POD HOSTAGE DIPLOMACY
SenseOfDuty Media
We work to free hostages and the unjustly detained worldwide. Together with their families, we share their stories and let you know how you can help. Host, Daren Nair has been campaigning with many of these families for years and will introduce you to some of the most courageous and resilient people among us, people who have never given up hope, people who will never stop working to reunite their families.
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Top 10 POD HOSTAGE DIPLOMACY Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best POD HOSTAGE DIPLOMACY episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to POD HOSTAGE DIPLOMACY for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite POD HOSTAGE DIPLOMACY episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Trevor is free, Paul was left behind | Pod Hostage Diplomacy
POD HOSTAGE DIPLOMACY
05/04/22 • 71 min
One week ago on Wednesday 27th April, Trevor Reed – an innocent American citizen and former US Marine who had been wrongfully imprisoned in Russia for 985 days – was freed. Trevor was released in a prisoner swap deal between the United States and Russia.
Trevor is now back home in the United States getting the medical attention he needs and surrounded by his loving family – his father, Joey – his mother, Paula – and his sister, Taylor. We have interviewed Trevor’s parents twice on Pod Hostage Diplomacy and we are very happy for them. We are also truly grateful for the efforts of President Biden, the US State Department, the US Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, Roger Carstens and his team, the Richardson Center as well as everyone else involved in securing Trevor’s release.
With all that being said – the US government should have done better. They left a man behind. They left fellow American and former US Marine, Paul Whelan behind. We have interviewed the Whelan family twice as well. Last Wednesday was a day of mixed-emotions for Paul Whelan and his family when they found out that Trevor was being released and Paul was being left behind.
On this episode, we are joined once again by Paul Whelan’s sister, Elizabeth Whelan. She tells us what Trevor’s release and Paul being left behind was like for her, for Paul and for the rest of the Whelan family. Elizabeth also talks to us about potentially changing her approach to campaigning, Brittney Griner and what President Biden, the State Department, journalists and the public can do to free Paul Whelan.
After our interview with Elizabeth, you’ll also hear voice messages from the loved ones of other Americans held hostage or wrongfully imprisoned overseas specifically Majd Kamalmaz held in Syria, Tomeu Vadell held in Venezuela, Kai Li held in China, Paul Rusesabagina held in Rwanda and Jamshid Sharmahd held in Iran. They tell us their thoughts on Trevor’s release and talk about what President Biden now needs to do to bring their loved ones home too.
If you prefer, you can watch the video version of this interview on YouTube.
For more information on Paul Whelan, please check out the following:
- Our previous episodes: Ep 4, Ep 21
- Free Paul Whelan website
- Free Paul Whelan Go Fund Me
- Elizabeth Whelan's Twitter account
- Social media hashtag: FreePaulWhelan
Get the latest updates on hostage cases we at Pod Hostage Diplomacy are working on including new episodes by subscribing to our fortnightly newsletter, the Hostage Briefing. Subscribe here.
Free Jorge Toledo, American held in Venezuela | Pod Hostage Diplomacy
POD HOSTAGE DIPLOMACY
03/30/22 • 67 min
American citizen Jorge Toledo from Houston, Texas has been wrongfully imprisoned in Venezuela since November 2017. He works for US oil company, CITGO and was arrested in Caracas with 5 of his colleagues while they were there for a business meeting. Collectively, they are known as the CITGO 6. The US government has called for their immediate release.
On 8 March 2022, one of the CITGO 6, Gustavo Cardenas – was released. This is a positive step for the families of the 5 remaining members of the CITGO 6 as they are now hopeful their loved ones may come home soon.
This is our fifth episode on the CITGO 6. So far we have interviewed the daughter of Tomeu Vadell, Veronica Vadell Weggeman and the daughter and niece of Alirio Jose Zambrano and Jose Luis Zambrano, Alexandra Zambrano Forseth. Please do check out these episodes if you haven’t already.
On this episode, we have the honour of speaking to Jorge Toledo’s son – Carlos Anez. Carlos talks to us about the release of Gustavo Cardenas and his father’s serious health issues requiring urgent care. According to Carlos, Jorge has chronic bronchitis and his kidneys are not functioning properly. Every piece of information Jorge’s family is getting so far indicates that Jorge’s organs are on track for an eventual failure.
Carlos also talks about what happened to his father, his background, the conditions Jorge is being held in, the urgent need for medical care, the toll this has taken on his family, criticism of the Biden administration’s efforts to free Gustavo Cardenas by opposition party politicians and why the CITGO 6 families are pushing back on this criticism. We end the interview by discussing with Carlos what US President Joe Biden, Congress, State Department, journalists and the public can do to help free Jorge Toledo.
If you prefer, you can watch the video version of this interview on YouTube.
