Why I Started Global Development Interrupted.
I started the Global Development Interrupted podcast to document the stories of the people whose work was upended when United States foreign assistance was cut. Like many, I watched in horror as the Trump Administration and the Republican Party slashed total US foreign assistance, dismantled USAID, demonized its staff, and painted dedication to global development as radical, wasteful, and un-American.
This swift, unprecedented, and cruel move triggered real consequences: Offices and operations in the field were shuttered. Organizations delivering aid and top-class technical support laid off staff in waves. Families lost their income overnight. Lifelong public servants were branded “criminals” or “lunatics” and given fifteen minutes to clear their desks. Farmers lost contracts to sell crops for global food aid. Universities saw critical research grants vanish.
Then came the consequences for the people these programs served. A study in The Lancet estimates that USAID programs have saved more than 91 million lives over the past two decades—at just 18 cents per day for U.S. taxpayers. Countless testimonials from the field indicate that people once supported by US foreign assistance are suffering and even dying because of the Trump Administration unprecedented and immoral action and Republican Congress’s complicit appeasement. Researchers warn that if cuts continue through 2030, 14 million more people—children, parents, and caregivers—who might have survived will die.
It's hard to contemplate that number, but even harder for someone that hasn't lived or worked in the field. This podcast is to give context to those numbers. To share the stories of those that dedicated their careers to global development. I hope to show who they are, why they chose international development as a profession, what they worked on, and why the aims of those projects still matter both globally and here at home in the United States. Their stories deserve to be heard.
By telling our stories, we start bridging divides, learning from one another, and cutting through the misinformation. The world will not improve if we stay silent, but it can get better if we choose to speak and listen.
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