels between changes in the international community in the wake of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and today's shift in how post WWII allies see the United States. Get full access to Not Local at notlocal.substack.com/subscribe

Zeke follows up with journalist Lorcan Lovett, author of OnMyanmar, about the recent sham elections in Myanmar, and U.S. contributions to legitimizing the military junta.Lorcan recently published an article in the Observer that covers the history of the conflict and one man's story of being a forced conscript in the military. He has also published an article for Finland's State broadcaster here. Get full access to Not Local at notlocal.substack.com/subscribe

Zeke speaks with Olena Kryzhanivska author of Ukraine's Arms Monitor about the current status of the Russo-Ukrainian war. Get full access to Not Local at notlocal.substack.com/subscribe

Zeke speaks with Ambassador Daniel Smith, the former Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research with the U.S. Department of State, part of both the Intelligence Community and American diplomacy. Get full access to Not Local at notlocal.substack.com/subscribe

Zeke's guest is Lorcan Lovett, a Welsh journalist covering Myanmar and the current crisis happening in one of the least reported on places in the world. Lorcan has his substack called OnMyanmar.Here is Lorcan's story about the 17-year-old resistance fighter, Anina:https://lorcanlovett.com/2025/04/02/i-stopped-counting-after-three-the-girl-sniper-fighting-on-the-frontline-of-myanmars-civil-war/ Get full access to Not Local at notlocal.substack.com/subscribe

Following multiple instances of targeted killings of Jews, Zeke speaks with author and content creator Z.E. Silver about the way the conflict in the Middle East has affected the Jewish community in the wake of October 7th, and the way the media has influenced society. Get full access to Not Local at notlocal.substack.com/subscribe

Zeke speaks with Sasha Lezhnev, a Senior Policy Advisor at The Sentry, about the Democratic Republic of Congo and the corruption involved in the extraction of the country's rare earth minerals. Get full access to Not Local at notlocal.substack.com/subscribe

Zeke speaks with Tom Malleson, author of "Against Inequality" about the scope of income inequality and practical ways societies can strive to address this problem. Get full access to Not Local at notlocal.substack.com/subscribe

Zeke's guest is Olena Kryzhanivska the author of Ukraine's Arms Monitor, and a defense analyst focused on the Russo-Ukrainian war. They discussed the current situation on the ground, drone use, the taking of Ukrainian children, and several other topics. Get full access to Not Local at notlocal.substack.com/subscribe

Ambassador Michael Polt speaks with Zeke about the changes and speed of change to long standing U.S. foreign policy. Get full access to Not Local at notlocal.substack.com/subscribe

Zeke's guest is Lucas Ruiz, a Scoville Jr. Peace Fellow at the Stimson Center. Zeke and Lucas discuss the history of nuclear weapons risk, the concept of mutually assured destruction, and the risk of nuclear war today. Get full access to Not Local at notlocal.substack.com/subscribe

Zeke’s guest is Nichola Mandil, an award winning journalist who runs through the current events in South Sudan, an area of the world that seldom finds itself near the front pages of western media. Get full access to Not Local at notlocal.substack.com/subscribe

Zeke's guest is Kevin Appleby, the Senior Director of International Migration Policy for the Center for Migration Studies of New York. This conversation explores migration trends in Europe, the asylum process, and the ideological principles that make the subject so difficult to find solutions for. Get full access to Not Local at notlocal.substack.com/subscribe

Zeke speaks with Maya Wang, the Associate China Director for Human Rights Watch. Maya discusses the difficulty covering a nation like China, the technology and strategy implemented in order to conduct surveillance of the Chinese population, and the state of the Uyghur internment in Xinjiang. Get full access to Not Local at notlocal.substack.com/subscribe

The guest today is Merissa Khurma. Merissa is the Director of the Wilson Center's Middle East Program. Zeke and Merissa talk about the the influence of Iran in the Middle East, the proxies of Iran, women's human rights, and the relationship between Iran and Israel and Palestine. Get full access to Not Local at notlocal.substack.com/subscribe

Zeke's Guest Ambassador Barbara Bodine has dealt with some of the most turbulent international crisis' in modern American history. She talks about her experience in dealing with an attack on the U.S.S. Cole in 2000, the difficulties of aligning all U.S. personal in the aftermath, and navigating the collaboration between U.S. agencies and a sovereign host nation in Yemen. Ambassador Bodine also speaks about the mishandling of the reconstruction effort of Iraq after the U.S. invasion in 2003. Get full access to Not Local at notlocal.substack.com/subscribe

In 2016, a bipartisan Senate Select Committee published a report detailing the attempts of Russian government groups sowing misinformation and disinformation for the upcoming Presidential election. The issue of mis- and disinformation has continued to grow and create problems globally. On this episode, Zeke speaks with Professor Anurag Mehra about the prevalence of misinformation and disinformation in India, the United States and globally, identity groups that are targeted, and other topics. Below you will also find Professor Mehra's piece on the misinformation surrounding COVID-19.How misinformation is making India’s fight against Covid-19 more difficult Get full access to Not Local at notlocal.substack.com/subscribe

Zeke speaks with Sam Kelly, a New Zealander who has had multiple experiences acquiring U.S. Visa's for his collegiate education and eventually his work in conservation science in the United States. Kelly discusses growing up in New Zealand, his perspective on the United States both before and after going to college at Duke University, his work engineering conservation science equipment, and his experiences with multiple U.S. Visa processes. Get full access to Not Local at notlocal.substack.com/subscribe

Zeke's first guest on the Not Local podcast is former U.S. Ambassador Charles Ray. He served as the U.S. Ambassador in Cambodia and later in Zimbabwe, part of his 30 years in the U.S. Foreign Service. In this episode, Amb. Ray discusses the function of U.S. foreign service over seas, specific situations that arise in diplomatic engagements, and the efficacy of U.S. diplomacy and foreign policy abroad. Get full access to Not Local at notlocal.substack.com/subscribe