For more information on Jorge Toledo, please check out the following:
- Carlos Anez's Twitter account
- Carmen Molinos' Twitter account (Jorge's wife and Carlos' mother)
- Social media hashtag: FreeJorgeToledo
Get the latest updates on hostage cases we at Pod Hostage Diplomacy are working on including new episodes by subscribing to our fortnightly newsletter, the Hostage Briefing. Subscribe here.
Free Nazanin, British Hostage in Iran – The Hunger Strike, Part 1 | Pod Hostage Diplomacy
POD HOSTAGE DIPLOMACY
11/03/21 • 36 min
Family is everything and not many people know this better than Richard Ratcliffe, husband of British hostage in Iran – Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. Today marks 11 days since Richard Ratcliffe has been on hunger strike outside the UK Foreign Office which is right next to the Prime Minister’s Office. He has 4 demands for Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his ultimate objective is to get the British government to free his wife so she can come back home to London after being held hostage in Iran for the last 5 years.
Richard’s ability to keep on campaigning tirelessly to free his wife would not be possible without the love and support of his family. On this episode, we speak to Richard Ratcliffe himself, his sister who is a doctor, Rebecca Jones, his brother, Chris Ratcliffe and his mother, Barbara Ratcliffe.
We discuss how Richard has been feeling throughout the week, his disappointing meeting with Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, how his health is being monitored and looked after by his sister, the good caring people that have showed up to help, what the public can do as well as what the last 5 years have been like for the Ratcliffe family.
For more information on Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, please check out the following:
- Our previous episodes: Ep 1, Ep 10
- FreeNazanin petition
- FreeNazanin Twitter account
- Social media hashtag: FreeNazanin
Get the latest updates on hostage cases we at Pod Hostage Diplomacy are working on including new episodes by subscribing to our fortnightly newsletter, the Hostage Briefing. Subscribe here.
SITREP Pod: Free Shahab Dalili, American hostage in Iran | Pod Hostage Diplomacy
POD HOSTAGE DIPLOMACY
03/29/23 • 23 min
Shahab Dalili is a United States lawful permanent resident from Virginia. His wife and children are all U.S. citizens. In April 2016, Shahab went to Tehran to attend his father’s funeral. He was then arrested and has been wrongfully imprisoned in Iran to this day.
According to recent news reports, there have been discussions of a potential prisoner exchange between the United States and Iran. The U.S. government has stated that no deal has been agreed. Shahab’s family are very worried that he may be left behind by the United States government if a prisoner exchange deal does go ahead.
On this episode, we have the honour of speaking once again to Shahab’s son, Darian Dalili. We discuss the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage Taking Accountability Act which has been signed into U.S. law, the fire in Evin prison last year where Shahab is being held, the release of American citizen Baquer Namazi who was held hostage in Iran since 2016, the potential prisoner exchange between the U.S. and Iran as well as what the U.S. State Department, Congress and President Biden should do.
We then end this episode discussing what journalists and the public can do to help free Shahab Dalili and bring him back home to Virginia.
If you prefer, you can watch the video version of this interview on YouTube.
For more information on Shahab Dalili, please check out the following:
- Our previous episode: Ep 41
- Free Shahab Dalili Twitter account
- Social media hashtag: FreeDalili
Get the latest updates on hostage cases we at Pod Hostage Diplomacy are working on including new episodes by subscribing to our fortnightly newsletter, the Hostage Briefing. Subscribe here.
Trevor Reed Is Home. Now It’s Time To Heal | Pod Hostage Diplomacy
POD HOSTAGE DIPLOMACY
05/18/22 • 16 min
Three weeks ago on 27th April, Trevor Reed was freed in a prisoner swap deal between the United States and Russia. Trevor is an American citizen and former US Marine who was wrongfully imprisoned in Russia since 16 August 2019.
On this episode, we’ll hear from Trevor’s father, Joey Reed on what it was like seeing Trevor being released, how they’re doing now, what’s next for the Reed family and what should President Biden do to bring the other Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad home.
There are very few people in the world who truly understand what it’s like to be in Trevor’s shoes right now. The ones that do tend to be former hostages as well. On this episode, we’ll hear messages for Trevor from former hostages – Michael White, Michael Scott Moore and Sam Goodwin. They give Trevor some good advice based on their own experience.
Trevor was not the only American and former US Marine wrongfully imprisoned in Russia. Paul Whelan has been held in Russia since December 2018. Unfortunately Paul was not included in this prisoner swap and was left behind. We’ll hear a message from Paul’s sister, Elizabeth Whelan for Trevor.
Finally, we end this episode talking about secondary trauma and how it affects campaigners like ourselves. For this reason, we’ll be taking a break to recharge and make some upgrades to our podcast. We’ll be back with our next episode on 3 August 2022. In the meantime, please do listen to all our previous episodes if you haven’t already. Thank you for listening to Pod Hostage Diplomacy.
