I Started My Career as a Journalist Covering John Bolton. Here is What I have Learned (special episode)

Published: March 27, 2018, 7:01 p.m.

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I got my start in journalism covering John Bolton when he was the US Ambassador to the United Nations. \\xa0At the time, I was a reporter for the political monthly The American Prospect. I sometimes quip that I owe my career to Bolton because covering his time at the UN was my entry point into covering the United Nations more broadly.

My reporting at the time culminated in a cover story that was published in January 2006 that detailed Bolton\'s tenure thus far at the UN and broke a few scoops about his conduct.

In this special episode of the podcast I am going to share a few anecdotes from my reporting at the time that might shed some light on how he will conduct himself as the National Security Advisor to Donald Trump. I\\u2019ll also survey some key issues around the world, including North Korea, Iran, Trans-Atlantic Relations and the United Nations to see what Bolton\\u2019s past interactions with these issues might suggest for the future of US policy. \\xa0I\\u2019ll also explain the position of National Security Advisor to help you understand where, exactly, Bolton will fit in in the bureaucratic politics of US foreign policy making.

That this is a different kind of Global Dispatches episode. This podcast is typically an interview-based show in which I have conversations with experts about topical issues, or I have longer discussions with people who have had interesting careers in foreign policy. In these conversations, I\\u2019ll occasionally interject my own views. But for the most the other person is talking.\\xa0

But this time around, I am something of the expert. And I think other people see me as such, based on my past reporting. \\xa0I was on BBC\\u2019s Nightly News program last Friday after the news about Bolton broke. And I also had a piece up on The Daily Beast.\\xa0

So this episode is just me talking.\\xa0

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Links:

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My Iran Deal episode\\xa0with Spencer Ackerman

My Daily Beast piece on Bolton

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