Episode 25

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Published on:

21st Nov 2020

Former Black American CIA Operative Analyses America's Fractured Democracy

Jerwayne Cook was an Operations Manager who worked at the CIA for over a decade during the height of the War on Terror. He has seen nations fall into civil war, experienced radical terror first hand, and dismantled networks aiming to destabilize governments. And that’s why he’s worried about America.

Host Terrell Starr talks to Cook about what kind of assessments the Agency would be making if another country had a dictator who wouldn’t recognize the results of a free and fair election. Cook also talks about some of the well known successes and failures of American intelligence, including the decision to go into Iraq and Afghanistan after 9/11, but not Saudi Arabia.

After nearly 13 years in the CIA during the height of the War on Terror, Jerwayne Cook has a remarkable resumé that is very light on detail. Since leaving the Agency in 2016 he has been in demand as an intelligence specialist and operations consultant for clients he lists as “confidential”.

Describing his time in the CIA as “a season in life”, Cook has an expansive mind and keen insight that he’s using to help demystify American foreign policy for the rest of us.

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About the Podcast

Black Diplomats
The world is full of black people, but when the mainstream media talks about the world, we hardly ever hear from them. Black Diplomats—a podcast dedicated to international politics and culture from the perspective of people of color—is going to...
Founded in 2020 and led by Terrell Jermaine Starr, Black Diplomats is the go-to podcast for those who want relatable content on global affairs that doesn’t center the perspectives of white male experts.

Few foreign policy shows are led by Black people or center the opinions, experiences and expertise of people of color. Black Diplomats is one exception. Guests are mostly people of color and people who are indigenous to the regions the episodes focus on.
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Terrell Starr

Terrell Jermaine Starr is the senior reporter at The Root, where he writes about the 2020 election and foreign policy, mostly U.S. relations with Ukraine and Russia. He is also the The Root’s 2020 correspondent and is tasked with interviewing presidential candidates and traveling to communities around the country to see who voters are eyeing to cast ballots for during the 2020 primary and the general election.

Some of the people Starr have conducted sit-down interviews with include U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, entrepreneur Andrew Yang, former U.S. Congressman Beto O’Rourke, former HUD Secretary Julian Castro, U.S. Senator Cory Booker and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, among other politicians.

Before working at The Root, Starr was at Foxtrot Alpha, a blog that focuses on military, technology and policy. Prior to that, he worked for FUSION as a national political correspondent covering the 2016 presidential campaign. He lived Ukraine as a Fulbright fellow, and Georgia as a Peace Corps volunteer. Starr has over four years of experience living in the former Soviet Union and more than eight years working as a reporter. Starr uses his media skills to break down Russia-U.S. relations in ways that make him not sound like a Washington hack. He is a frequent guest and co-host of the popular podcast In The Thick and his work has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Mother Jones and Buzzfeed.

Starr is a regularly sought after speaker on U.S.-Russian relations, Ukrainian politics and the intersection of race and politics in America.