For more information on Trevor Reed, please check out the following:
- Our previous episodes: Ep 2, Ep 24
- Free Trevor Reed website
- Free Trevor Reed Go Fund Me
- Free Trevor Reed Twitter account
- Social media hashtag: FreeTrevorReed
Get the latest updates on hostage cases we at Pod Hostage Diplomacy are working on including new episodes by subscribing to our fortnightly newsletter, the Hostage Briefing. Subscribe here.
Free Shahab Dalili, American hostage in Iran | Pod Hostage Diplomacy
POD HOSTAGE DIPLOMACY
09/14/22 • 32 min
Shahab Dalili is a US permanent resident from Virginia. His wife and children are all US citizens. In April 2016, Shahab went to Tehran to attend his father’s funeral. He was then arrested and has been wrongfully imprisoned in Iran to this day. Shahab is not the only American currently held hostage in Iran. The Iranians are also holding captive: Siamak and Baquer Namazi, Emad Shargi and Morad Tahbaz.
On this episode, we have the honour of speaking to Shahab’s son, Darian Dalili. Darian walks us through what happened to his father, his unfair trial and how the Dalili family are all coping with this trauma. We end the episode talking about what the Iranian authorities and US government need to do as well as what journalists and the public can do to help bring Shahab back home to his family in Virginia.
If you prefer, you can watch the video version of this interview on YouTube.
For more information on Shahab Dalili, please check out the following:
- Social media hashtag: FreeDalili
Get the latest updates on hostage cases we at Pod Hostage Diplomacy are working on including new episodes by subscribing to our fortnightly newsletter, the Hostage Briefing. Subscribe here.
Free Nazanin, British Hostage in Iran – The Hunger Strike, Part 2 | Pod Hostage Diplomacy
POD HOSTAGE DIPLOMACY
11/10/21 • 31 min
Richard Ratcliffe, husband of British hostage in Iran, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is on week 3 of his hunger strike outside the UK Foreign Office which is right next to the Prime Minister’s office. Richard’s amazing campaigning has inspired millions of good caring people from all walks of life to come together to free Nazanin. On this week’s episode, we show you the power of love, the power of hope, the power of solidarity and the power of lifting others while you climb.
You’ll hear from volunteers of the Free Nazanin campaign, human rights activist and Hollywood actress, Nazanin Boniadi, human rights lawyer, Gissou Nia as well as the families and campaigners for other innocent people held hostage or wrongfully detained around the world. These include Daniela Tejada (wife of Matthew Hedges), Dara Conduit (colleague of Kylie Moore-Gilbert), Marielle Debos (colleague of Fariba Adelkhah), Mariam Claren (daughter of Nahid Taghavi) and former American hostage in Syria, Sam Goodwin.
For more information on Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, please check out the following:
- Our previous episodes: Ep 1, Ep 10, Ep 12
- FreeNazanin petition
- FreeNazanin Twitter account
- Social media hashtag: FreeNazanin
Get the latest updates on hostage cases we at Pod Hostage Diplomacy are working on including new episodes by subscribing to our fortnightly newsletter, the Hostage Briefing. Subscribe here.
Michael White, American, US Navy veteran and former hostage in Iran | Pod Hostage Diplomacy
POD HOSTAGE DIPLOMACY
04/06/22 • 100 min
Michael White is an American citizen from Southern California. Michael served in the US Navy for 15 years and is one of 5 siblings, all of whom have served in the US Armed Forces. In 2012, Michael met his fiancé-to-be, Samaneh Abbasi on a Yahoo chatroom. He then travelled to Iran a total of three times to visit her. During Michael’s third trip to Iran in 2018, he was arrested by the Iranian authorities on false charges and wrongfully imprisoned for 683 days. In June 2020, Michael was released in a prisoner swap deal between the US and Iran.
On this week’s episode, we have the honour of speaking to Michael himself. He walks us through his arrest, being tortured in prison, being forced to write a false confession, being put through a sham trial and being sentenced to 15 years in prison on false charges, getting COVID19 in prison as a cancer survivor who was still recovering from the effects of his chemotherapy before visiting Iran, assistance from the Swiss Embassy, being granted medical furlough and eventually being released in a prisoner swap deal. Michael also talks about his depression and difficulty reintegrating into society after coming back to the United States which led him to think about taking his own life.
Michael is now suing the Iranian authorities for $1 Billion US Dollars to get compensation for what they did to him. We also discuss what the US government, news media and the public can do to prevent Iran from doing this again.
If you prefer, you can watch the video version of this interview on YouTube.
For more information on Michael White, please check out the following:
Get the latest updates on hostage cases we at Pod Hostage Diplomacy are working on including new episodes by subscribing to our fortnightly newsletter, the Hostage Briefing. Subscribe here.
