Episode 10

full
Published on:

22nd Aug 2020

Terrell Speaks on Biden/Harris

In this week’s episode, I break down what I think the Biden/Harris ticket could mean for the future of American foreign policy.

I cited a lot of numbers and other things dealing with climate change, defense spending and other topics to support my arguments, so I am linking out to a lot of those sources here. Remember, these links are just starting points for you to do your research. I am just citing these to point to the data I used for today’s episode. 

For defense spending, I cited 2019 numbers from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. I also mentioned a 2016 Washington Post article about the $125 billion in administrative waste. Here is another good source to track defense spending waste. This year, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Barbara Lee lead efforts in their respective chambers of Congress to amend the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which proposed the budget for the Department of Defense for the upcoming year, by cutting 10 percent from the $740 billion budget. That amounts to around 74 billion. The money would be allocated for social programs, a similar call that activists are making about reallocating money from local police budgets. 

The amendment failed, per The Nation. Sen. Kamala Harris voted against the amendment, but a statement released by her office on July 22 shows she is willing to agree to a cut eventually.

If you want to read more about the Paris Agreement, go here. Some information on greenhouse gases is here

The full version of the Iran Deal is here and a shorter explainer is here.

As for the Democratic National Convention platform I read from, you can find that here.

Thank you for listening!

Show artwork for Black Diplomats

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.
Support This Show

About your host

Profile picture for Terrell Starr

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.