Free Robert Pether, Australian held in Iraq | Pod Hostage Diplomacy
POD HOSTAGE DIPLOMACY
04/13/22 • 20 min
Thursday 7th April 2022 marked the 1 year anniversary of Australian citizen Robert Pether’s wrongful imprisonment in Iraq. Robert Pether and his colleague, Khalid Radwan were both detained in Baghdad on 7 April 2021 after they went to Iraq to resolve a business dispute between the Iraqi government and their Dubai-based employer, CME Consulting. CME Consulting is an engineering firm that was hired by the Iraqi government to work on the new headquarters of the Central Bank of Iraq. The project was hit by delays and increased costs due to the COVID pandemic and a dispute arose whereby the Iraqi government demanded the return of $12 million USD paid to CME Consulting. As a result of this dispute between the Iraqi government and CME Consulting, both Robert Pether and Khalid Radwan who are employees of the company were arrested and put in prison.
The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has stated that their detention is arbitrary and has called for their immediate release. The UN Working Group also stated that their detention is being used to “exercise leverage in a commercial transaction, in violation of international law”.
Robert, his wife and 3 children live in Ireland. On this episode, we have the honour of speaking to Robert’s 18 year old son, Flynn Pether. Flynn talks to us about what happened, his father’s background, the conditions he’s being held in, his health issues, unfair trial as well as how the family have been coping with this ongoing trauma. We also discuss what the Australian government, CME Consulting, journalists and the public can do to help free Robert Pether.
If you prefer, you can watch the video version of this interview on YouTube.
For more information on Robert Pether, please check out the following:
- Free Robert Pether Twitter account
- Social media hashtag: freerobertpether
Get the latest updates on hostage cases we at Pod Hostage Diplomacy are working on including new episodes by subscribing to our fortnightly newsletter, the Hostage Briefing. Subscribe here.
SITREP Pod 4: Free Robert Pether, Australian held in Iraq | Pod Hostage Diplomacy
POD HOSTAGE DIPLOMACY
05/03/23 • 30 min
Last month marked two years since Robert Pether, an Australian citizen and Irish resident, has been wrongfully imprisoned in Iraq. He is a father, a husband and an engineer.
Robert and his colleague, Khalid Radwan were both detained in Baghdad on 7 April 2021 after they went to Iraq to resolve a business dispute between the Iraqi government and their Dubai-based employer, CME Consulting. CME Consulting which is an engineering firm was working on the new headquarters for the Central Bank of Iraq. The project was hit by delays and increased costs due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a dispute arose whereby the Iraqi government demanded the return of $12 million USD paid to CME Consulting. As a result of this dispute between the Iraqi government and CME Consulting, both Robert Pether and Khalid Radwan who work for the company were detained and put in prison. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has stated that their detention is arbitrary meaning they are wrongfully imprisoned and called for their immediate release.
We have interviewed Robert’s wife, Desree Pether and his son, Flynn Pether four times on this podcast. There have been significant updates in Robert and Khalid’s case. New evidence has come to light that undermines a witness statement that was used to wrongfully imprison Robert and Khalid. Desree Pether joins us again to tell us more.
We discuss what has happened since we last spoke in November last year, the current state of Robert’s health, how the Pether family are coping with this ongoing trauma and how this has impacted Desree’s health as she has Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
We also discuss what the governments of Iraq, Australia and Egypt should do to free Robert and Khalid, how the international community and journalists can help as well as how to keep up to date with the Free Robert Pether campaign.
For more information on Robert Pether, please check out the following:
- Our previous episodes: Ep 32, Ep 36, Ep 40, Ep 46
- Free Robert Pether Twitter account
- Social media hashtag: freerobertpether
Get the latest updates on hostage cases we at Pod Hostage Diplomacy are working on including new episodes by subscribing to our fortnightly newsletter, the Hostage Briefing. Subscribe here.
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FAQ
How many episodes does POD HOSTAGE DIPLOMACY have?
POD HOSTAGE DIPLOMACY currently has 57 episodes available.
What topics does POD HOSTAGE DIPLOMACY cover?
The podcast is about News, Human Rights, True Crime and Podcasts.
What is the most popular episode on POD HOSTAGE DIPLOMACY?
The episode title 'Jose Pereira, American previously held in Venezuela | Pod Hostage Diplomacy' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on POD HOSTAGE DIPLOMACY?
The average episode length on POD HOSTAGE DIPLOMACY is 51 minutes.
How often are episodes of POD HOSTAGE DIPLOMACY released?
Episodes of POD HOSTAGE DIPLOMACY are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of POD HOSTAGE DIPLOMACY?
The first episode of POD HOSTAGE DIPLOMACY was released on Sep 1, 2021.
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